Scandinavian Houses II

I have been working hard this week. This is a quilt wall-hanging I made for a new baby's nursery. I am pretty happy with the result. It's a modification of my original Scandinavian Houses quilt, using more neutral shades of gray and navy, since the mother doesn't know yet if she's having a boy or a girl.

I'm going to add a few more details by hand - a button doorknob perhaps...maybe some hand quilting around the sun. There are a lot of different details involved - some simple appliqué, along with standard piecing, then minimal free-form quilting.

The top corners of the quilt back have these handy little pockets for inserting a rigid dowel to hang the whole thing from two hooks on each side. Normally, for a wall-hanging, you would use a longer, even sturdier sleeve to insert a thin plank along the top back. But, I came up with this design in case the mother decided to actually use the quilt; the pockets are small and inconspicuous enough not to be noticed when in use. It's possible that there is an even better way to suit both uses - I am still learning so much with sewing that I feel my mind will never get tired of it, even though my shoulders are killing me!

A Whole Lot of Pfaff

I am wonderfully tired. I spent every spare moment of the day in my creative zone and accomplished much. So, I'm rewarding myself with some couch time, a glass of bourbon, and a pretty golden box of truffles. Also, there is a steaming bag of hot water on my neck.

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Oh.Yeah.
(The music in my head is what plays when Ferris Bueller's BFF reveals his dad's sports car)

I got a new sewing machine. It's a Pfaff 2056. A brand I had never even heard of until three weeks ago. A heavy metal, Swedish-made work horse that does things I didn't even know could be done. A machine I couldn't afford in the US shop I found it in, but by some miracle,  I found one on ebay that was within driving distance from my house - at more than half the price. I spent about three days sweating over the decision while I was visiting at my mom's house in Minnesota. One look in my eyes and my mom said, "You've got the fever, haven't you?" She doesn't even sew, but she knew what she was talking about.

Made in Sweden. OH. YEAH.
That makes me happy.

I flew back home to the UK and a few days later made the trek across the English Midlands in search of my new machine. Ever since, I find excuses to run to the machine - "What's that, honey? You left your mittens in Minnesota? Let me whip up a pair!" In 20 minutes there were mittens. Never mind that they were too small - there were mittens in 20 minutes!!!

So I have been sewing little bits of spontaneous projects between doing up several orders I have received from my etsy shop. I'm working on another bunting banner made entirely from one little boy's baby bibs. The mother actually had a bib for every American holiday during his first year, as well as several other cute little bibs, and a hospital receiving blanket. There were a lot of different sizes involved so the final design was a big compromise with what we wanted for length while keeping the best of the bibs still in the bunting. There are 16 bibs in all sizes, so we decided to alternate squares and triangles, since the triangular shape would not support most of the motifs. I think it is turning out really nicely so far, but I will be sure to post the final photos.

I'm also working on a quilt commission, that will also include full bedding for a nursery. It's a bit of a daunting project, but the quilt is based on my Scandinavian Houses quilt design so it is more free form and enjoyable for me to do.

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So. That is why I have a hot water bottle strapped to my neck!

Fit for a Queen

Sew Mama Sew has been running a Sewing Reflections + Predictions series for 2011 and 2012 and posed a number of questions to its readers regarding personal views of accomplishments and things to come. When I read the question, what did you make that you're most proud of? I decided to delurk and participate. 

only a small piece of the beautiful mess i made on floor for four months

The thing I'm most proud of making in 2011 is most certainly my mom's quilt. I began it in August. From then on, it took up most of my free time. In fact, I had to shift things around to make time for the quilt - everyone around me was privy to its progress, which, in retrospect, may have made me a boring conversationalist. The planning, the color, the fabric, the design...then on to the piecing, the piles of unfinished blocks on the guest room floor, nagging my husband to stop stepping on them, stitch ripping, assembly...then on to the quilt sandwich, and...gasp...hand quilting (my first time ever)...the nights of watching The Wire and and stabbing myself with the needle for dividing my attention...all of this going on until the night before my flight back to the US on Christmas Eve eve when I was hurriedly going between packing and hand stitching the binding on.

four blocks pieced together, draped over a curtain rod in my sewing room

It was worth it.

hand-quilting is surprisingly very relaxing and i loved this part, possibly the most

my 3-yr-old took this photo!

