Category / quilts

by Bethe

The baby shower and the quilt debut!

We threw my sister an “April Showers” baby shower last weekend, and I must say it was adorable. But then again, Sarah is a shower-giving pro, so it was fitting that her own shower be extra special.

Most of the credit for this shower goes to my other sister Lindsay, who graciously hosted it at her house and did most of the decorating. My mom and I provided most of the food, and Sarah, even though she was the guest of honor, even helped with some party favors (because she can’t stand to pass up on a good craft project). She also gave us the world’s greatest hostess gifts, I might add.
Lindsay came up with the genius idea of serving drinks in mason jars, because (a) they’re adorable, and (b) they have a lid, which means no spills on her carpet! She just punched a hole in the top of each jar and inserted a straw. She also tied a name card to each drink so guests could label their drink and avoid mix-ups. I may use this idea at every party at my house for the rest of my life, especially once children are involved. Do they make plastic mason jars?

Oh wait, those are called sippy cups.

Since the shower was in the evening, we served a full dinner of chicken salad sandwiches, miniature ham and cheese sandwiches, fruit-kabobs, tomatoes with basalmic, pecans and peaches, various dips, and several desserts for our 30+ guests. Thankfully it was a team effort. 
Here are my sisters: Sarah, the interior designer (and baby Luke), and Lindsay, the Neuro ICU nurse. Unfortunately we’re covering up the adorable burlap bunting that said Luke with rain clouds.

I was lucky enough to have two of my favorite girlfriends (and former bridesmaids) help us celebrate – Andrea and Katie. (Katie’s the one getting my next quilt project, in celebration of her August wedding. And, well, Andrea is pretty much a member of our family.)

Here’s most of our family: Philip (Luke’s baby daddy… and Sarah’s husband), Sarah, me, Lindsay, my mom and dad. It was an all girls’ shower so Mr. Right and Lindsay’s husband Dallas didn’t get to come. Philip and dad came at the end to help load the cars, which we definitely appreciated.

By the way – my sister got a ton of loot at the shower (such sweet friends), but I must admit that I don’t know what most of it is for. Baby things are like foreign objects for me right now… someday I’m going to need a crash course in baby gear.

And finally… drumroll please… here’s my latest project, Luke’s baby quilt! Ta dah! (imagine me using my best attempt at spirit sprinkles or jazz hands)

It was my first attempt at triangles, and I LOVED the process. My current project is another triangle quilt (I think I mentioned my 526 triangles?), but what I love about triangles is the next quilt will look NOTHING like this one – there are so many fun ways to use them.

I also must brag that this is the straightest quilt I’ve ever done – thanks in part to my fancy Janome machine. It’s so much easier, and I’m learning secrets that help me keep things straighter (although if you look closely, you will definitely see mistakes). Instead of sewing this in rows, I patched it together in squares, then bigger squares, and eventually had four big squares that I sewed together. This helped me so that if one part got off, it didn’t affect the rest of the quilt.

This quilt was made using vintage reproduction fabrics from my local quilting specialty shop – they cost a lot more than JoAnn’s, but they were also cute enough to justify the difference. Because of all the reds and whites I chose to prewash all of my fabrics, so this one probably won’t crinkle up as much as my regular quilts. I just couldn’t chance any bleeding colors. Oh… and I did a combination of machine- and hand-stitching on the binding. Sometime soon I’ll experiment with all machine-binding, but I’m still a bit worried about ruining an almost-finished quilt.

Here’s another view of Mr. Right “modeling” the finished product – what a sweet husband:

And the back… my favorite part… it features vintage bicycles and scooters. ***Sigh***

I can’t wait to see Baby Luke use his quilt! I hope that someday he drags it around the house, leaving it a dirty, tattered, well-loved blanket. Because that’s exactly how all quilts should be used… they should be enjoyed and loved.

by Bethe

DIY Ruffled Table Runner

Lately anytime I have a day off from work, I spend it locked in my craft room, creating things. 

