Sunday, February 28, 2010

Dear Blogosphere,

How do I make my bobbin tension not get all tangly? I have an old Kenmore machine (a 14, I think?). I've tried EVERYTHING I can think of. Really. I've tried every single tension setting. I've tried all the different stitches with every tension setting.

Maybe I'm doing something really wrong. Maybe it needs to be cleaned and oiled. I haven't had it for very long; it came used from a garage sale, then sat in my step-aunt's kitty filled house. Maybe there's a whole lot of hair in my machine that I can't even see.

Help. Please Help.

<3 Meg

Saturday, February 27, 2010

Spring Break. Woo!

My plans for spring break?

Job Interview, Dentist appointment, step-dad's birthday present (black curtains for the basement), California Dreamin' quilt top planning (I'm thinking about using the pattern from Amy Butler's book Little Stitches for Little Ones), a buttercup bag (I hope), and restyling a dress I bought at Goodwill (start rant: Ok Old Navy. I really like that you're making things in larger sizes for girls like me. But if you're going to make something bigger, please tweak the design? PLEASE? Because really, skinny spaghetti straps on a XXL bodice? That's not going to work. You won't get sales, I won't get a pretty dress that fits me well. End rant).

Yup, I think that'll keep me pleasantly busy.

Wednesday, February 24, 2010

Dear Mom (First Edition)

Twenty minute Simple Skirt Tutorial

Dear Mom.

Wanna help me with a 'speriment next week? We can go to Joann's and you can pick out a fabric, I'll get a yard of it and some elastic. Then I'll try to make you a skirt.

If it works and you love it, since you helped me jump into the whole "let's make some clothes" thing, you officially are allowed to ask for a new skirt anytime you want.

<3 Meg

Sunday, February 21, 2010

I WON!

I WON A FABRIC GIVEAWAY AND OH BOY AM I EXCITED!!!!!!

I won a fat-quarter SET of Jenean Morrison's California Dreaming fabric, which is the very first fabric that I found online that I fell head over heels in love with. Oh man oh man oh man!! That's 4 yards of fabric!!! Beautiful FREE FABRIC!


I already have a plan for it. It's going to be SO GOOD! Mhm it is.

More Fabric for P&K

Just purchased this BEAUTIFUL FABRIC for P&K's quilt from an Etsy store called Whipstitch. I had previously bought some fabric there, and the experience was kind of so-so (10+ days of waiting for the fabric to arrive, plus a misunderstanding regarding the order). Long story short, I ended up leaving a polite, but honest review. I ended up pressing the negative button by accident; I meant to leave a neutral review, but had a headache and was trying not to look at the screen for very long.

The lady felt so badly that I had left a negative review that she offered to refund my shipping costs! I refused this offer, since I'm about 80% positive that the reason the fabric isn't here is the freak weather in the south right now that is shutting down federal buildings (including mail), and explained that hadn't meant to leave a bad review! I changed my listing to be positive, since she had been so accommodating for me. She was still bummed that I had only had a so-so experience, so she ended up giving me store credit!

And so, I bought this fabric for P&K's quilt:

It's from Tula Pink's line Hushabye, called Dragonfly in Aqua. I left the picture bigger so you could see the pretty design in it! It will be perfect in this quilt, I think. And I bought a WHOLE YARD OF IT! How much did I pay for a yard of this beauteous DESIGNER fabric? 2 bucks, plus shipping. Thank you Deb!

Thursday, February 18, 2010

Pillow Factory Alphabet Down Filled Pillow GUEST GIVEAWAY!!!!

Pillow Factory Alphabet Down Filled Pillow GUEST GIVEAWAY!!!!

New Approach

Two fabrics I ordered for P&K's quilt came in today (the floral print, from Amy Butler's Love collection, and the dandelion print). And look a bit different in person than they did online. I guess that's the problem with buying over the internet, through pictures. Both are beautiful fabrics. I love them individually, and will NOT have a problem finding something to use them in. But together? Not so much.