I didn't even have time to wrap the quilt. Instead, I waited for a quiet moment away from all of the other gift opening on Christmas morning - and I did it in a room away from everyone else. The moment my mom saw the bundle of folded fabric, her lower lip dipped down into a deep frown and she began to cry. "You made me a quilt!" I had folded the quilt so that the top couldn't be seen right away - all she cold see was the yellow backing - but her happiness at whatever it might have on the other side wasn't important. She instantly recognized the effort for what it was and we were both crying before the quilt was even unfolded.

This was the most satisfying gift I've ever given - a gift where both the giver and the receiver felt the maximum pleasure possible. All of my worries about the color not being quite what I thought her style was, about the size and her bed, about the design, about whether she would appreciate it in the way I thought only another quilter could....all of that was nonsense. For every visitor we've had since Christmas, the quilt has come out. She finds ways of bringing into conversation. It makes me feel so good that my quilt was received in the same way it was created: with love.

finished! queen sized quilt with a 10.5" drop

So this is what I'm proudest of having made in 2011. I'd be delighted to have another such story by the end of 2012.

close up of the hand-quilting - i used size 8 embroidery cotton

I have had an incredible urge to create quilts lately. For months, I have been piecing together a queen sized quilt for my mom, involving hundreds of small squares. Because it is such a long process without an immediate result, I developed a strong desire to make a few quick-ish baby quilts that I could put up in my shop too. My style is usually very modern and somewhat minimalist, but I'm drawn to vintage fabrics and very traditional motifs too. So I decided to use a pattern from Jelly Roll Quilts that had a floral design that was both traditional and modern, at least to my eyes. Certainly, it's the most traditional quilt I've done, because it's really got that old-fashioned quilt look. I enjoyed putting it together and really love how the high-loft batting gives it such a squishy feel and soft look.

I used a mix of vintage sheeting fabric and some new reprints of 1930's floral designs. Can you tell which are new and which ones are vintage?

 


I really like how the binding and motifs puff out after the stitching. I added a number of hand-tied bits of embroidery cotton to it and the ties come out at the back, leaving an interesting cross stitch on the front.

A friend recently remarked on how she goes through sewing spurts of creativity that quickly die down after a few projects. As for me, if I had nothing else to do, I could just sew, and sew, and sew all day, every day. So it's possibly a good thing that I have many other things to take me away from it!

Crewel Work

tapestry work on church cushions, Wansford, England

  As the days get shorter (and in England they get pretty short in winter!), I tend to spend more time on the couch watching series box sets and working with my hands, rather than spending the extra time on my sewing machine. This autumn I have been teaching myself more crochet, embroidery, and...crewel.

a different motif, each taking hours and days to complete

The art that can vary from fabulous to ugly...or maybe just misunderstood. When I think of crewelwork, I think of thrift store cast offs in terrible browns and yellows. But when I found this book, I discovered it could be something different. And learning the techniques, I have found a new appreciation for hand work that I may have found dull in the past - dull, maybe because I didn't really understand it.

Wansford Church, a local and surprising source of inspiration 

 

my current effort, split stitch and turkey work techniques

I did some poking around Etsy and found crewel work to be very under-represented there, but I did find a 1970's DIY kit for just $8 on Etsy. The finished piece is meant to be wrapped around a brick for a bookend or doorstop - honestly, if I had more wall space I would frame it. You may find them terribly ugly, or terribly cool, like I do. In truth, I find this piece unapologetically retro...and it's totally possible that it is a piece only a mother could love. 