It makes my heart so happy. 
Good Friday was no exception. I finished my nephew’s baby quilt A WHOLE WEEK EARLY. Typically I finish quilts around midnight the night before I give them away, but my sister’s baby shower isn’t until next weekend, so I had time to spare. This was my fastest quilt yet… I started it March 10 and finished it April 6. I can’t WAIT to show you pictures of this adorable quilt made from vintage baby fabrics and featuring some of the straightest lines I’ve ever sewn. It was like a quilting miracle. I think it’s my fancy new machine.
Now I just have to wait two more months until I can see Baby Luke use his new quilt. Gah, I am so excited to meet him.
But I digress… I finished the baby quilt and still had some spare time so I decided to whip up a spring table runner from some old burlap I found on sale last Christmas. I also had some old white linen ruffles lying around that were leftover from my ruffled Christmas tree decorations. 
I thought about sewing the ruffles on the ends of the burlap, but I felt like it needed more color. That’s when I found this gorgeous green and berry fabric from my stash that needed a good home. And so I did this:
To learn how to sew a ruffle, you can watch this video and look at the first technique. However, I only made one line of stitching on my ruffles instead of her two. (Shhh… don’t tell anybody but it was incredibly easy – but to impress folks we’ll act like it was really complicated.)
To make my table runner, I simply laid my patterned fabric over a wider burlap backing and then hand stitched the ruffle over the place where the two fabrics met, conveniently hiding the raw seams. My stitches were loose and messy, hidden by the very forgiving ruffle, and weren’t required to be very strong since it will simply sit on top of my table – durability isn’t a big deal. I could have sewn this on my machine but I didn’t want the rough burlap to dull my needle.
I then stitched my ruffle to the other side and frayed the edges of the burlap. About one hour after I started my project, I had this: 

It’s a perfect fit for our beloved rustic barn table. Pottery Barn has a similar table (but not as cool as ours) for almost $2,000. I think Mr. Right paid $100 for his. I fell in love with the table (which features a frame made from real oxen yokes and handmade chairs) even before I started dating him… and now I have both!
Sometimes you’re just lucky like that.
by Bethe

Organized Disorganized

I’m the most organized disorganized person you’ll ever meet. Organized because I calendarize everything, schedule my life weeks and months in advance, and usually have about 30 projects at home and work dancing around my mind on any given day.
I’m disorganized because I’m a bit A.D.D. and can’t seem to finish anything. My desk at work and my closet at home are a mess. And please, oh please, don’t ever take a peek in my bathroom cabinets. You might not survive.
And so I battle daily against my disorganized tendencies, misplacing everything but my head and keeping my racing mind at bay. This week my solution is this:
It’s a miniature notebook that tucks away inside my purse. My goal is to use it to keep my daily bible verse, my personal to-do list and my shopping list reminders in one spot. Because when it hit me this morning that “We need to buy toilet paper” while checking work emails, I needed to capture that thought on paper so it wouldn’t go on bouncing around in my head the rest of the day.
Will it work? I’ll let you know in about two weeks… this adorable little notebook may be caked in muffin crumbs and spattered in coffee drops by then. Or it may be my new favorite toy. I’ve already tried using “notes” on my iPhone, carrying a paper calendar with space for a grocery list, and emailing myself reminders. But this is way cuter.
Speaking of cute…

One night this week I organized my sewing room. Probably my favorite spot in the house, because it’s where I get to create things, let my creative juices flow and snack on Valentine’s M&M’s while I sew until my heart’s content and catch up on my favorite shows on Hulu.

But lately, with several sewing deadlines back-to-back, my creativity has left little time for picking up. Add to it the fact that Mr. Right graciously gave me a set of shelves he wasn’t using in his study anymore, and we kind of just threw them against the wall and never bothered to put anything on them, while the piles on the floor kept growing and growing and growing.