The Love print I got just isn't going to work for a boy's quilt. I really like the dandelions, but they're a bit brighter than I had thought they would be. Think less mustard-y colored. I'll make it work. As far as I know now, I'm still going to be using the dandelion's in Patrick's quilt. We'll see how the other fabrics work in with them. I just wish this brightness didn't make me timid to buy the Dogwood print; in the pictures, they go together perfectly. But I don't think this bright green will match the muted olive very well.

I think I'm just going to start over. Use the four-square fabric as a jumping point, and just go from that. But in person. I'll go to Joann's and just look for fabrics that are along the lines of the original quilt. Not an exact copy, of course, but probably similar. She already knows I'm doing it anyway :)


Monday, February 15, 2010

You're My Inspiration!

I've been thinking a lot lately about how I got into sewing. Unlike a lot of other quilters out there, my mom didn't really do a lot of sewing when I was growing up that I can remember. Counted cross-stitching, yes (I have a beautiful stocking to show for it, too). But not really sewing. She did some when she was younger, I know that. But, as she ran a daycare, she never really had time to do some real, sit-down for 3 hours sewing.

When I was about 7, I was obsessed with the series the Berenstain Bears. I loved them. I had a collection of the books. My favorite among favorites, though, was "Mama's New Job." That's the book where Mama Bear gets a job selling her quilts that she makes. I used to flip through those pages, mesmerized by the beautiful pages of quilts. In fact, for about 3 months, all I would tell anyone is that when I grew up I wanted to be a quilter. Which was an ACHIEVEMENT, if you knew me as a kid.

That book has long been packed away, now. Clearly, though, I had hit on something. Although my desire to have a job as a quilter has changed, 7 year old me was certainly right about one thing: I want to be able to consider myself a real live quilter when I grow up (in 20-30 years).

Sunday, February 14, 2010

P&K Quilt

So, the other quilt that I have in mind is going to be a wedding present for my big brother. I already have the top planned, and I am working on getting the fabrics coordinated and bought. I asked my soon-to-be SIL what her favorite colors were, and this is the response I got:

fav colors huh? I love soft yellows, dark purples. I like blues but in smaller quantities. Def lighter shades of blues and teals than the dark shades. I like green a whole bunch as well as hot pinks and I guess it's obvious I like red hehe.

So, I've been working on getting fabrics that are manly enough to put in a quilt for my brother, but that fit those boundaries. I've decided to focus on green, with some purples, yellows, and blues. I'm having a hard time with the blues; everything I like has LOTS of blue in it, or has a beautiful dark blue color.

Here's what I have already ordered so far:













Here's what else I want to order:













I need about 4-5 more fabrics, if I stick with two of the above. I'm thinking the middle and the third; the middle is a more manly print, and I'm basically just in love with the elegance of the third (hey Mom, it's named Dogwood, and have it in a BEAUTIFUL blue that I almost bought to use for you later). The only problem I'm having is that it's alot of floral prints so far (do the dandelions count as floral?)

Here's the link for what I'm planning to do with these fabrics, give or take a bit. It's from Cluck. Cluck. Sew.

Thoughts?

Little Folks Quilt

I have some big ideas. As I said, I have two quilts in the planning stages. For both, I already have a top planned and am working on acquiring the fabric, little by little. One is for me, one isn't.

Since the one that isn't for me is going to be the one I'm working on the most in the next couple of months (maybe it'll be faster than that... we'll see), I thought I'd tell you about the one I'm going to be making for myself. Eventually.

When Anna Maria Horner came out with her Little Folks line, I fell in love. I was brand new in the virtual sewing community and I fell in love with her use of color and pattern, especially in the Midnight colorway. And so, I decided that I would like to make a quilt for myself from her cotton voiles, as a memory of my first steps towards being a *real* quilter.

Here's what the Midnight colorway looks like:


I know. It's amazing. I already have two half-yard cuts that I got on sale, and a plan for my quilt top. It's going to be very simple, just normal blocks, quilted diagonally. I think I'm going to do the back in an interesting way, but I need to think about it a little more, first.

Ok Mom, what do you think? Like the colors and prints? Obviously I won't be getting the all fabrics for a while yet, but I like the idea of the plan.

