Herringbone Quilt – Work In Progress

This past March the Montreal Modern Quilt Guild held their latest sew-in. We’re currently making baby quilts for the École Rosalie-Jetté, a secondary school welcoming teenage mothers and their babies. All of the fabric has been donated, we sew it up into quilts and the school distributes the quilts to some deserving young mums.

I have been away from the blog for much too long. Unfortunately, a little family emergency has kept me mighty busy. Everything seems to be pretty much back to normal now, but of course there has been no time for any sewing. So instead I thought I’d share a work in progress (WIP).

This past March the Montreal Modern Quilt Guild held their latest sew-in. We’re currently making baby quilts for the École Rosalie-Jetté, a secondary school welcoming teenage mothers and their babies. All of the fabric has been donated, we sew it up into quilts and the school distributes the quilts to some deserving young mums. You can read more on the project on the MMQG website.

You may have seen this fabulous grey herringbone quilt by Erica of Craftyblossom. It’s really quite lovely.

Not knowing what fabric would be available, I thought I’d do something similar, since it uses small pieces to make half-square triangles and just requires a bit of contrast to work well.

Here are all the half-square triangles up on a design board. The blue is actually a teal colour, but I took these photos in a rush with my iPhone, and the colour is a bit off.

Herringbone quilt on the design board.
Herringbone quilt on the design board.

I’ve been working on this quilt with the very talented Cinzia Allocca of Deux Petites Souris. We only had a few hours to work, but I’m quite impressed by how much we were able to do. And I love how it’s turning out. I may have to make my own. I especially like the checks.

Half-square triangles (HST) that need to be trimmed.
Half-square triangles (HST) that need to be trimmed.

I have a big pile of half-square triangles (HST) that need to be trimmed before the next sew-in. Hopefully, we’ll finish up the rest of the quilt then. I’m so optimistic when I’m excited about a project.

A terrible photo, but at least the colour is accurate.
A terrible photo, but at least the colour is accurate.

The fabric isn’t what I would normally choose, but it’s quite liberating sewing with donated fabric since you can try pretty much anything.

Instead of sewing, today we made some Easter cookies. I know, I know, a little late. If you count the fact that I bought this cookie cutter for Easter last year and am only using it now, it’s actually a lot late. Oh well. And of course the kids are responsible for the rather (ahem) generous portion of sprinkles.

A little baking. I know these area little late.
A little baking. I know these area little late.

By the way, the Montreal Modern Quilt Guild is looking for new members. If you’re interested, you can attend our upcoming sew-in in May and see what it’s all about. Membership fees are quite low ($30 per year) and you can attend just one meeting and pay for just the one month, which comes out to about three dollars, I think. You’ll have to check with the organizers for the exact amount. I’ve been corrected! You can attend your first meeting for free (yay!) and after that, membership is pro-rated.  We alternate with a sew-in or a meeting each month and there are also some special events like workshops and lectures. You don’t have to be an expert (I’m on my fourth and fifth quilts) and I even saw people sewing (gasp!) clothing at the last sew-in. It’s all very friendly and laid back.

More Family Patterns

I hope you had a good Easter. Mine was great. This year, the Easter bunny brought me vintage patterns! They are so much more exciting than chocolate and last longer too. Let’s take a look.

Look at all those new patterns!
Look at all those new patterns!

I know! Soooo many patterns.

A little while ago I posted an article on a bunch of patterns that my mother gave me. Well, my husband’s aunt saw the article and thought I might like her old patterns too. So generous!

I can’t show them all, so here are the ones I’m most likely to sew.

Patterns
The blouse is Style 3351 from 1981. Next is a bias skirt, McCalls 3296, from 2001. Finally Simplicity 7254 from 1975, an apron.

There is a nice blouse (Style 3351) from the early 1980s, but it’s got 1970s styling. There is McCall’s 3296, which is a bias-cut skirt. There is also a fishtail version, but I think I’ll stick with the classic a-line skirt. Another good one is Simplicity 7254, an apron from 1975. I can’t believe I have no apron patterns at all, and yet I am in need of an apron.

