KC Quilts

Test Post

noreply@blogger.com (Patrick) — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 03:01:00 +0000

And... we're back, after some technical difficulties. Hooray! I have a post started that I need to finish, but it will have to wait until there isn't a 2.5-year-old underfoot and hopped up on antibiotics that make him Crazy mood swing boy.

Curved Piecing

noreply@blogger.com (Kate) — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 01:32:00 +0000

I am currently working on a very large quilt and I'm trying a bunch of different techniques that I haven't really done before. The most obvious one is curved piecing and, I do not like it Sam I am. I do not like the templates, and the wonky way you have to manipulate the fabric, and how long it takes. But, mostly, I do not like the end result. It's just not crisp. Maybe that's because I lack skills and practice and this kind of thing, but I'm just not loving it.

The block doesn't want to lay flat and the edges aren't straight (although you can't see that with my crop). I guess I'm just a bit of a perfectionist and am unsatisfied with the lack of perfection. Not that my work is usually perfect, but I can at least usually expect consistent results. Behold the crispness of the straight seams:

Ah... that's better.

They're Breeding!

noreply@blogger.com (Kate) — Sat, 05 Apr 2008 13:02:00 +0000

It wasn't the best light for taking pictures this morning, but I just couldn't wait. We now have a grand total of five buggy guys (with no plans to make more, because I am so done with curved piecing!).

I haven't done any research yet on bean bag games we can play with them, but Simon has made up a few of his own. First is "Throw Them in a Bowl". This involves tossing them into a plastic mixing bowl. He walks right up to it, drops the bug in, and then wriggles with glee. The even more popular variant on this game is to place the bowl far, far away and then make Daddy toss the buggy guys in the bowl. Crafty kid. The other favorite game is called "Zoom... weeee!". This involves placing the bean bag on top of the coffee table and sliding it off with as much force as possible. While it is flying through the air, he yells, "Zoom! Weee!"

Baby Giftage

noreply@blogger.com (Kate) — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 01:19:00 +0000

Here is a baby quilt I recently made for a friend who is due any day now. I wanted to make sure I got it done in time, so I went with an Irish Chain and used various soft hues I found in my stash. After I pieced it together, I thought it was maybe a little too simple, so I decided that the quilting itself needed to be a little bit special.

Making the template for the heart wreath took a very long time, which was somewhat frustrating since I'm sure someone has done it before and I could have just copied it. But, I suppose this way I was able to be sure it was exactly the size I wanted. In any case, marking the quilting for this quilt took the most time of any other step along the way. I get impatient with what I perceive to be wasting time.

And, finally, here is a little doll quilt I made for the new big sister (2.5 years old). It is made from the same fabrics as the baby quilt. This was my first doll quilt and I love it. I love how fast it was to make and that it coordinates with the other quilt. Yay baby gifts!

Little Buggy Guy

noreply@blogger.com (Kate) — Sat, 29 Mar 2008 02:00:00 +0000

Yes, I know it's been a looooooooong time. I don't want to get into it right now, but I probably will eventually. In the meantime, I've been crafting again so I want to post while the urge is in me.

I've been working on a BIG quilt for a long time (intermittently) and it involves curved piecing. This is a big pain in my butt since I hate templates. It also results in a lot of weirdly shaped scraps. Well, I had all these half circle scraps and I thought I could make them into something fun and this little guy just appeared. The idea for this bug bean bag was totally inspired by these bunnies. I've only made the one and plan on making more, as I have lots of scraps. I think I can improve on him. He doesn't look all that buglike to me. And his legs look weird. But Simon loves him. He keeps saying, "Mommy made a little buggy guy for Simon." Now, I just have to come up with some kind of game to play with the bugs. You know, other than just throw-them-around-the-room.

Almost Time for Trick or Treating

noreply@blogger.com (Kate) — Sun, 28 Oct 2007 22:15:00 +0000

This year for Halloween Simon is going to be a spider. He is going to be a spider because we got the costume through Freecycle last year in a bag of toddler clothes and he loves it. I was a little disappointed that I wouldn't be making his costume since I had some ideas, but I really don't need more stress. So, I decided to fill my need for making him something by making him a bag to carry around for trick-or-treating purposes.