16th Century worn tapestry cushion, Haddon Hall, Bakewell

Prudent Baby Dress

Prudent Baby is one of the most inspiring craft blogs I read. Spending a few minutes there usually sends me up to my sewing studio full of ambition. Jaime's "One Shoulder Dressy Dress" caught my eye all the way back in July of last year and it has taken me this long to come around to it. But I finally cut into that beautiful Laura Gunn dogwood fabric I've been hoarding...I'm so happy I did!

I know I took the process pledge, but I've been hard at work this week doing a lot of finishes. So, I have just gone with the flow, neglecting to photograph along the way. This dress was slightly tricky because the tute wasn't super precise - there was a lot of eyeballing measurements (especially since I had to size it up a bit from her original 2Tin the tutorial). My favorite technique here was using bias tape to line the arm-holes; I'd never seen that before and I think it adds a really professional finish.

Want to make your own version? Check out the tutorial here. I love the generosity of the online crafting community!

Rocking Pillow & Tutorial

Before

After

So I bought this great little chair at a local thrift shop - it was handmade, heavy-duty woodwork and I even liked the sweet little floral detailing at the top of the chair. However, even though someone had gone through all the trouble to create this charming little rocking chair, they did a terrible job staining the wood - there were thick blobs of stain in various spots and lots of ugly irregularities in color - plus, the floral detailing was off center, and that bugged me. Because I already have a hard-core sanding job still unfinished (sigh), I decided to paint over this mess for any easier fix. It worked well for this project: none of the staining blobs show through the new layer of paint, which could have happened in the absence of sanding.

I decided to include a simple tutorial in sewing your own custom made cushion with piping. The piping adds a slight challenge to the sewing, but if you're well prepared with pins and a proper foot for machine sewing, it'll be a cinch!

                                                       

What you will need:

firm foam in desired thickness - I used 1.5"

sharp scissors or rotary cutter

ruler/measuring tape

fabric and thread

ready-made piping in appropriate yardage

pins

zipper-foot or piping foot for your sewing machine

First, measure your chair. I wanted a tight fit so I used exact measurements because there is no where to attach strings to keep the cushion on the chair, so it needed to fit snugly. Next, outline your cushion measurements on the foam and cut it out.

Get out your fabric, rotary cutter, and ruler. Take your measurements from the chair seat and add an extra one-inch to what you'll need to cut from your fabric. For example, my seat measurements were 11" x 12" - so I cut two squares at 12" x 13" - because I planned to use a .5" seam allowance. Next, cut four pieces for the sides of the pillow, adding an extra inch as before. The sides of my cushion were 1.5" thick and the lengths were 11" and 12" to match the top and bottom of the cushion. So I cut two strips at 2.5" x 12", and one more strip at 2.5" x 13". The fourth strip will need to have a wider width to accomodate a zipper. For this cut two more strips of fabric and insert your zipper, ensuring that the final measurement of this particular strip is just like your longest side strip you previous cut.

I neglected to photograph zipper insertion on one of the side strips. There are many good online tutorials for zipper insertion, such as this one.

Next, sew the four side pieces together, end to end. You may be wondering why I didn't just cut one long strip to fit - but I wanted straight up-and-down corners that wouldn't round out at all, which may happen with one strip.

Now pin all your piping in place, with the piping that will show on the cushion facing inward.

Then pin in place the side strip, being careful at the corners - use plenty of pins to ensure nice flat seams and square corners. Make sure your zipper is left open so that you can easily turn the cushion cover right-side out when you finish sewing. Double check that your cushion cover fits snugly over the top of the cushion before sewing on the rest of the fabric - make adjustments as necessary. Once this is done, do the same for the bottom of the pillow.

And you're done! Piping really does add such a professional touch to upholstery and I think it's well worth the added effort!

As for the fabric choice, I was lucky to have travelled to Sweden last year and I picked up some gorgeous home decor weight fabric in this cute fox and berry pattern. For transforming old furniture with spray paint,  Design*Sponge has a good tutorial here. For stenciling ideas, I was inspired by Lotta Jansdotter - her simple Scandinavian aesthetic is just my cup of tea.

I hope this tutorial is helpful to you!