Quilting with My Kids

I have four children. This is certainly not new information to y'all, though sometimes I admit that I'm still a little surprised by it. (I have FOUR children? When did that happen?) And as y'all can probably imagine, keeping four littles entertained/occupied is a challenge, especially if this mama wants to sneak in a bit of sewing.

Enter: The Design Wall. I grab my carefully color-coded, super fancy ziploc bags of scraps, dump out a bag or two, and let them go wild designing. We've made a handful of placemats in this fashion, and let me tell you, scrap placemats are a great FMQ practice canvas. :)

And while I have been doing the sewing while the kids have been the design team, my second son told me a few months ago that he would like to make a quilt. My oldest heard this request and decided that he too would like to make one. I searched through my stash and secured our supplies, and we went to work. (For the record, I did not let my five- and seven-year-olds cut the fabric. I can imagine them brandishing my rotary cutter as a pirate sword with disastrous results.)

Since this is really their first major foray into sewing, I kept it simple, and we just did row quilts. The nesting dolls is my five-year-old's offering. (He sat on my lap and guided the fabric as I controlled the foot pedal.

And after he helped me sew a row or two, my seven-year-old did all of the fabric guiding, though I did control the pedal still, but only because his legs aren't long enough.

So far, they've helped with every aspect except the cutting, and I intend for them to help with the remaining tasks. However, we've had a hold up in the basting stage that is all my fault as almost every single basting pin I own is currently keeping my Patina quilt in a yummy quilt sandwich. Speaking of that Patina quilt, I should really give y'all an update on it! Soon, lovely readers, soon.

Do you sew with your kids? Any tips for me? I never realized how difficult a beginner could have sewing a consistent 1/4" seam!

July. (So far.)

This month has flown by, and oy, I've been busy! There hasn't been a lot of sewing time, and I've neglected to blog, a state that probably won't be changing any time soon. With my fourth year of homeschooling on the horizon, I've been knee deep in curriculum choices, co-op decisions, and training to be a substitute tutor at our co-op. We start in less than a month! I've also been hard at work editing my second book, which is coming along slowly but surely. You might think I'd be exhausted, and I am a little, but I'm also oh-so excited, especially now that the most stressful bits are hopefully past.

I did sneak in a bit of sewing, including this super cute sunbonnet for my daughter. Of course, Vanilla wants nothing to do with it, probably because it's a bit too big, but hopefully she'll love it soon. The fabric is leftover from a dress that was made for my niece. Using scraps always makes me remember good things.

I also finished up a pinafore and have fabric cut for a second one. This was my first time sewing with rayon, and while it wasn't the easiest to work with, I made it through! It is definitely not the best fabric to use for a pinafore, but it is super soft and comfy. It just doesn't do much to retain the shape. This pinafore is lined in a yummy shot cotton. Next up, we'll see how a voile and quilting cotton combo work out!

And I've finished up two Star Wars pillowcases for my big boys. Of course, Fava is now asking for his own Star Wars pillowcase. I should've anticipated this, but honestly, I didn't think a two-year-old would be that concerned about a pillowcase. Alas, he is, and back to the store for more fabric, but this time, enough for two as my nephew needs one as well!

But I think more exciting than those finishes are the fabric pulls I've had the delightful pleasure of assembling recently. This is for a Patina quilt from Tula Pink and Angela Walters' book. I'll be making it for my niece, and it's a big one! I better get cutting.

And the start of the fabric pull for my Magnolia Mystery quilt. I need a bit more lime, but I think it's a fun blend. Thankfully I had a big piece of that black batik chilling in my stash.

Finally, some yummy Alison Glass for the Coast to Coast Traveling Bee, which is on its last rotation. A couple of people have actually gotten their quilt tops back already, and if you've been following me on instagram, you'll know I've put together a few blocks. You also might know that my quilt top is done, and it's a beauty!

I feel like I have so much more to share with you, but that'll have to do for now as it's bedtime and two little boys are waiting for tuck-in service. Goodnight, y'all.

Pencil Bags.

Do you ever have a project that you need to do, you want to do, but you can't seem to work up the motivation, and there's a deadline looming up ahead? I felt this way with these pencil bags.

Our homeschool co-op starts meeting next week, and I really really really wanted to make some pencil bags for my boys. It's my middle's first year of co-op, and he is so excited about his new backpack and new crayons and new sneakers. I figured I would make him a new pencil bag too. And if I made him one, better make one for my oldest too.