Patterns
This is McCalls 5861, from 1992: jacket, tank dress or top, skirt & pants or shorts.

This is another one that looks nice. McCall’s 5861, from 1992 includes a tank top and dress with Made-For-You A-B-C-D cup sizing. I think it might make a nice summer dress.

Patterns
Simplicity 7412, from 1976: child’s dress and capelet. A French jumper pattern from Modes et Travaux. Simplicity 1434; ca. 1955/56; boy’s pajamas in two lengths.

But the real gems are in the children’s patterns. Here we have Simplicity 7412, from 1976. Clearly, it’s a first communion dress, but without the capelet (and maybe a bit more length) it’s quite cute. Then there is this French pattern for a jumper by Modes et travaux. And my favourite is the boys pyjamas. They are pull-on with no buttons! My kids are pretty allergic to buttons, and this pattern has a really nice, unique neckline.

Patterns
Butterick 7602: Quick & Easy boys’ & girls’ sport shirt. Simplicity 1785 Child’s Mandarin Pajamas, robe, and matching doll coat, from the 1950s. Simplicity 4636; ca. 1962; child’s hooded jacket and pants.

And finally, these were the most unusual kids’ patterns. I’m not sure I’ll be sewing them, but the 1950s styling is interesting. First there is   Butterick 7602, a pull-on shirt. I’ve never seen a shirt with this type of neckline. Next is  Simplicity 1785,  a child’s mandarin pyjamas and robe. So 1950s! And finally a ski suit: Simplicity 4636.

A big thank you to both the Easter bunny and my husband’s aunt (name omitted to protect her from the notoriety of sewing blog fame )!

Whale Watching

Whale Sandbox Shorts
Whale Sandbox Shorts

There is still snow on the ground here in Montreal, but I was in the mood for some spring sewing so I whipped up these shorts for my son.

Whale Sandbox Shorts and Bucket Hat
Whale Sandbox Shorts and Bucket Hat

The pattern I used was the Sandbox Pants by Oliver + S, which I’ve made before. The hat is the matching Reversible Bucket Hat that I’ve blogged about previously.

The pattern is very easy to follow. The only changes I made were to switch an elastic waistband for the drawstring waist in the pattern, and turn the pants into shorts. These fit a little large, but by the time it’s really summer, they should be just right.

Whale Sandbox Shorts Pocket
Whale Sandbox Shorts Pocket. Check out that top stitching.

I love those whales! Check out those matched up pockets and that top stitching.

Whale Sandbox Shorts Pocket
Whale Sandbox Shorts Pocket. Check out that whale matching.

All the fabric was from my stash. The whale print is left over from my whale quilt. I’ve already used the pattern a few times. Even the elastic came from my stash. That brings the cost of these shorts to $0! Not bad.

For my older girls I had made spring dresses a while ago. But since I hadn’t blogged about them, I thought I would do that now. These are both the Ice Cream Dress by Oliver + S.

Cat Ice Cream Dress
Cat Ice Cream Dress

This pattern is really a dream to sew. There are almost no seams to finish, it’s very quick to sew, and there is a lot of room for creativity in fabric choices. My kids love these dresses!

The fabrics are Red Ladybugs and Liquorice cats by Ann Kelle.

Ladybug Ice Cream Dress
Ladybug Ice Cream Dress

Three spring outfits ready for the snow to melt. THis post is linked up with Make It, Wear It.

Oliver + S Spring Outfits
Oliver + S Spring Outfits

Summary 1

Pattern Review: Sandbox Pants by Oliver + S.

Fabric: Bright Whales by Ann Kelle from Urban Zoologie (Robert Kaufman).

Size: 5.

Sewing Level: Intermediate.

Modifications: I changed the waist from a drawstring to an elastic waist, and left off the buttons on the back pockets.

Results: Great. I would recommend this pattern and will definitely make it again.

 

Summary 2

Pattern Review: Ice Cream Dress by Oliver + S.

Fabrics:

Red Ladybugs by Ann Kelle from Urban Zoologie (Robert Kaufman).
Kona Red
Liquorice Cats by Ann Kelle from Urban Zoologie (Robert Kaufman).

