With both girls away at camp for a couple of weeks, I spent some time thinking about what to send in their care packages other than food. I bought a couple of Lizzy House Catnap fabrics awhile back specifically for p.j. shorts and decided to sew them up to send to camp. Cat faces for my cat lover Jane and mice on bikes for Kate, because why not? They are so dang cute!

I used the same pattern from Stitch magazine (Summer 2012) that I did for their last batch of sleep shorts. The pattern is in women's sizes and downloadable from the site, but does not include any directions. The directions can be found in the magazine, which I do have somewhere on my shelves. But because I am disorganized and too lazy to search for it, I went ahead and sewed without the directions because I'm crazy like that. No, really, I have made so many pairs of p.j. pants and shorts and they all go together pretty much the same way so I just went for it.

Because the girls are away and I can't get a good waist measurement, I decided to make these with drawstrings instead of elastic/faux-bow waistbands. I figure that I can always add elastic later if they want it. Before I sewed the waist casing, I made a buttonhole on each side of the center seam for the threading the drawstring and tying the bow. The drawstrings were made by sewing two 2" widths of fabric together and then pressing the long piece of fabric so that the raw edges are encased in the center and topstitching the tie closed, giving me a very long 1/2" wide piece of fabric. (Does that even make sense? I think you know what I mean. Well, I hope you do!) Once I threaded the tie through the buttonholes, I pulled the ends even, gathered the waist to what I thought looked like a reasonable fit (a.k.a., I winged it!) and then tied the bow. Once the bow was in place, I knotted its tails and cut the excess drawstring off on an angle. Easy, peasy and very much flying by the seat of my pants. I did leave the drawstrings on the long side figuring that we can cut them shorter if needed. Look at me thinking!

Each pair (one women's size S, the other women's size M) was cut out of a yard of fabric so these really are a easy and good stash-busting sew. Fast, too - each pair took about an hour and a half and I do know that assembly line sewing a bunch goes much faster than that.

So yeah, you guessed it. I've got some more fabric ready to be cut.

Just a little over a week ago, we dropped Jane off for a three week summer camp at a college in North Carolina. Back in the early spring, I thought that maybe I should make her a quilt to take because she sleeps in a full size bed here and because the only twin bedding we have belongs on the beds in Kate's room. And because she was going in July and I wasn't sure if the dorm would have air conditioning, I decided that a lovely, summer weight Liberty quilt would be just the ticket.

I ordered a bunch of fat eighths from Dee at Pick Click Sew on Etsy. I have ordered Liberty fabrics from her before and she is extremely attentive and so nice to work with. She also cuts her fat eighths at 10", which makes for a wonderful value. I wanted bright, cheery prints in pinks, reds, blues, greens and yellows and that is what I got. Finding myself a few prints short of what I needed, I took a few pieces from my stash and from my first Liberty of London club installment from Westwood Acres Fabrics. They also cut their fat eighths at 10". Nice, right?

I started cutting for this quilt a couple of months ago, fitting in one or two pieces when I had a small block of time. The fat eighths were each subcut into two 10" squares (for this quilt) and two 5" squares (for another project) and a 1 x 10"-ish strip (that I put aside in my scraps). Jane and I laid the squares out on the studio floor in a 9 x 7 grid and then I sewed them together. Easy, straightforward and fast, the sewing took much less time than the cutting.

I enlisted some help for the basting. Mind you, they each put about eight pins in before moving on. But, it's a start!

The back is a pink Free Spirit voile that was in my stash, most likely purchased for clothing or lining, combined with a larger piece of Liberty to make it big enough. I'm am trying very hard to use it or lose it and this goes for everything in the stash including the precious Liberty, not just the quilting cottons. But I digress... The batting is Quilter's Dream Cotton Request, a very lightweight, 100% cotton batting. The entire combination - Liberty, the batting, the voile back - is the same I used on our Liberty bed quilt and is one I will repeat again. It makes for the most beautiful, soft, drapey, lightweight summer quilt.

The quilting is loops, per Jane's request. I used a hera marker to make a grid on the front of the quilt sandwich and it worked very well as a guide for the free motion stitching. Each loop is about 3 inches tall. The large pattern made for relatively quick machine quilting - it took a couple of hours tops. For the binding, I used another Liberty print from my stash that we didn't choose for the top. It seemed like the right finishing touch.