I finally got inspired to take an hour and reclaim control over my happy place. I am so glad I did. I’ll have to do a photo tour of the rest of the room soon – we recently took the guest bed out of this room and put it in Mr. Right’s study so that I’d have more room to work on the floor (if you haven’t noticed, quilts are big and take up a lot of space while you’re laying them out). And, I proudly displayed some of my yo-yo patches since it’ll be another two years before I make enough yo-yo’s to finish that monster of a quilt. My scraps could use some attention, but at least they’re tucked away in a dresser until I figure out how I want to sort them. I’ve learned in quilting you can’t throw any fabric away, no matter how small the scrap. Someday it may come in handy.

What about you? Got any organization tips that will change my life?

by Bethe

Quilting Q&A’s

I get a lot of questions from friends and on Facebook about my quilting, so I thought I’d share a little bit of inside information from my foray into quilting.
How’d you learn?
Quilting was a total impulse decision. It was the Summer of 2008, I had a short break from summer school, all of my friends were busy and I had some unexpected free time. I was grocery shopping at Target and while roaming the aisles looking at all the pretty things (which is why I try to avoid grocery shopping there) I saw the sewing machines and thought “I should learn to quilt!” I bought a little $150 Singer, took it home and tried to read the directions and figure out how to work it on my own. After several hours of mounting frustration, I finally called a girlfriend who came over and showed me how to sew and work my machine in about 30 minutes.

My current project

From there, I started asking lot’s of questions. I asked folks at the fabric store (sometimes these people can put off on air of superiority toward newbie quilters – keep looking, there are nice quilters out there who are willing to help us amateurs out). I found a coworker and a long-lost relative who are both expert quilters gifted with extra patience for novices like me.

Wedding quilt being pieced together

I read blogs – lot’s of blogs. I searched YouTube – (YouTube has GREAT tutorials). And somehow over the past four years, I figured it out. I still have a lot to learn and would love to take a class to polish my skills – but I’m hooked and in love.

Why do I make quilts? Because of pictures like this… (my niece)
I made this quilt for my sister from upholstery scraps – one of my firsts.

How long does it take to make a quilt?
Since I work full time and tend to juggle a busy schedule, I mostly quilt on the weekends or when Mr. Right is studying.  Typically a quilt takes me 2-3 months, probably 30-50 hours of work during that time. I’ve decided to track my time on my sister’s baby quilt to see exactly how long it actually takes. To pass the time, I listen to audio books or set my laptop on a shelf next to my machine and watch TV shows on Hulu. It’s a wonderful, calming escape for me. The other night I cut squares and rocked out to worship music.

Working on this quilt for Mr. Right.

As for my yo-yo quilt… it’ll take me forever: It will require approximately 1,000 yo-yo’s… I’ve finished about 250. I make them while watching TV or while getting my hair done at the salon (since it takes me three hours to become so naturally blonde). That quilt will probably be one of my new favorite things when it’s finished, because it’s such a labor of love.

Yo-Yo’s (made in my wedding colors – gray and yellow)

How much does a quilt cost?
My quilts typically cost around $100 for the materials, which is why this would make a terrible side business. To make any money, I’d have to charge back the materials ($100) plus my time (30 hours @ $10 an hour would add another $300… minimum). And since my quilts look nice from a distance but up close have MANY imperfections, I don’t think anybody would want to buy one of my quilts for $400. But if you do… CALL ME! (wink wink)

My sewing area & my first venture into applique.

Where do you get your ideas?
Blogs. Pinterest. I rarely use patterns, I prefer to make them up as I go. I think it’s like Mr. Right, who likes to deconstruct restaurant dishes in his head and then create something similar without a recipe. I’ve followed patterns, but that seems too restricting to me. I’m more of a free spirit quilter and I enjoy sketching out new ideas and reinventing things I’ve seen online to better suit my needs.

Wedding Quilt

My first ever “strip” quilt

How can I get started?
Just dive right in! If you live near me, give me a call and I’d be happy to come over and show you how to use your machine. The easiest way to start is with a “strip” quilt – just sew long strips together so you don’t have to worry about lining things up perfectly. They’re really fast to do and a lot of fun.