Sizes: 3T, 5.

Sewing Level: Beginner.

Modifications: none.

Results: Great. I would recommend this pattern and will definitely make it again.

Fabric Giveaway Winner

I am very happy to announce the winner of the Fabric Giveaway from Double Decker Fabric.

Dorienne of Double Decker Fabric generously provided a collection of 5 fat quarters from the new Safari Soirée collection by Birch Fabrics.

Double Decker Fabrics Give Away Prize
The winner of the Double Decker Fabrics Give Away Prize wins 5 fat quarters from the Safari Soirée collection by Birch Fabrics.

I chose a winner at random using http://www.randomizer.org, and the winner is (drumroll please) comment #11 (not including replies and such).

The winner was Jen and here is the comment she left.

Great fabrics! I’m always on the lookout for cute boy fabrics! This would make a great baby quilt! Yay for Canadian retailers!

I couldn’t agree more about Canadian retailers.

Congratulations Jen! I hope you enjoy making a baby quilt with these great fabrics.

Montreal Sewing Meetup? Who’s in?

fabric
Quilting Cotton

I was reading all about the recent Toronto Sewing Blogger Meetup and I thought, we should do that in Montreal! Who’s in?

I was thinking it would be nice to meet on a Saturday afternoon, grab coffee around 1 p.m and hit the fabric shops on Saint-Hubert: Effiloché, Couture-Elle, Rubans, Boutons and more (or less, if everyone finds what they need right away). Montreal has some great fabric shops, but there is so much to choose from that it can be overwhelming, at least for me. I need a second opinion. That could be you!

But when? My schedule is just crazy, but the following dates would work. Do you have a preference? Let me know in the comments, or contact me directly.

  • April 20
  • May 18
  • May 25

I know some would prefer a Sunday, but most of the shops are closed that day.

And of course, out-of-towners are welcome and having a blog is entirely optional. If you are worried about language, don’t. All the shop clerks will speak both English and French.

Si vous êtes francophone, soyez la bienvenue. Je serai heureuse de converser avec vous dans la langue de votre choix. Je blogue surtout en anglais (question de paresse), mais je suis complètement bilingue (à part quelques coquilles ici et là).

So who’s in?

Update: The Sewing Meetup will take place on May 25. Read more here.

 

Spring Hats

Oliver + S Little Things to Sew: 20 Classic Accessories and Toys for Children
Oliver + S Little Things to Sew: 20 Classic Accessories and Toys for Children

Spring sure feels a long way off. But in (hopeful? desperate?) preparation I’ve made up a bunch of the Oliver + S bucket hats.

The pattern is from the book Oliver + S Little Things to Sew, but you can also find the pattern online for free.

I made three, in sizes Medium and Large. They are a bit big, but in a nice way.

The pattern was very easy to follow and quick to finish.

Bucket Hats in Oliver + S Little Things to Sew
Bucket Hats in Oliver + S Little Things to Sew

The only thing I changed was to use iron-in interfacing, instead of sew-in. I used Pellon 950F Shir-Tailor, and I really like the results: crisp, but not too crunchy.

Three bucket hats
Three bucket hats

I chose fabrics with a lot of contrast, and if you to do the same, choose your top stitching thread early. I did all the top stitching. The instructions say it’s optional but I think you need it to give the hat structure.

Bucket hat
Check out that top stitching!

If I were to make it again, the only thing I might change is the top stitching on the hat brim. It says to stitch concentric circles at 1/4″ intervals, but I think it might look nicer to sew in a continuous spiral.

A pile of bucket hats.
A pile of bucket hats.

The fabrics are all by Ann Kelle from her Urban Zoologie collection, and they match the lunch money cuffs I posted yesterday.

Three bucket hats
Three bucket hats

This was a great stash busting project. The yellow and whales were leftover from my Sunshine Bug Quilt and Whale Quilt. With this project and the Lunch Money Cuffs I posted yesterday, I was able to use up all my red and yellow solids, and almost all of the cute animal prints.  There might be enough fabric left for a small zip bag for each kid. We’ll see. Me and Anne Kelle might need to take a little break now.