But for some reason, it was soooooooo hard to make these. Not because the pattern was hard. Just...I didn't want to. At first, I told myself I had plenty of time, and then, I was just procrastinating. I've had the fabric cut and ready for at least a couple of weeks, and today I finally just sat down and made myself do it.

And was it painful? Of course not.

I used this awesome tutorial from The Cottage Mama to make a couple of Three Ring Binder Pencil Bags. I first considered making the Triple Zip Pouch from A Quilter's Table, but I only wanted two zippers per bag, so I was stoked when I found this tutorial.

I did make a couple of changes to my bags. I used batting instead of fusible fleece because I'm a quilter and have batting scraps en masse. (Also, fusible anything and I are on a serious break because we have a tumultuous relationship.) I didn't include the rings because my kids don't have a three ring binder, and by the time they do, I'm guessing they may not want truck pencil bags. I feel like I made some other changes...but maybe not? I can't remember any more.

I didn't snap a picture, but I also made a truck-themed lined drawstring bag to house my middle's snacks--my oldest already has a helicopter one that he used last year. They are both very excited about their new bags, but also to be starting co-op!

This is our fourth week of school, and I'm happy to report that it's going well. And now that I have BTS sewing done, I can get back to working on Lito's big boy quilt and Vanilla's baby quilt guilt-free!

This is not my most glorious finish.

A ringing endorsement to start off this post, amiright? But it's true. This is not my most glorious finish. But it's a finish nonetheless, one that I am thrilled to remove from the queue, and one that has been plagued with frequent pauses throughout its creation.

Last fall, my son asked me to make him a quilt. He has one me-made quilt, an i-spy patchwork affair that I made very early in my quilting career. (I think it was finish #5?) But Banzo is growing up, and it was getting a little too small for him, so he asked if he could give it to his baby brother and have a new quilt for himself. How could I say no? He wanted trucks, and I pulled truck fabric and rainbow blenders, then axed the trucks because the pile sat on my table for weeks without inspiration. Axing the trucks was necessary, even if the only truck will be a label on the back of the quilt.

I FMQ'd the entire thing in a pointy meander, mostly as practice for my nephew's hedgehog quilt. This is the first quilt that I've ever used an all over FMQ style for, and I did not enjoy it. It took forever. It used up a ton of thread. I started with a partially full spool of green thread for the backing thread, thinking, that will be plenty for the bottom bobbin. Nope. I ran out. I could have waited until I made it to the store, but there was no way that was happening, so I switched to blue thread and kept going because apparently I only like to keep one spool of green thread in my house at a time. I probably should have waited. I had to switch to blue thread in the green section on top too, which is horribly noticeable, but I thought if I stopped working on this quilt, when would I get around to it again? (I'm not sure if I will actually use this pattern for my nephew's quilt. The jury is still out. I will say this quilt has a very nice feel to it and my skillz definitely improved.)

I backed it in a green flannel with bits of other flannel scraps to bring it up to size. For binding, I had hoped to use kona black, but I was completely out of black solids--I apparently need to have an epic shopping trip to the LQS--but I did manage to find this black pin dot in my stash. And I had just enough! Except, I cut one strip at 2" instead of 2.25". SERIOUSLY. I almost threw in the towel then and there, but I pulled out my binding scraps, grabbed a handful that would work, and stitched them up. The final product is a non-matching binding with non-matching quilt thread with no trucks, but the quilt is done. You better believe I machine-sewed that binding because I wanted to get this quilt done.

What went wrong with this quilt? Should I have picked another pattern? Gone bolder? I still really love the improv-y quilt I made for my middle son. What made this one go flat? There may not be answers to those questions, but I do know that Banzo loves his new quilt. He loved watching me work on it. He snuggled it the other day in 90 degree weather. Whether or not I've created an epic quilt here, it will be loved, and that's the part on which I'm choosing to focus.

This is finish #6 of 14 from my Q2 FAL list. In April, I had an incomplete stack of blocks, so this one really did come quite a ways.

Slow work.

It feels as though I've spent a ton of time away from my machine lately. This past year was my first year homeschooling my oldest, so with school out of the way, I expected I'd have more time. That was incorrect. I somehow have much much less!