The quilt, before washing, measured 66.5" x 85.5". We gave it a good run through the washer and the dryer (cold water and then ultra low heat) before packing it up and taking it to camp. All reports are that it is doing its job quite well - keeping her cozy at night and providing a virtual hug from mom, when and if it's needed.

The house is so quiet now. I put Kate on a plane to her camp yesterday.

Boy, do I miss those girls.

Here's a comprehensive list of what I've read since my last update. I read a wide range of books - everything from memoirs to total beach reads to JA novels to serious literature. I've listed them in the order they were on my Kindle so there's no ranking or anything like that. In fact, my favorite book so far this year, I only recently read.

W is for Wasted by Sue Grafton (I've read the entire series from A is for Alibi onward and I love these books. I think they keep getting better and better).

Paris by Edward Rutherfurd (This is a dense, historical novel. I enjoyed it.)

Night Film by Marisha Pessl (I thought about this one for a long time when I finished. It's strange, but good.)

The Death of Bees by Lisa O'Donnell (A story of two young sisters with an unconventional living situation and what happens to them - charming and a bit sad, but it has its bright moments, too.)

Just One Evil Act by Elizabeth George (Again, I have read everything Ms. George has written and I will continue to devour her mysteries. So, so good.)

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak (Beautiful, sad, uplifting with compelling and likeable characters - a great JA novel that I read so I could discuss it with the girls. It was hard to put down.)

The Confessor by Daniel Silva. And also by him A Death in Vienna and Prince of Fire. (I really enjoy these spy/assasin thrillers.)

The Signature of All Things by Elizabeth Gilbert (I liked this one quite a bit. The story of the main character kept me guessing throughout.)

The End of the Point by Elizabeth Graver (The story of a multi-generational family centered around their summer home.)

The Bloodletter's Daughter by Linda Lafferty (This one is a little strange, but I was compelled to finish it. I'd love to hear what you thought if you have read it.)

The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt (It won the Pulitzer Prize. Fatty loved it. I liked it. Read it yourself and form your own opinion.)

Still Life With Breadcrumbs by Anna Quindlen (I love the way Anna Quindlen writes about women. This was very enjoyable. I also read One True Thing by the same author, which is a look at a mother/daughter relationship - a nice read.)

The Valley of Amazement by Amy Tan (Not my favorite by Amy Tan, but still a great story with many layers.)

The Husband's Secret by Liane Moriarty (A quick read - I saw the plot unfold before it did, but I still enjoyed it.)

The Fault in Our Stars by John Green (I won't give it away, but I'm sure you may know what this is about. Again, I read it to keep up with my kids. I tore through it and enjoyed every last word.)

The Unlikely Pilmgrimage of Harold Fry by Rachel Joyce (I'm not sure how I picked it, but I liked the story of Harold and his journey.)

The Little Giant of Aberdeen County by Tiffany Baker (I wasn't sure what this was going to be about, but I was surprised at the turns in the plot and the development of the main character.)

A Tale for the Time Being by Ruth Ozeki (This one had me thinking, in a good way. It's a very compelling story.)

Magnolia City by Duncan W. Alderson (Total page turner, beach read, long in length.)

Ladies Night by Mary Kay Andrews. (This is another tear-through book with a pretty predictable plot, but still highly enjoyable. Perfect for poolside or the beach. Since I read this one, I have also read Summer Rental, Spring Fever, Savannah Blues, Savannah Breeze and Save the Date, all by the same author, all in the same vein.)

Delicious by Ruth Reichl (This is fiction, unlike her other books. A quick, fun read).

Delancey by Molly Wizenberg (If you follow Molly's blog, Orangette, and/or have read her first book, A Homemade Life, you will find this very enjoyable. If you haven't read the blog or the other book, you will still like this memoir quite a bit.)

How to Catch a Frog by Heather Ross (Just read it. You will love the way Heather recounts her unconventional childhood and how it has formed her into the person and artist she is today. Plus, it's funny.)

Bellweather Rhapsody by Kate Racculia (This is about high school students at a large arts conference - there's a mystery involved, too. The characters are well thought-out and it was among my favorites of this year.)

Seating Arrangements by Maggie Shipstead (Centered around a family wedding on an East coast island, this one feels like summer.)

All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr (This book! The story is wonderful, the characters charming and is right now my favorite book of the year.)

The Promise by Ann Weisgarber (I felt like this one ended too soon. I'd be curious to hear thoughts from anyone else who has read it.)