Yo-Yo’s
Do I need a special sewing machine?
Nope. I thought I needed a fancy long-armed machine to do the actual quilting (different from “piecing”) but it turns out there’s a big secret that all quilters know, but I’m slow so it took me two years to figure out: (said in a whisper) to fit your quilt into that tiny space next between the needle and machine… roll your quilt – don’t try to bunch it. With that one tip, you can quilt on anything… whether it’s a $150 Singer or my new fancy Ferrari of a Janome. 
Happy quilting!
by Bethe

It’s the equivalent of buying your wife a vacuum

Mr. Right knows me. Like, really knows me.

He bought me the perfect souvenir from India – gorgeous, high-end fabric so that I can include a little bit of India in some of my quilts!

I am in love. It’s super soft and different from fabrics you buy at the local JoAnn’s. It feels luxurious and exotic, and when I use this fabric, I can assure you that I’ll be KEEPING this quilt for myself. (I never keep quilts – ever. I think they’re made to be given away. But this one will be an exception.)

One of the other pastors traveling with my beloved husband was a little worried I might be offended by his gift. He told Mr. Right it was like buying me a vacuum for my birthday. Because he’s giving it to me something that I will then have to make something out of. So, in essence, he’s giving me a gift that will make me work.

Which is probably true… for most women. But not for me. No, for me, this was the sweetest thing he could have possibly gotten me. Fabric is expensive and I try to be frugal with my purchases, only buying what I need and always using coupons. So luxurious textiles from India… those I can’t wait to get my hands on! Plus quilting is my escape and something that brings me great joy.

Oh, and he got me this rose-colored wrap to wear with my little black dress. That was a good move too. I debuted it at a friend’s bachelorette party over the weekend.

by Bethe

I am thankful for days off with nothing to do

On day 25, I am thankful that I’m not out in the chaos of Black Friday shopping, but instead thankful that I was able to do a little bit of shopping online while sitting on the couch next to Mr. Right, sipping coffee in my pj’s. Today has been one of those beautiful, ideal days off from work – spending the day finishing a quilt, listening to books on tape (finished Millenials and now on to Charlie Wilson’s War) and enjoying some leftover Thanksgiving pecan pie. 
by Bethe

Blog Roll: Quilting Blogs

I’ve been blogging since blogging wasn’t cool (2005), and along the way I have discovered some really interesting people. I thought I would share the wealth.

Because I’m an organized person living in a disorganized person’s body, on a rare day when I had some free time I categorized my blog reader. It was either that, or wash my windows, and this was a lot more interesting.

My windows could still use a good cleaning.

I’d like to introduce my favorite blogs from my quilting category:

Cluck Cluck Sew
I love pretty pictures of quilts, and she always pics the greatest fabrics. Some of her quilts are simple enough for me to attempt, and have been added to my “to do” list on Pinterest.

Crazy Mom Quilts
This was the first quilting blog I started following, and it will probably always be my favorite. This quilt is the next one I’m going to tackle after my super secret surprise quilt is completed. This one is almost all applique, and may take me a day or two (or year) but every time I look at this picture, I gasp in delight, and it’ll be a fantastic way to use up my ever-growing scrap pile.

I’m a Ginger Monkey
I started following because of the name, but I stayed because these quilts are so unique. I’ll probably never be able to make anything like this, but I can still enjoy the pretty pictures… and dream.

Sew Take a Hike
This is what inspired my yo-yo quilt, although 200 yo-yo’s through I realized I was making them wrong (my centers are unfinished, but I choose to think that it makes mine soft and cuddly and unique… plus it’s too late to start over). I’m anxiously waiting for later this fall when she posts her tutorial of how to machine-stitch my 1,000 yo-yo’s together into a coverlet. I know that once I begin, my sewing room floor will be covered in yellow and gray yo-yo’s for quite some time so I don’t disturb my pattern.

Someone recently asked me how I started quilting – I simply bought an inexpensive Singer sewing machine on a whim at a trip to Target, invited a girlfriend over to teach me how to operate it, and from there, I just winged it. I’ve had no formal training, but following these blogs (along with YouTube videos – God’s gift to the “I have no idea how to do that” quilter) has taught me so all sorts of new tips. I’ve approached a few workers at quilting stores, but for the most part, I’ve found them to be a bit snobbish – it’s easier to learn from the comfort of my laptop.

by Bethe

Do you burn more calories when you heart is racing?