My husband was a little luke warm in his reaction to the bag. After some probing, he tells me that he doesn't like it for Simon because it "looks like a purse". I argue that it is in fact a tote bag and there is nothing girly about it. According to his logic if it is quilted, then it is a purse.

I finished this bag over a week ago and have been meaning to post about it all this time. But, I ended up going to NY to visit family for a short week and after we returned it rained for four days. We definitely needed the rain, but it did not make for good photo taking opportunities. I haven't been working on anything else lately, except for making my list of Christmas gifts I need to make. I told my husband that I wasn't going to make as many gifts this year, but my list is perilously long and I'm afraid I'm going to have to cross some things off. I'll keep you posted.

70 Days until Christmas!!!

noreply@blogger.com (Kate) — Wed, 17 Oct 2007 18:10:00 +0000

Last night I started stressing out when I realized that Christmas was almost two months away and I had many more projects on my list than I previously thought. In order to put things in perspective, I procrastinated from all my Christmas projects and rifled through my stash for Halloween-type fabrics.

I love making things entirely from the stash. I know it's not really free, as I paid for it at one time, but it sure feels like making something for free. And, truth be told, I do have a lot of things that actually were free. So, yay for bargains, yay for Halloween, and yay for procrastination!

The Camera is Back!!

noreply@blogger.com (Kate) — Mon, 15 Oct 2007 18:26:00 +0000

Yay for the return of the camera! Now I can take pictures of all the crafts I am working on. All the many, many crafts....

OK, there aren't that many (although I do have a significant number of UFO's). The problem is that the few projects I'm working on right now are REALLY big ones. The kind that take a very, very long time to complete. This makes for not so interesting blogging. I'll try to be better and post more often about my progress and other little crafty tidbits. And I'll try to take pictures more often since, you know, I have my camera back!

I like to bind my quilts by hand. It looks better, in my opinion, but takes a lot more time. However, I like sitting and sewing by hand every once in a while. It's relaxing and gives you something to do while you watch Ugly Betty. I usually pin the binding down, but have seen people clip it with hair barrettes. I don't have hair barrettes, but had a burst of inspiration when I remembered these itty bitty binder clips. They are just the perfect size and work wonderfully. And now my husband doesn't have to harass me about losing pins in the couch, carpet, etc.

This project, by the way, is a test I did for Pink Chalk Studio's latest pattern - to be released soon! I can't tell you what it is or show you what it looks like, but I can tell you that it's awesome and Kathy writes some very easy-to-follow directions. Stay tuned!!

Thank You Cards

noreply@blogger.com (Kate) — Sat, 06 Oct 2007 12:59:00 +0000

Last weekend was Simon's big two-year-old birthday bash and a good time was had by all. Simon managed to squeeze the fun in between a cold and an ear infection. Good timing, buddy!

I felt rather silly writing all of his thank you notes, as he is the one who is supposed to be expressing thanks. Of course, he can't write yet (or even dictate), but I felt that he needed to somehow be involved in the process. So, I brought out the crayons and had him go to town by making the illustrations on the front of the cards. Unfortunately, he is not as into the crayons as he is chalk, and it took three days to make eight cards. At least it's done.

And a big thanks goes out to my in-laws for the use of their camera, as mine is still in the shop.

Place Mats and Life

noreply@blogger.com (Kate) — Sat, 22 Sep 2007 12:52:00 +0000

I made these place mats a while ago and just couldn't muster up the will to blog about them. Life has been a little overwhelming lately and crafting has definitely taken a back burner. I've had to turn down more than one custom order, so I've decided to take down the business end of this site so I don't have to turn down anyone else. I want to focus on crafting for the fun of it and, hopefully, find more time as a result. I'll still be around, although now my camera is broken and won't make a return for 4-6 weeks, so who knows when I'll be able to take any pictures. Hopefully we'll be able to borrow someone else's in the meantime. Especially since Simon's birthday is next weekend!

