Making Your Own Bliss

Phew. Life. After two months of recovery and working from home, I went back to campus this week. This coming week, I get to go back to the gym and we have auditions. The week after includes the beginning of rehearsal and another follow-up with my surgeon. Whoa. So I took today to just do things that I love. I spent the majority of the day in the kitchen and the remainder in the sewing room. Bliss. 

Although I can't chew yet, I can eat baked goods in teensy bites. Plus, I have been watching scads of seasons of The Great British Bake Off. I dare you to watch it and not want to bake everything.I found a delectable recipe on Pinterest for Salted Chocolate Espresso Brookies from mydailymorsel. Seriously, some of the best cookies that I have ever had. I made a batch of baked oatmeal and my very favorite bread: Graham Bread from The Bread Bible by Beth Hensperger. Even more bliss.

This afternoon, I got to work on The Big Quilt. I added Wisconsin, Minnesota (isn't the lumberjack fabric from Joyful Roots adorable?), and Kansas. Ramses wanted to help.

I also made chicken pot pie, many jars of homemade chicken stock, and delicious chicken barley soup. I had graham bread and soup for dinner. Still more bliss.

Time to watch a show about Broadway on PBS, have a cup of tea, and a few of those cookies. 

Stitching the Nation: The Big US Quilt

Every day the nation becomes more of a reality. I have caught up with the rest of the 50 States Stitching Cub, so it was time to turn to the map. Each state has been appliqued with the fabric that will be the corresponding quilt block and in some way invokes the motif for that state. Virginia is a funny example: the motif is a Virginia Ham, so the fabric that I choose for the state/block is covered with sausages and meats! Also, did you know that the state craft of South Carolina is basket making? Hence the woven fabric for that state.

Saturday was full of tea, stitching, and sleeping kitties. We had a quietly productive day with "How the States Got Their Shapes" playing in the background. Apt, I thought.

Reaching for the stars: Adventures in Paper Piecing

You know how things look lovely on the internet and you think, "Oh, I can surely do that!" Then you actually start the project and realize what a production it truly is. So it goes with me and English Paper Piecing. This is part of The Big US Quilt project,so I can't just say, "It's too complicated so I am not going to do it." Well, I guess that I  could but that is not my way. Here I go:

First, I cut out 50 star shapes (I was originally gong to trace them, but decided to use up my printer ink instead). I then snipped off all of the points (Moses helped) so I have 50 pentagons and 250 triangles.

Luckily, Mollie from Wild Olive gave detailed instructions on how to actually make the pieces, so it was just a matter of following each step. The real challenge was the actual size of the pieces...they are tiny! The pentagon is only 1.5 inches across.

Quilting Isn't For Sissies

Some women turn into their mothers. Not me. I am turning into my Grandma. I am kinda excited about it. As soon as I finished working on Friday, I started working on The Quilt. 

I started cutting out squares and states out of the coordinating fabrics. I wasn't the only one having fun. Moses discovered that a recently used ironing board was THE best place in the house to lounge, regardless of the fact that I was still using it. I made huge plans for Saturday. The plan was to destash blue fabrics and crazy quilt them together for oceans, gulfs, and lakes. That was the plan anyway...

Making Progress: The Big US Quilt

Whoa. When I decided to combine three things that I wanted to do, I guess that I didn't realize how big of an undertaking that it was. I have ordered supplies online (since I am still in semi-quarantine from my surgery) and decided that being super-organized was the only way that I am going to get through this unscathed. I am a little nervous since I am doing a lot of things that I never have: quilt applique, hand quilting, AND paper piecing. 

Fabrics are starting to arrive. The big order from Spoonflower came in yesterday. I was sad to learn that an 8" swatch is actually 6.5". I have ordered duplicates of some since I am using these themed fabrics for both the star blocks and the actual state on the map. Scraps will become part of the sashing and/or binding.

 I have spent my free time since Saturday stitching tons of motifs from the 50 States Stitching Club. I am up to date with the rest of the club now.

I didn't realize how small that they would be until I started to transfer them. I originally traced them with water soluble marker, but found that it was too pale. Pencil works just fine.

I started tracing states tonight to make patterns. Ramses thinks that he is helping.

Tomorrow night, I hope to be able to start cutting fabric and Saturday, I will start making stars. So nervous. Any paper piecing tips?

From sea to shining sea: The Big US Quilt

You would think that after the afghan debacle, that I would be off blankets forever. Just the opposite--I just completed designing my FIRST quilt pattern

. 

I didn't design all of the elements, but I am taking two great projects by fabulous designers and putting my own spin on them. 

The first element is a DIY United States quilt kit designed by Haptic Lab. I received it as a birthday gift two years ago, but having been waiting for the perfect project to use it. 

Second is the awesome 50 States Stitching Club by my favorite embroidery designer, Mollie Johanson at Wild Olive. The club is little more than halfway done, so I definitely have some catching up to do! I am up for the challenge, though.

Here's the plan: I will stitch up all 50 of the state motifs and applique them onto a fabric from Spoonflower that evokes the theme of the motif. Then I will use the same fabric on the map and will applique the state. Leftover fabric will become the sashing on the quilt top. 

Today, after printing the backlog of patterns, I measured out some squares of plain fabric to stitch onto. Then, I transferred all of the patterns onto the fabric and started to work.

Isn't Connecticut so cute? It is the state flower, the mountain laurel. Does anyone have a line on where I can find some fabric with mountain laurel on it? What else typifies CT?