Saturday, February 13, 2010

Pocket Tissue Holder















Another small project that I made for my Mumma. This time I followed the tutorial on Skip to My Lou exactly as it said. It's not perfect (it can't quite fit a tissue pack in it), but it's cute enough to make up for it.

Like that fabric in the background? Yup, those are my sheets. I almost wish I didn't love them so much, then I could cut into them and make something cool (that is already the plan for the flat-sheet, when I stop using the set). Hopefully I'll be able to find a better background soon. That isn't the floor. Oh the small space I have to work with!

L's Crayon Roll















I made this crayon roll for my nephew, L. He is 9 or 10 months old and definitely can't use it yet, but I couldn't resist! Sorry for the bad picture; dorm rooms aren't exactly famous for their excellent lighting. I used a tutorial from Skip to My Lou, but I modified it to make it smaller, and so each crayon could have a special colored slot.

I think I'm going to try to wait to give it to him for his birthday in May; we'll see if I can hold out.

Mom's Christmas Quilt

This is (almost) the quilt that started it all. The first quilt I ever finished was a baby quilt for my nephew Logan. Plans for that one started as soon as I found out my step-sister was pregnant (September 08). I borrowed a machine, went out and bought a cute, gender-neutral kit, and made it. Didn't catch a picture before I sent it off, but I'll try to get one later. After I finished it, I had a bit of extra fabric.

And so, this quilt began. I ende
d up only using two fabrics leftover from Logan's quilt (a fairytale print that I have one scrap left of that I adore, and a green scroll-y print). The corners are leftover flannel from my favorite men's PJ pants that ended up ripping beyond repair. I washed the pants, then cut up the legs (which were HUGE) and saved the fabric. It's soooo super soft, too. All of the other fabrics I either bought or already had lying around. All this quilt takes is fat quarters, which I bought at Joann's on sale, so it really didn't end up costing very much at all. The colors aren't exactly unified or matching, but I liked the idea of using fabrics that I really loved, regardless of whether or not they "matched." The back (and the binding) is this beautiful brown print that goes well with our living room. Since the front is so busy, I wanted the back to be one fabric. Also, I was sick of sewing at that point. Everything is hand done. Hand pieced, hand quilted, hand bound. My fingertips hated me for weeks. The worst part was the binding. Figuring it would take me about a day to do, I started it the week of Christmas. 4-5 hours later, one edge was finished. Now, a day on Christmas break for me was about 10-11 hours, only 5 or 6 of which my mother wouldn't be home (yes, I slept in as late as I could; I'm in college, it's what we do). The clock was against me. After 2 nights of staying up until 3am to finish just one edge, I got it done.

I started this quilt in Winter 08, and finished it on December 23rd, 2009. It was just in time to give my mother for Christmas. She knew what the top looked like, but I managed to keep her from seeing it quilted and bound until Christmas morning (a great feat, let me tell you). I consider this my first quilt, since I did EVERYTHING on it (as opposed to the kit, which already have the fabrics picked out, the pattern laid out, and the proper cuts all ready). And I know she loves it, which makes those tedious hours all worth while.

An Introduction

Another blog for me to start and (hopefully) look after. But this one has a purpose!

After my step-aunt Gayle gave me a beautiful, not quite in working condition sewing machine that she had lying around, I have not been able to stop thinking about sewing! I've spent months staring at it, planning and getting fabric for two large quilts, and planning small projects to help me get rid of the (tragically small) stash that I have. I got it running a few days ago, and haven't been able to stop sewing since!

The reason for this blog is because after every single project I've completed, I've emailed my adoring mother with pictures to show her my newest creations. Supportive as she is, I think both of our mailboxes will end up suffering if I don't make a change! So, a sewing blog it is!

Now, let me introduce myself and my space. I am Megan, a 21 year old college student with not a lot of money, fabric, or room, but with enough innovative ideas and stubbornness to make up for it. I'm going to school to become a music teacher (hence the name of this blog). Here is my space:


Told you I didn't have much room! I'm making it work, though.