It’s T-minus 12 days until a little party I’m throwing for 1,000 people.
Yep. A thousand.
To get ready for this little shindig, I had to produce a 10-minute video. Hire a cake decorator from The Food Network. Work with the White House, the Governor’s office, and every elected official our hospital is connected to on the city, state, and national level. And ship some custom-made chocolates across the United States in a refrigerated truck.
You might say I’m a little stressed. But I’m also so excited I can barely stand it.
In other news:
-I am now belting all of my flowy shirts so that pestering P-question goes away.
-I finished my Pink Lady quilt… I’m so pleased, even though I learned a difficult lesson in binding the quilt… I stink at it. But it’s finished and next time, I’ll be hand-finishing that binding.
-I’ve already started on my next quilt… this one is a gift. I haven’t decided if I will go ahead and spill the beans early, or hold out and surprise my sweet friend who will be receiving it, and then just blog about it later. We’ll see if I can keep a secret (doubtful).
-I’m taking Mr. Right on a surprise date this Saturday. He plans so many of these for me, and I’ve never planned one for him. I’m so excited, and I LOVE getting to tease him and watch him squirm – he wants to know SO BADLY what we’re going to do. Just between you and me – it’s going to be so. much. fun.
-Next week I start teaching English as a Second Language classes at my church, just one evening a week. My life-long dream of being an English teacher is about to be fulfilled in a very unexpected way. God is so cool like that. I can’t wait to meet the women from all over the world who will be in my class. They don’t know this, but I’ve been praying for them for months.
-We did a major house decorating update Saturday, for total cost of a can of spray paint. People keep donating the coolest furniture to us (thanks to our parents on both sides), and Saturday we finally put almost everything in its place, painted a mirror, hung pictures, and Mr. Right even built me a shelf from scrap wood he had in our garage. I am so pleased with the finished result, which includes a craft room for me! I now have a fantastic set-up for sewing and crafting in our back spare bedroom, including a dresser I’m using to organize all my supplies. Pictures coming soon. And Mr. Right has an even better-looking office with a vintage-lookig mirror he painted and stained. We realize that once we fill our home with children, my sewing room and his study will probably be relegated to our closet, so we plan to thoroughly enjoy the space while we have it.
During the house decorating, Mr. Right hung up our wedding thumb print tree (we used this in place of a guest book at our wedding and showers… you can buy it off of Etsy) in our living room, and I was so happy to see it up that I cried. I know – I’m a bit sentimental, but seeing the signatures of all of our favorite people absolutely made my day.
It’ll probably hang in our house until we’re old and gray, and then it will follow us to the nursing home. The verse on there is from 2 Thessalonians 3:5 – the scripture Will began secretly praying over me after our first date.
Swoon.
by Bethe

More quilts

Do you know why I love quilting?
Because of this quilt lying on my bed. A quilt made by Mr. Right’s great-grandmother and great-great-grandmother out of the scraps of his grandmother’s childhood clothes, and those of her seven brothers and sisters.
It’s such a piece of history. What other heirlooms tell that kind of story while looking fantastic in your house? It was a small added bonus that this quilt happens to look like something you’d pick up today from Anthropologie, and it brings a pop of color to our otherwise neutral bedroom.
I just adore it.
That’s what I think about as I make my own quilts to give away as gifts. My sister has one of the few I’ve finished. Okay, I admit… I’ve only finished two. But I’ve started three more.