No one felt like cooperating for a photo session today, so you only get photos of hats. Maybe next time.

A stack of bucket hats.
A stack of bucket hats.

Summary

Pattern Review: Bucket Hats from the book Oliver + S Little Things to Sew.

Fabric:

Bright Whales by Ann Kelle from Urban Zoologie (Robert Kaufman).
Kona Corn Yellow
Red Ladybugs by Ann Kelle from Urban Zoologie (Robert Kaufman).
Kona Red
Liquorice Cats by Ann Kelle from Urban Zoologie (Robert Kaufman).
Free Spirit Designer Solid in Pink

Sewing Level: Beginner.

Modifications: None.

Results: Great. I would recommend this pattern and plan to make more.

Ladybug bucket hat
Ladybug bucket hat

Note: This post contains affiliate links.

Lunch Money Cuffs

Kid No 1 needed to bring money to school for a bake sale fundraiser. But she’s a bit young for a wallet or purse, and doesn’t always have pockets for change. What to do? This is the latest project I made for the kids.

Three cuffs ready for wrists.
Three cuffs ready for wrists.

These are the Lunch Money Cuff, which I made following Christie’s tutorial over on a Lemon Squeezy Home. It’s a nice easy tutorial and I whipped up three cuffs in an evening.

All three cuffs.
All three cuffs.

I’d love to call this stash busting, but it’s more like scrap busting. Each cuff only takes four 8.5” x 3” pieces of fabric. It’s a miracle I had even that much.

This is the Anne Kelle ladybug fabric.
This is the Anne Kelle ladybug fabric. Sorry for the bad photo.

The fabrics are all by Anne Kelle and were leftovers from some other projects. The whales were from my Whale quilt. The yellow was from my Sunshine Bug quilt. The ladybugs and cats were from a couple of Oliver + S Ice Cream Dresses I made a while ago. The velcro is the heavy-duty variety and left over from Halloween costumes. All I had to buy were the zippers.

Two cuffs in whales and ladybugs.
Two cuffs in whales and ladybugs.

With this project and another that I have cut, but not assembled, I managed to use up all of my Kona Red and Corn Yellow, and most of the two red prints. I thought I had used up all the whales as well, but then I organized my quilting fabric and found a bit more. Oops!

I didn’t make any modifications to the pattern. The tutorial says the cuffs are the right size for kids aged five and seven. It’s a bit loose on my two-year-old, but then she also won’t have any money in hers. Still it’s fun to have the same thing the bigger kids have.

Mini cuff. This one probably won't get any money in it for a couple of years.
Mini cuff. This one probably won’t get any money in it for a couple of years.

Summary

Tutorial Review: Lunch Money Cuff by A Lemon Squeezy Home.

Fabric:

  • Bright Whales by Ann Kelle from Urban Zoologie (Robert Kaufman).
  • Kona Corn Yellow
  • Red Ladybugs by Ann Kelle from Urban Zoologie (Robert Kaufman).
  • Kona Red
  • Liquorice Cats by Ann Kelle from Urban Zoologie (Robert Kaufman).

Sewing Level: Beginner.

Modifications: None.

Results: Great. I would recommend this tutorial.

This project is linked up at Make It, Wear It.

Presents!

Look what arrived in the mail! Double Decker Fabric is a new Canadian online fabric boutique and they just sent me this beautiful gift.

A gift from Double Decker Fabric.
A gift from Double Decker Fabric.

These fabrics are as follows:

At least I think the last one is Turks & Caicos. There are a couple solids in similar colours on the website.

It’s just in time for Easter and the colours just scream spring. It’s perfect timing as well. I bought some small toys for the kids for Easter – we don’t like giving too many treats. Now there is something for me from the Easter bunny too. Fun!

Now what to make… Zip bags? Something for the baby? The diamonds would make some pretty spectacular quilt binding. I’m going to have to think about this.

A big thank you to Dorienne at Double Decker Fabric!

And if you haven’t seen it yet, there is a fabric giveaway from Double Decker Fabric here on my blog. It’s not too late to enter!

