Luck or Good Fortune?

How lucky to have both!

It’s Monday. You know how Mondays are. I have a week’s worth of joyous announcements, but most of them are exciting for me. This one is for you. I thought I’d give it to you today, because it’s Monday.

How did you like our last drawing for prizes? I think the winners were quite fond of it. I was quite fond of it. I mentioned when I announced the winners that I would like to do it again, but bigger and better. That time has come. I'm stepping it up on my end. But now you have to step it up on your end too. The rules are changing. In order to be entered into the drawing, you have to be signed in as a blog follower, and leave a comment on the blog. Any blog. Anytime. From the day the blog started until March 16th.

This time we have one prize, and one prize only. It's in a newly released line by a designer I happen to love. It's something I've never made before. It's something I'd very much like to keep for myself. But I'm going to share it with you, in hopes that you'll treasure it more than I would. You can't fit it in your pocket. You probably can't fit it in your purse. And here's the best part: I'm not telling you what it is until I pick my winner! So brood, wonder, guess, do whatever you like. But in order to have a chance at this lucky mystery, you must leave a comment. And to leave a comment, you must follow. And to follow, you must log in with a google account.

Let's recap: Comment on blog. Enter to win secretive mystery prize. Patiently await March 16th when winner is announced.

Are we clear?

I hope Good Fortune is coming your way.

Operation Organize

I have no choice but to accept.

I like to think of myself as a fairly organized person. Unless I’m stressed. When I’m stressed, I like to make a huge mess and then mope about in it. That’s not a very productive thing to do when you have quilts to make. This weekend, I am undertaking the organization of my sewing corner.

It’s definitely not going to be a short process, but I think getting started will be the hardest part. I want to be more organized so I can transition between projects easier. Now it’s like my world comes to a halt when one project gets hung up. I want to be so on top of things that I can just pick up the next project without missing a beat.

I need to clean out my fabric stash, my old patterns, things that aren’t getting used. I need some sort of shelving system that makes everything accessible. I need to store my notions in … something. I need a place to keep current projects so they’re organized. Preferably something more manageable and the infamous “table” that I’m using now. I need a lot of things. I need help. Here’s my before picture:

Please send me your ideas to help me get organized!

Sew What?

Sew everything!

You’re probably wondering what I’ve been up to now that the worst is over with Stitchin’ Addiction. Don’t worry. I haven’t been idle. I’m slowly tackling all those projects that built up during the applique times. I’m by no means caught up, but I’ve reached a lull where I can come up for air and blog.

I’ve been working on some cute little zipper bags for a dear friend. I’m trying out some new things, like quilting the panels to look like Vera Bradley bags. So far … not what I anticipated, but it’s a start. I aspire to become a better machine quilter someday, and, well, I’ve got to start somewhere. I would blame it on the machine, but nothing is my adorable little Janome’s fault. Ever.

I’ve also been working on some quilts. More like many quilts, but I’m going to pretend it’s a mere “some” to retain what’s left of my sanity. Most of them have yet to make it to “the table” where projects await their turn with me and the Janome, but I know they're coming. And that scares me a bit.

Besides Stitchin’ Addiction, I have two other quilts currently on the table. They are my first official order as Life’s Short. Sew Fast. They are matching quilts for twin 5-year old girls. I designed the pattern – something simple and fast, with a touch of applique. They are both in Terrain by Kate Spain. Six blocks on each quilt will have pictures of the girls. The center block has their name appliqued. Not incredibly intense, right? Well, here’s the fun part: I’m appliqueing MERMAIDS on the center block as well. Mermaids. It’s like the worst of the fish world AND the human world. Fingers and fins. Neither are applique friendly. In an attempt to save my beautifully girly quilts from an applique atrocity, I solicited help from none other than Sarah, my hand-quilting partner in crime. She is sketching out some applique-friendly mermaids and transferring the designs onto fabric. In the meantime, I get to wait, dread, and write to you.