Just for kicks, here’s the first quilt I ever made… finished in September 2008. If you ever think about dipping your toe into quilting… a strip quilt is a great first project because they’re super fast and super easy.
Tonight I hope to finish my next prized quilt, which I started in the fall of 2008 and took me over a month to piece together. It was a bit aggressive for only my second quilt ever (I started this one before I made Sarah her Ethan Allen scrap quilt), and it was my first exposure to the meticulous measurement (and math!) that quilting requires. For the record, my math is atrocious, but it was worth it.
Originally I started quilting this by hand, and then lost interest about half-way through. (Who me? A.D.D.? Never.) Then a few weeks ago at our family reunion, one of Mr. Right’s relatives, who teaches quilting classes (score!) gave me tips on how to quilt on my teeny-tiny sewing machine. I didn’t think it was possible to quilt on this $200 Singer I picked up on a whim at Target back in the summer of 2008… but alas, it’s totally doable!
In case you’re wondering, the secret is to roll the edge of your quilt up, which helps it to fit between the machine and the needle. I had tried just bunching it before, which takes up more space.
It took me several hours to rip out all of my old hand-stitching and then about four hours to quilt everything on my machine, which I did while listening to a book on tape and sipping ice tea. Those four hours of sewing would have taken me about six months by hand, and I’m absolutely giddy about the results. My stitches may be a bit crooked in places, but I think it adds to the home-made quality of the quilt. If you want perfection, go to a department store. If you want personality and a few flaws and lot’s of love built into your quilt, then you can have one of mine.
Tonight I’ve got to bind it. I’m trying a different technique this time, which I’m a little nervous about, but I’m determined to conquer it. Once I do, I’m going to celebrate by purchasing fabric for my next project… it’s taking every ounce of will power I have not to go before I finish this one.
And not to worry, the yo-yo’s continue… I’m about 150-200 yo-yo’s in, with about 800 more to go. I mostly work on that in the car, at the hair salon, or while watching movies with Mr. Right.
Happy quilting!
by Bethe

Pinterest Love: Quilts & Sewing

I’m so excited to find some of my blog buddies are now Pinterest buddies as well. It’s one of the most wonderful things I discovered this summer. That, and Mr. Right’s homemade chocolate chip and pecan cookies topped with chocolate-banana icing. Those are pretty spectacular as well. (Now you know why I’m failing miserably at Project 115? But I AM going back to spin again tonight for the THIRD time this week.)
But back to Pinterest… I’ve been a quilting fool this summer… working on three simultaneously. Mr. Right told me this weekend that the difference between men and women is that a man would start and finish one quilt before he starts another. How boring is that? I know you agree with me… I’m too A.D.D. to commit to just one. Besides, I hope to finish my pink/brown quilt next week while he’s out of town (that I started in 2008… I finished piecing it within a month but never got around to doing the quilting part and instead picked up another quilt… and a master’s degree… and a husband). After that I’ll be down to a very manageable two. So there you go.
But back to Pinterest. Here’s some quilts I’ve discovered on there that make my heart race right now:
This chevron quilt… love the colors and the pattern, which is so hot right now.
I’ve never thought about adding ruffles to a quilt… but maybe I could do a completely ruffled blanket? Or maybe the lower third ruffles and the top two-thirds quilted? Oh the possibilities! (and the yellow and gray color… still my favorite)
Confession: I’ve never actually sewn a ruffle. But I had never made a yo-yo before July, so it’s just a matter of practice. And sweet-talking my sister to teach me how.
Speaking of yo-yo’s… this is officially the prettiest yo-yo quilt I’ve ever seen.
On second thought, that may not be yo-yo’s, it kind of looks like crochet. Which I’m terrible at. But you could still make the pattern with yo-yo’s.
This is exquisite, and I love the monochromatic color. I’m not sure it falls into the quilt category, but it’s my blog, so I’m putting it in anyway. I have no idea how to make that, and I doubt I ever will.
One of my current quilts is a scrappy quilt, and while making it I discovered these circles on a black background… and now I want to change my current one completely (the grass is always greener… especially when your hand-quilts take a year to produce). But I’m already too far along, so I’ll add this one to my ever-growing quilt wish list, and maybe one of my future nieces or nephews will receive one like this:
I don’t know if non-crafty people really “get” a girl’s need to create something. This has become a hobby that is so fulfilling, such a great creative outlet. And someday, every single one of my family members and friends will have a Bethe Original as a birthday present. It just may take awhile. Like decades.