I've managed to keep up on my bee blocks, including this one for June. It was a fun block, but can you believe I had to go buy cream fabric? I had exactly zero in stash. And this was my only true red, which thankfully worked out. I've apparently been using my stash lately, which is excellent, but wow. I've cleaned out a number of colors.

I did pull this stack of lovelies from stash recently. I never thought I'd participate in a mystery quilt, but all of a sudden, it sounded fun, and as I saw the last mystery quilt that Cheryl created and enjoyed watching Quilting Jetgirl piece it monthly, I thought I'd jump in as well.

I turned my attention (briefly) to these blocks for my dad's quilt. I think I have sashing requirements figured out, but do I have kona white or any sort of white solid to sash it? Of course not. Do I have enough navy to handle it? NO. Which is lame.

Know what else I'm completely out of? Kona black! How my reserves got so low all at once, I couldn't tell you. All I know is that I need to seriously replenish my basics. I have finished quilting this quilt--more details on THAT in a later post--and I want to bind it in Kona black or charcoal. I want to get this very late quilt finished!

Off to the store I go! Or rather, off to soothe the teething baby.

Banzo's Quilt Top.

This quilt should have been finished last fall for my five year old, but it's just barely made it to the quilt top stage. It started with a request from my son to use some construction truck fabric, and honestly, I was stumped. I pulled a stack of rainbow blenders to go with the trucks, and it sat on the edge of my sewing table, quietly mocking me.

But when I had a bout of inspiration and cut the truck fabric from the mix, I immediately knew that I wanted to make another plus quilt.

Ten blocks in, I started to doubt myself. Would this actually look okay? I had made a lot of the blue and green blocks, and I found myself wishing I had limited the palette to those two colors. (Wouldn't a scrappy blue and green plus quilt look yum?) But I kept pushing forward, and when all sixteen were lined up, I was happy with the result.

Of course, as I was piecing the backing this morning, my son asked me where the construction trucks were going to be, and I still haven't figured out that one. Maybe the quilt label will have trucks?

I'm planning to all over FMQ this one, which will be the first time--I think?--that I have ever done that!

Some triangles and selfish sewing and BACON

Rather than sleeping away entire days, my baby has decided to spend more time awake. While this is awesome because he's a super sweet chubby baby, it also means my crafting time has seen a decrease. There are blocks of days where I don't go anywhere near my sewing machine, and to a girl that used to sew on a daily basis, that's hard, friends. It probably doesn't help that I've once again gotten suckered into doing nanowrimo. I do this to myself EVERY YEAR. I tell myself, no, I don't have time, I can't possibly commit to it, and then what do I find myself doing November 1? WRITING.

That being said, I did manage to get in a few spurts of sewing/crafty love this week.

When I saw this triangle quilt on Film in the Fridge, I was immediately inspired. I have a bright stack of fabrics to make another quilt for my oldest to keep him snuggled and warm this winter while in the car. But I had very little inspiration. I thought I might do some random log cabins, but I wasn't feeling super excited about it. I am; however, feeling very excited about this triangle quilt. So I pulled out a stack of practice fabrics and started making test blocks.

But I don't know about this. I can already tell that I'm going to chop off some corners. Also, my strip of triangles is curving slightly to the left. I haven't decided yet if I'm willing to continue pursuing it or if I'm going to look for something else. It may snow as early as this weekend, so I better figure it out quick!

As I mentioned before, I am starting to audition fabrics for the background of my Tula Pink CS quilt. (I'm doing a rainbow version of Gridlock, similar to the quilt on the cover.) For your consideration, I give you 1. Cotton + Steel Dottie in Kerchief 2. Mirror Balls 3. Yarn-dyed Essex Linen in black 4. the Submarines print from Salt Water 5. print from Fox Field 6. same print from Fox Field but in a different colorway.

(Thanks to the lovelies that chimed in with fabric suggestions and links to where I can buy me some!) Any additional thoughts? Honestly, I'm leaning towards one of the top four. I'm just not feeling the Fox Field print. I love that submarines print, but I worry the color will be all wrong. Will the black be too distracting? Should I really go with 1 or 2? UGH.