Good thing I got all that applique practice on my last quilt.

It’s Not All About Winning

But this blog is!

I am SO happy to announce the winners of my I <3 You! Sewing Give Away! But first, grab your popcorn and wait in suspense. It’s story time!

I NEVER make things first and give them to people as an afterthought. I always make things with people in mind. This was a challenge. I had to make something that would appeal to anyone, something practical, something fun. I went with generic Valentine’s Day fabric to theme it. Pretty boring, I know, but I’m out of my comfort zone so give me some credit. I chose probably 2 of my favorite “30-minute” patterns. I can crank out Zippy Strippies and Cash and Carries like nobody’s business. I am a one-woman staple-gift production factory over here. And the best part is they’re so practical! They’re perfect sizes! The coupon idea came after, but it fit in great. YOU can pick what you want, and I can make it and you get a discount! How great!

So, are you ready to know who the winners are?? No? You want more stories? Ok. If you insist. I do this for you.

I have probably thought about this drawing every day since I announced it. I wonder who is going to win which, what they’re going to do with it, if it’s going to make their day, if it will make them smile, if they’ll think of me when they use it, if it will encourage them to pass along the nice gesture. Finally, the day has come to decide. Honestly, I was too excited to draw the names myself! I had to have help!

And now, the moment you’ve all been waiting for, our winners!!!

The first prize, a small-sized Zippy Strippy from Atkinson Designs, a perfect bag for many things, goes to … VANESSA DORAN! Congratulations!!!

The second prize, a small-sized Cash and Carry also from Atkinson Designs, great for (surprise) cash, credit cards, iPods, change and whatever else you can cram in there, goes to … CATHERINE CROCKER! Go you!!!

The third prize, a magical abyss of whatever the hell you want with $5 off, goes to … APRIL ALIX! Bamo!!!

Thank you EVERYONE (not just the winners) for reading my totally nerdy, but also fun blog! Answering to you all keeps me sewing when the sewing gets tough. Thank you for your support.

Now, for the non-winners (oh, ok, the winners too): I really liked this. It was fun. And I’m going to do it again. But bigger. And better. Keep following. Start commenting. Stay tuned.

Good Fortune could be coming your way …

Playing Catch-Up

It’s a fun game.

I have a table in my room where I pile up fabric, organized into projects and assorted by due dates. That table is overflowing! The table has exploded onto the floor around it and things are in quite a mess. While I was immersed in the applique of the Stitchin’ Addiction quilt top, my fabric staged a coup!

I finished the quilt top earlier this week. It was more of a relief than a feeling of excitement. Although, every time I look at it, I swell with pride. It was far more challenging than I had anticipated, but I stuck to it and I finished it. I can’t wait to quilt it and bind it and see it hanging on my mom’s wall. It’s stunning for sure. It’s almost shocking to think that I made it all myself!

Of course, in my time sewing the Stitchin’ Addiction, other projects piled up … and piled up! I’ve spent the better part of the week tackling what I could, desperately trying to fit everything back on that table. I have quilts, blankets, tote bags all over the place. I’m slowly tackling them little by little, but for each project finished, two more appear. This week, instead of sitting at my computer telling you about the things I love, I’ve been sitting at my machine making them.

The good news is I love being busy.

Take a Risk

It’s good for you.

My mother is a quilter. She makes her quilts to be timeless expressions of a person. She rarely buys what one would classify as risky fabric – modern, batiks, kaffe fassetts, etc.

When I first started quilting, I followed in her footsteps, because that’s all I knew. Like hers, my projects were never dated by fabric prints. I only chose fabric that was unclassified by date. Everything in my early days of sewing would be difficult to link to a certain year or season just by looking at the fabric. Of course, being the risky sewer that I am (I don’t use a scant ¼” in quilting!! Gasp!), this was all bound to change.