Point of Direction by Rachel Weaver (Short, but packs a wallop. I really liked this story of two people who choose to live in a light house in Alaska.)

That is A LOT of books, you all. Go and Read. Enjoy the holiday weekend

Just a note - these are affiliate links, but I purchased all the books on my own. Of course, the opinions expressed are also all mine.

 

I managed a second finish last week. I cannot tell you how good it feels to be so productive!

This sweet baby quilt top was finished back in January and it has been sitting in the studio awaiting quilting ever since. Because it is small, I decided to spray baste it. I was not happy with the basting so it sat, waiting for me to take it apart and re-baste with pins. When I picked it up a couple of weeks ago and put it in the to-do pile, I took a second look at the basting and decided to go for it without re-basting. And it worked great!

The fabrics are mostly Shelburne Falls by Denyse Schmidt with a few other pink prints thrown in. I immediately fell in love with the soft, but not washed out pastels of these fabrics, especially since they are grounded with navy. Perfection! The solids came from Pink Chalk Fabrics. I will say it again and again: I LOVE that they take the time to match solids to prints and share that information. Thank you, Kathy and team! I cut the equilateral triangles using the GO! cutter by Accuquilt. Fast and easy, just the way I like it. The sewing took a little time - all those short seams! - but I managed it in a few spurts. Sometimes I think that I should have added more triangles - maybe next time.

I quilted it using straight lines, keeping the edge of my walking foot lined up with the seams. This made for some very simple, very fast quilting - it took me about an hour to quilt the whole thing! Truly! Hand stitching the binding took longer than that. The finished quilt measures 32" x 42" unwashed. Like the Creamsicle Quilt, this one will go to our church/school carnival and be raffled off.

Speaking of which, I wish I knew how to get raffle tickets into the hands of those of you that have expressed interest, but I just don't think it is possible. I will do some checking, though, and if there is a way, I will let you know.

Back in a day or so with another finish AND a reading list at some point this week, too. See you then!

When it comes to naming quilts, I'm often stumped. This one, though, was easy. All that orange and white? Creamsicle! Never mind that I had to explain what a creamsicle is to my children. Don't worry - a trip to the grocery is planned for later today so I can remedy the missed opportunities of their young taste buds.

As I mentioned earlier this week, I pieced this quilt top in 2008. Crazy, right? I am not sure why I didn't quilt it sooner. It's been shuffled around through many studio clean outs and has lingered in the to-do pile. I am glad that I finally got around to finishing it. It's cheerful and happy and very orange.

The top is obviously influenced by Denyse Schmidt, in particular the Hop, Skip & A Jump quilt in her first book, Denyse Schmidt Quilts. I did not follow her pattern, but rather just sliced up a bunch of white fabric into strips and pieced them with similar strips in orange prints. When I look back at the top, I am so happy to see some of my very favorite fabrics - Flea Market Fancy, Katie Jump Rope, some Heather Ross stripe, a favorite Alexander Henry floral, those Japanese elephants...I could go on. These fabrics were among the first ones in my stash - the ones I built it around and, in a way, this quilt is a bit of a time capsule back to that summer when my girls were 8 and 6. I vividly remember sitting on the carpet just outside the door to my original walk-in closet sewing room, cutting fabric while they played in the room adjacent. In so many ways, it does not seem like six years ago.

I pieced the backing from a large piece of orange and white check shirting fabric that was in my stash. I added the Amy Butler floral and the piece of Katie Jump Rope. While I did hesitate before cutting that particular Denyse print, I didn't let myself get overly sentimental. If there is one thing that I am taking away from this quilt is that I need to use the fabric that I love instead of letting it sit on the shelves.

The quilting is simple lines and in keeping with the look of the quilt, they are not at all measured out and not at all straight. This made the actual quilting fast and rather mindless which is exactly what I needed this past weekend. The binding is an orange Kona from my stash and I even pieced the batting from scraps, making this quilt entirely from what I had on hand. I love it when I can do that.

It measures 46.5" x 50" after washing - a nice lap quilt. I am donating it our church/school carnival where it will be raffled off in July.

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This post includes affliate links. And thank you, Jane, for always volunteering to hold my quilts.

Newton's First Law of Motion: Inertia. A body at rest stays at rest. A body in motion tends to stay in motion.

This weekend I got stuff done.

I quilted this triangle quilt and stitched the binding to the front.

This improv quilt came back from the long arm quilter earlier in the week, so naturally, it got a binding sewn to the front, too.