Stitching Up a Happy New Year: Embellished Tea Towels

Whoa, does anyone still even remember me? I barely remember myself. Nine months since my last post. Nine months. Enough time to create a human life. While I didn't create anyone new, I did spend plenty of time creating myself. 

I have been promoted...twice. I have directed two more shows. I have run another half-marathon. I have been to Disney World. I have had surgery.
The surgery was recent, just last week. It was frightening, but I am healing. Go through the procedure and now nurturing myself through the healing process, I have really been able to focus what makes me happy: making things. I am committed to making more time to make.

Although I have multiple WIP that I really should be working on (more on those soon, I promise,) I decided that a great way to start the year would be to make some embroidered and embellished tea towels for my kitchen. I focused on things that I really love. It also showed me that I REALLY love decorating tea towels...weird.

teany.tiny.stitches. for real!

Proverbs tell us that "The first step is hardest." or "A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step." Well, I took the step. I figured if I was going to design and market a line of patterns, that first I needed a name and a logo. Two friends and I have a dream of opening an stitching shop with a tea bar and calling it "teany.tiny.stitches." Yes, we know that "teany" is misspelled. But we are going for a cutesy little joke. TEA. Get it? I love the name, so I decided that it suited this new venture. Since it is all about stitching, I knew that the logo needed to be stitched. So that is where I am in the process, if you can call it that.

Back from the Dead...with projects!

When you decide to become a blogger, you always have great intentions: posting valuable and timely content, being engaging and interesting, taking eye-catching photos. Then life happens. Careers change. Relationships need work. Self-confidence and self-worth plummet. Well, not always, but that is what happened to me.

A Few Of My Favorite Stitchy Things

This morning while I was booting up my computer, preparing to tackle yet another spread sheet, I decided that I would rather be stitching. Not a huge news flash, I know. But as my machine came to life, I caught a whiff of the tea steeping next to me. "That's it!, " I declared (in my head.) If I could I would open an embroidery shop with a tea bar. Of course, this is absolutely no time to be starting a business even if I did have the money to, which I don't. But I can share my favorite designers with you...you could even come over for a cup of tea.

On a whim, I decided to learn to embroider last fall. My local quilt shop had darling little patterns by Penguin and Fish. I snapped on up and went home to learn. Luckily, Wendi Gratz has an amazing Embroidery School on her blog. Wendi also had wonderful patterns...lotsa fun monsters.

Once, I stitched up Penguin and Fish's Fox, I was HOOKED. I then bought her newt, owl, hedgehog (my favorite pattern of hers), jellyfish and quail. It was love at first stitch.

Then I discovered Wild Olive. Mollie is like the most talented designer ever. I'll admit, I kinda have bit of a girl crush. I have stitched MANY of her designers, but I think that Crafty Characters may be my favorite.

Do you like cute things? Who am I kidding? EVERYONE likes cute things. Look no further than Aimee Ray and her awesome books. Luckily, my local library had The Motif Collection (with CD.) I made a great tea towel using her veggies patterns (Stay tuned for a photo soon!) Her books are well worth the investment.

I love smart and classy patterns and So September has us covered. This is my favorite.

How me is this pattern? Seriously. This is my next purchase for sure!

All the patterns at Follow the White Bunny are adorable and her animals are super-cute.

And everyone knows how I feel about Sublime Stitching! Jenny can do no wrong in my book.

I have tried my hand at a couple patterns and may even submit on to a publication this year. I will have to work on my drawing skills, but hey, embroidery shops/tea bars don't open without some hard work! ;)

Works in Progress...sort of.

Maybe this post should actually called Works in Planning. This holiday season, I happily made all but to of my gifts. My house was a sea of thread ends and yarn bits. And I loved every minute of it. 

I have decided, however, that in addition to my afghan I will be making 4 other projects for just me. Selfish? Maybe. But I happen to think that it will energize and excite me to create for others!

Here's what I have up my sleeve:

I made two of my friends yarn/project bags for Christmas. Meanwhile, I am lugging around my stuff in a plain tote. I will be embroidering the great pattern from Sublime Stitching onto a plain canvas bag. I adore it.

Since, I do work on so many kinds of crafts, I typically carry a lot of tools. I decided that the project bag needs  a notions pouch. I am using this pattern. I will be embroidering different compartments with this awesome pattern from Wild Olive. I love Mollie's pattern and have stitched a ton of them.

To match my re-covered thread cabinet, I am going to attempt this sewing machine cover by Shiny Happy World. Wendi actually taught me to embroider via her You Tube series. Her patterns are super cute and well-explained. I love the fabric that I am using too :)

For my first ever clothing project, I am going to make this cozy looking hooded nightgown. I will be using the fun flannel pictured behind the pattern. I'll keep you posted...

Finally, a big thank you for all of you read, comment, and support me as I create. 

You all mean so much to me.

WIP Wednesday-TARDIS Plushie

Do you ever start a project, just to have it migrate to the bottom of your work basket, forgotten? Sadly, I started this TARDIS months ago with plans to make it into a plushie. I am happy to say that it is ALMOST done!

Thankful and Thinkin' Thursday: Blog Love

This week, I have been all about becoming a better blogger.

 In addition to my lil' idea Moleskin, I have started a blog binder with ideas and weekly plans. I was already doing that in my little book, but it was so crammed, it was tough to find anything.

While I was out flea marketing and thrifting this weekend, I bought several blog styling items (just wait until you see the vintage kitchen scale that I got got $3.99!). In speaking to the vendors about the blog, several wanted to check it out and I had to scrawl the URL onto scraps of paper. So, I decided to make blog specific business cards. They should be here next week!