I promised my dear boyfriend, Scott, a quilt. I believe I told him that I would make him anything he wanted. He mulled it over for weeks before finally settling on the most challenging project I had undertaken at that time in my life as a sewer: my first quilt pattern, a mariner’s compass. There were no patterns out there to satisfy his request – a sailing-themed quilt with a 50” centered mariner’s compass surrounded by yacht club burgees and nautical blocks. It seemed impossible, but I carried on. My mother gave me a rough lesson on paper-piecing. I sketched out a compass myself (it requires far more math than I had prepared myself for). I used poster board to draw templates for the compass and the burgee blocks (both were paper-pieced). I used a lightweight tracing paper to trace the templates for sewing. Then I bought fabric. I bought the fabric with Scott, because it was his quilt after all.

You should know that I pre-wash everything. It’s a gift, and a curse. While I was gathering the fabric to pre-wash, I noticed that Scott and I had accidentally purchased a batik for part of the two-toned blue star. I was devastated. I called my mom and she told me to throw it out and buy something else! I decided to wash it, look at it some more and then make a decision. The more I looked at it, the more I loved it. It remained as a beautiful compliment to the quilt that broke me out of my comfort zone.

Since then, I’ve taken fabric risks. I buy kaffe. I could live in the batik section of my favorite quilt shop. I collect modern. I love to be the first cut off the bolt. For me, quilting is an artistic expression of a moment. I want that moment to be dated. I want you to look at your quilt and remember the summer of 2011 when Terrain made its debut. Because that was the year you got married, or had your first child, became a grandparent, got accepted into a Master’s program. That was the year you did something so remarkable, you wanted it sewn into memory. And that’s what I want you to remember: your birthday, our friendship, your life-changing event.

So, do something risky. It makes a difference.

Patience from (and for) Sisters

It’s a virtue, you know.

I sort of glazed over my faltering of faith in my own skill. I feel like I owe it to you (and maybe myself) to explain in more detail. I have no patience. That may be a stretch of the truth. I have a wee, tiny, little bit of patience and I almost always misplace it. Now I’d like to take a moment to say words that my dear aunt will relish in forever: You were right, Aunt Debbie. Patience is a virtue!

My lack of patience and my misappropriation of the virtue are almost always my pitfalls in everything that I do. Take, for example, Amy Butler’s phenomenal pattern “Everything Wristlet.” The woman literally writes the words “Be patient and go slowly, and you will get great results.” When I read those horrid words I thought I would never finish that wristlet, and, frankly, my first one looked like shit. My second one looked like shit. My third one looked like my sister had sewn it (for those of you who don’t know, Heather is an accomplished perfectionist, she doesn’t let mistakes hold her back because she just doesn’t make mistakes). Heather is patient with her sewing. She never rushes. Ever. To her, nothing is so time-critical that she should risk making an error. I am her complete opposite. To me, nothing is so worthy of perfection that I should risk late delivery. I can hide my mistakes.

That is the exact reason I prepare months ahead of time for every birthday and every holiday. For this her birthday in August, I’ve made my boyfriend’s sister the Everything Wristlet. It’s stunning. Maybe my best work yet. The red and black print was the first cut off the bolt. It is both classy and modern. I was patient when I made it. I sewed slowly. And the end achieved was utter perfection. In fact, on two separate occasions, I’ve wondered how rude it would be to borrow it for an evening. Or just keep it for myself and make her something different. Or make myself an identical one.

I will probably not do any of those things, although the last is very tempting. The bottom line is I know I should be patient. And I know when I’m patient, my sewing rocks. But sometimes I’m so results-driven I forget that. And that happens to be the case with this Stitchin’ Addiction quilt. So I took a little break, made some cute things for you, mustered my patience and sat back down. I took it one color at a time, one block at a time, one Resees’ break at a time, and I got it done. It is challenging, no doubt, but I’m working through it. Slowly and patiently.

I hope you’re proud, Aunt Deb.