It's Not Cold Outside, but I'm Making Scarves!

noreply@blogger.com (Kate) — Tue, 11 Sep 2007 19:16:00 +0000

These scarves were made using the directions from this post on Sew, Mama, Sew. I just loved the patchy-ness of the scarf and the hand embroidery so much that I ended up making two of them when I only planned on making one! The red and blue one is for Simon and is backed with the same microfleece that his favorite stuffed animal was made from. The leafy autumnal scarf is adult sized and, although I want to keep it for myself, it is for a relative of mine I will not name lest she actually find her way to my blog. It is backed with corduroy and has polyester quilt batting on the inside for extra warmth.

When I tried to put the scarf on Simon so I could take a picture, we screamed at me and yelled, "OFF! OFF!". I don't know what about the scarf is so threatening and tried my best to plead with him. I showed him how harmless it was by trying it on myself and then finally using a stand-in model:

Let me tell you, trying to take a picture of a dog is only slightly easier than trying to take a picture of a two-year-old. Anyway, Simon didn't fall for my make-the-dog-wear-it trick, but I did manage to snatch a picture of him in it the next day (even though he kept crying because he wanted to look at all the pictures in the camera and I wouldn't let him. Sigh.)

Yeah, this was the best that I could do. And that blurry thing on the end of his arm is an ice pop (I know, it goes well with the scarf), but taking it away from him would have meant extreme disaster. Not to worry, there is no chance of the ice pop staining the scarf - it's made with water only. A true ice pop. He loves them, so who am I to argue?

WIP Friday

noreply@blogger.com (Kate) — Fri, 07 Sep 2007 16:41:00 +0000

Right now Simon is loving "choo choo trains", which works for me because I am loving this fabric. Also, I was really wanting to just relax and do some hand embroidery. So sweet.

This is going to be a baby quilt. Probably. I had lots of strips left over from another project and I just can't resist the log cabin. So scrappy. So linear. So lovely.

Birthday Presents

noreply@blogger.com (Kate) — Tue, 28 Aug 2007 01:26:00 +0000

Simon recently attended two birthdays for two little girls who were turning... TWO! They each received a homemade little outfit. Because I have no girl of my own and am utterly lacking in ruffles and flowers and beautiful girlie clothing.

I got the pattern for the tops from Just Tutes. It was super easy to make, but I had a hard time figuring out the measurements. I'm thinking I'm a little slow. The skirts were made from the directions for the Swing Your Partner skirt in Sew What! Skirts. I love that book! I was able to take basic directions for a skirt and make it in any size I wanted. No patterns. I hate pattern pieces. This is brilliant!

Thank Goodness For the Weekend!

noreply@blogger.com (Kate) — Sat, 11 Aug 2007 13:27:00 +0000

I've said it before and I'll say it again. I don't know how all the Mommy bloggers out there manage to get such beautiful pictures of their crafts on a consistent basis. I like taking pictures of my projects in the morning hours when the light is less harsh. Honestly though, I'll often settle for any daylight at all. And, still, most of my pictures end up looking something like this:

But - Hallelujah! - it's the weekend and I was able to take some baby-free pictures. Even if it's still taking me all day to write the blog post due to various weekend activities.

This is a quilted wall hanging I made for a friend featuring the hand prints of her three nephews. She was given the hand prints as a gift from her brother's family and asked me to make it into something for her wall, giving me complete creative freedom. It was rather daunting at first, leaving me to think about it for a long time, but I had SO much fun with it once I got started.

I decided upon something fun and whimsical in terms of colors and then decided to make the piecing fun as well. I used Pink Chalk Studio's Wavy Seams Tutorial to create all the fantastic curves. The tutorial turned out to be super easy and the results were fantastic. I love this method and can't wait to try it again on future projects.

Once I finished the piecing, I had a hard time deciding on a quilting pattern. I thought about doing free motion loop-de-loops, but that just didn't seem right to me and I ended up using my walking foot to shadow the curves in the blocks. It looks pretty snazzy. I'm loving the curves.