While cleaning out the studio, I decided to finally quilt this orange and white top that I made way, way back in 2008. About time, huh? I pieced the back, sandwiched it, quilted it up, and attached the binding to the front.

Needless to say, there will be a lot of hand stitching bindings in the evenings this week. I'm looking forward to it.

The remainder of my Pacific Crest blocks were pieced, too. So maybe there will be another quilt top by the end of next weekend?

I'm on a roll, people. No stopping now.

Hello!

I disappeared. I didn't mean to, but life happens. Thank you to all that checked in to make sure that I am ok - I am! It's just been a crazy few weeks...

Jane graduated from 8th grade. So. Hard. To. Believe. And still, so right, you know?

I altered my painted portrait dress and wore it out. I love this pattern. There will be more. And more. And then probably even more.

I had my annual colonoscopy (I have ulcerative colitis). TMI? Probably. But, I had a lot (understatement) of anxiety leading up to it as my last two scopes were only so-so - not really bad, but not great. This time all was better than it has been in years. I am thankful and relieved and happy and will continue to take my meds and eat healthy and all that.

We packed up and left town for Mexico on Kate's last day of school. It was a great way to start the summer.

While gone, Fatty and I both suffered from food poisoning. That put a little damper on the trip, but it was still good to get away.

I read 10 books on vacation. TEN.

And my MacBook crapped out. It couldn't be fixed. Insert sad face here.

Two days after we returned home, I took a great class with Quilt Dad, John Adams. It was fun and I am super excited about how my quilt is coming together. It's Pacific Crest, the cover quilt from John's new book, Beyond Neutral, (affiliate link) which is A-MAZ-ING.

When I came home from sewing all day, there were flowers for me for Father's Day. Fatty is the best, I tell you.

My new computer arrived earlier this week. It is shiny and fast - yay!

I didn't turn it on until I cleaned the entire studio. It took 3 days, but it is also looking shiny, so there's that.

And now I am going to pay the bills and then get back to making things.

See you around.

About a month ago, I found myself sitting on the floor of my sewing room as I often do, sorting through fabrics, trying to decide what to pair with what. The picking and choosing, matching and coordinating is one of my favorite ways to relax and to recharge creatively. The options are limitless and I always walk away with at least one pile of fabrics to think about. Sometimes I need to sew right at that moment. This was one of those times.

I had seen all of the Dowry fabrics by Anna Maria Horner at the fall Quilt Market before they were released. I pre-ordered every single one. I most often buy half yard cuts, but this line had a few that had me adding yards to my shopping cart. Large scale florals often do that to me - they bowl me over with their good looks and have me momentarily losing my mind. How many quilt backs does one need in a year? According to my shopping habits, somewhere north of 20.

Although quilting cotton is not the best choice for most garment sewing, I do find that it is good for summer skirts. And that is what I must have had in mind when I bought two yards of this print (Twill Bouquet in Evergreen). But when I sat on the studio floor and contemplated the bright oranges and dark greens in the print and decided that it looked rather good with that peachy-pink and orange number (Going Up in Smoothie), I had just come home from Sew Down in Nashville where Anna Maria had taught a class that included needleturn applique. I was also working on a little something else with applique and so, as these things go, I thought, "Ooh! Applique that flower bouquet, Erin!"

And that is what I did.

I settled on my all-time favorite dress pattern which Anna Maria also designed, the Painted Portrait Dress and Blouse. This is one of the most versatile patterns around - Dress or blouse? Sleeves or sleeveless? Pockets or no pockets? Patchwork or plain yoke? It's also a great sew. I settled on a sleeveless dress for my fifth (!) version (version 2 here, version 3 here, versions 1 & 4 unblogged - I know, I know, I really should). After appliquing the bouquet to the yoke, I was worried that it wasn't going to work. I pulled out the perle cotton and just started embellishing without much of a plan. Slowly and surely, I saw it all come together and stopped when I thought it looked good. It was then that Jane told me to put french knots in the center of those flowers. She was right - it was the perfect final touch.

This pattern sewed up just as easily this time around as it did the first time. It always takes me longer than I think it is going to, but I never mind that because it is such a joy to put together. Luckily, there were no serger incidents - phew! - and I was able to find the perfect green vintage button to tie it all together. I added 2" length in the torso, but forgot to take in the back seams as I have in previous versions. Those alterations are on the docket for the coming weekend. As soon as I complete them, I know this dress will be in heavy rotation this summer.