Fabric Giveaway from Double Decker Fabric

Just recently, the very friendly Dorienne of Double Decker Fabric contacted me asking if I’d like to host a fabric giveaway for my readers. Would I ever!

Double Decker Fabric is a Canadian online business that Dorienne runs near the Rocky Mountains of Alberta. She has some very nice quilting cottons in gorgeous bright colours. These are great for modern quilting but would also work really well for craft projects and kids’ clothing. She has some fun prints but also solids and geometrics. Overall, a really nice, modern selection.

Double Decker Fabrics Screenshot
Double Decker carries lots of bright, colourful, modern fabric.

It’s so exciting to see some more modern quilting fabrics available in Canada! No?

The Give Away

The Prize
Dorienne has generously provided the following collection of 5 fat quarters. These are from the new Safari Soirée collection by Birch Fabrics and are all 100% organic! (I love organic fabrics.)

Double Decker Fabrics Give Away Prize
The winner of the Double Decker Fabrics Give Away Prize will win 5 fat quarters from the Safari Soirée collection by Birch Fabrics.

How to Enter
All you need to do, is leave a comment on this blog post letting me know what you would do with the fabric if you won.

The Rules
I’ll pick one winner at random, and Dorienne will send the winner the Safari Soirée fat quarters. Please make sure you leave a valid email address when you comment so that I can get in touch with you, if you win.

The contest closes on April 2nd, 2013 at 12pm (noon) EST.

I’ll announce the winner here on my blog.

So, what would you do with these fun fabrics? Let me know in the comments.

Note: I will be sharing the email address of the winner only with Double Decker Fabrics for the sole purpose of getting their prize delivered. No other email addresses will be shared. 

Sunshine Bug Quilt

I think I probably started this quilt in the depth of winter last year. That probably explains why I chose such bright, colourful, sunny fabrics. So it’s fitting that I finished it yesterday, the day after another big snowstorm.

Sunshine Bug Quilt
Sunshine Bug Quilt.
Sunshine Bug Quilt
Sunshine Bug Quilt – folded.
Sunshine Bug Quilt
Sunshine Bug Quilt – folded.

This is a stacked coins quilt. It was quite quick to piece the front.

I didn’t piece the back this time, but used a single piece of Tangerine Dots from Anne Kelle’s Remix collection. It’s a baby quilt, though it would also fit on a toddler bed, so it’s small enough for a single piece of backing fabric.

Sunshine Bug Quilt
Sunshine Bug Quilt – back with Tangerine Dots from the Remix collection.

For the quilting, I just did some straight line quilting, but it is quite dense over the white sashing.

Sunshine Bug Quilt
Sunshine Bug Quilt – front detail.
Sunshine Bug Quilt
Sunshine Bug Quilt – quilting detail.

Again, I followed the tutorial by Red Pepper quilts on machine stitched binding. The binding is entirely machine stitched. I save quite a bit of time this way.

So far this quilt has no home. I didn’t have anyone in mind when I started it. Of course that’s probably a good thing, because they would have been waiting a long time for me to finish.

My toddler has already refused it. She wants a quilt with birds instead. I’m working on that. Even though she doesn’t like it, I like it a lot. I really like the sunny colours.

I didn’t use a pattern for this quilt – it’s quite a simple design. But if you are a beginner looking for a pattern, there’s one that is very similar in the Moda Bake Shop called the Stacked Coins Baby Quilt. This project is linked up with Finish It Up Friday.

Sunshine Bug Quilt

Quilt block: Stacked Coins

Size: 36 by 43.5 inches

Fabrics:
Sashing and binding: Kona White
Orange stacked coins:
Deena Rutter’s Happier collection for Riley Blake Designs: Happier Floral in Orange, Happier Bugs in Orange
Kona School Bus, Papaya, and Corn Yellow
Beetle Boy by by Ellen Crimi-Trent
Spots in Taffy from Kaffe Fassett for Westminster
Stof basics fat quarter bundle in orange/yellow
Backing: Remix Tangerine Dots by Anne Kelle for Robert Kaufman
Batting: Hobbs Heirloom Cotton

Sunshine Bug Quilt
Sunshine Bug Quilt – pieced front.