And I squeezed in a bit of selfish sewing this week. I have been wanting to make myself a voile pillowcase for ages, but it always fell woefully low on the priority list. Well, I could have been making CS blocks of GW blocks or working on that baby quilt or working on that other baby quilt or holiday gifts...but I chose ME. And I'm glad I did because the whole thing felt like it took about five minutes using this tutorial, and now I have a pretty AMH pillowcase to stand up next to my husband's Marvel superheroes pillowcase. Of course, watching me sew a soft silky pillowcase made my two boys chime into a chorus of, "make me one, make me one!" but they'll just have to wait. (Still, it did a mama's heart good to know that they like it when I make them things.)

Finally, I'll leave you with a story. The baby was fussing, so I asked my middle son to get him a lovey. He came back with play bacon. I can't decide if he's a genius who understands the real import of bacon or...something else.

FF: The Littles Edition.

This week, I turned my sewing to my littles. All three of them.

Play aprons are on my Q3 FAL list. Using the Merry Christmas one as a template, I cut into some red and white chevron canvas and fashioned two aprons for the older boys.

Of course, Banzo is thrilled because we have three aprons now, so Baby Fava will have one too. I didn't have the heart to tell him that 1) Baby Fava won't be wearing a play apron for some time, and 2) I only made two new ones so that the older boys wouldn't fight over who got to play with the new one. These are item 2 of 7 from my Q3 list, woo!

Not on my list, but an exciting finish nonetheless, is a table runner I fashioned from this orphaned block. I originally made it as a bee block, but I didn't realize until much too late that I had printed my paper piecing templates a wee bit too small, and the block turned out 12" unfinished instead of 12.5". I then taped it to the wall of my quilting nook, where it sat untouched for over a year.

But not anymore. BAM. Done. I know full well I could have used this as an opportunity to bust out some awesome quilting. It would have been great FMQ practice at a very low cost. I used leftover batting scraps, an orphaned block, the backing is entirely scraps, and the charcoal part of the binding is even leftover from another quilt. But when I put on my gloves and started to think about exactly what I wanted to do...well, I realized I just wanted it done. And since it's going on top of a bookshelf in my boys' room, I caved and chose the lazy path.

Finally, some burp cloths for the new one, who should be making his appearance soon. (Every baby needs luchadores and ninjas, right?) They measure about 6 x 10", so on the smaller side, but they are backed in soft white minky, so they feel oh-so soft. I'm nearly full term, and as I am supremely uncomfortable, Fava is more than welcome to come any time after that.


I'm linking up with TGIFF, hosted by Izzy at Dizzy Quilts.

FF: Patchwork Pillows.

These pillows were holiday gifts for my kidlets, which I finished before the holiday, stowed away in a closet, and forgot until three days after Christmas. (Mom of the Year!) They stand 20" square, and I made one for each kidlet so they'd have something squishy to lay on/sit on/lounge on while watching a show or listening to a story. My oldest especially is very particular. He likes a Mama blanket and a pillow, and I think he'll really enjoy having his own special pillow.

I made the blue one first, and boy, was it evil. See that brown thread? Well, I inherited it from my mother, and it was absolutely horrible evil awfulness, probably because it was manufactured before I was born. (Okay, I'm not entirely sure on the age of the thread, but it was a bit old.) It snapped about every three seconds, and I kept quilting. Why would I do that to myself? Because I didn't have time to go out and buy more chocolate brown thread. That's why.

I switched to a different, newer type of thread for the second pillow, and everything was smooth sailing. However, I'm still not totally pleased with this one because the brown solid is very dark, and I feel like it steals from the yellow print.

In the end, I remind myself that my children (boys prone to sticky hands and muddy clothing) will be using them, and they're not very particular about that sort of thing.

I'm linking up with Finish It Up Friday at Crazy Mom Quilts and TGIFF at Quilt Matters. Happy Friday!

FF: Banzo's Pillow

Some time last week, I finished this pillow for my oldest son, Banzo. I had originally intended the circle of geese to be used for a bee block, but my paper piece pages were printed a bit too small, and the block finished at 12" square instead of 12.5". Lame! So, it sat on my wall, waiting for its moment. (I used this free template for the circle of geese, and I bordered it in Kona Charcoal.)

I decided to make the block into a pillow, when I gave it to him, Banzo immediately hugged it and went about finding the perfect place on his bed. Later, he told me, "You made me my pillow because you love me, Mama." Then I got a big hug out of the deal. Yes, I melted from the sweetness!

I'm linking up today with Finish It Up Friday at Crazy Mom Quilts and TGIFF hosted this week by Lynette at What a Hoot Quilts.