Apron For Mom

noreply@blogger.com (Kate) — Wed, 08 Aug 2007 00:05:00 +0000

Yes, I'm still alive after a month of no blogging. I didn't mean for it to get away from me like that. First, there was a trip to New York. Then, there was a series of birthday gifts that I couldn't blog about lest the recipients see them. Next came Harry Potter and fear of the internet and spoilers. And, finally, came procrastination (my old friend). Well, I'm back and can put all that behind me!

This past weekend was my mom's birthday, and she had requested an apron since she doesn't have one. I just loved the pattern in Lotta Jansdotter's Simple Sewing , so I made one up for her. I decided against fancifying it up with appliqué and embroidery, because that's just not my mom's thing. But now I want to make another one and do it right. Hmm, who do I know that needs an apron???

New Diaper Bag For Me!

noreply@blogger.com (Kate) — Sat, 07 Jul 2007 20:29:00 +0000

I've been wanting a new diaper bag for a while and I bought this pattern from Craft Apple as soon as it was available, but I only just now got around to making it. Since I have such a large fabric stash right now, I made a point of not buying fabric from this bag and using a panel-type fabric that my sister sent me earlier in the year. It's kind of canvas-y and she found it in a hospital craft room where it has lived for an indeterminable amount of time. I'm not good at placing fabric unless it's from the 1930's, so I have no idea how old this is. Maybe the 70's?? Anyway, I love the fabric, but if I bought some new instead of shopping from my stash, I would have chosen something way more subtle.

As for the diaper bag pattern itself, I was very happy. I love how stiff the bag is and how it can totally stand up by itself. And I love the sippy cup pocket on the side. However, if I ever make the bag again (and I want to, but have so many other things to make!) I would customize the interior pockets more to my liking. But, that's just a personal preference thing and the pockets work very well as they are. The pattern is clearly not for beginners. I would have had a really tough time if I had never made a bag before. But I have made several bags, and was able to figure out the directions after some thought. There was no seam ripping involved. That makes me happy. And so does my new bag!

Enter the Quilts!

noreply@blogger.com (Kate) — Tue, 26 Jun 2007 17:35:00 +0000

And I've finally been able to devote some real time to sewing lately and made two quilts. The first one is a crib quilt for a former co-worker. She needed a gift for a family member and I provided:

If you've been reading this blog for a while, you might think that this quilt looks awfully familiar, and you'd be correct. I came up with this pattern back in September and haven't tried making it since. I was very lazy with my directions. There weren't so much directions as a diagram, but I was able to follow it with no problems at all. As you can imagine, this has not given me much motivation for now writing more detailed instructions.

This next quilt is a lap quilt for a friend's mother who has undergone some life-changing surgery:

It is an amalgamation of a traditional rail fence block and the "Scrap strips" method that Amy on Happythings described back in May. I was able to make this entirely out of my stash by using the scrap method. Instead of making one long string, I made three long strings: one in dark purple, light purple, and bright yellow. Then I sewed the strips together and made them into the blocks you see in the above quilt. It doesn't look nearly as scrappy in the picture as it is in real life, so you'll have to trust me on this one. I'm really happy with how it came out. It certainly looks cheerful, and that was what I was going for. Hooray for complimentary colors!

Oh How Fabulous!

noreply@blogger.com (Kate) — Fri, 22 Jun 2007 15:54:00 +0000

This is the tunic I made by adjusting the pattern that I used to make this original tunic. I made it less low cut, made the sleeves a bit narrower, added a couple of inches to its width, and lowered the neck in the back. I LOVE how it came out and would make myself a couple more if I did not already have a list of at least twenty things that I plan to make. And the list grows every day! I have to get to work.

Patchy Quilt

noreply@blogger.com (Kate) — Thu, 14 Jun 2007 17:41:00 +0000

Last September, I started saving 3" squares of fabric as I worked on my many and various projects. My collection has been growing throughout the year and seemed very large by now, so I decided to make them into a lap quilt for my newly decorated living room. In sewing them together, I have discovered a few things.

1. I use more blue fabric than any other color. A significant amount of my fabric squares were some shade of blue. More than twice as much as any other color.

2. I hardly use any yellow. Why is that?

3. I only have half the number of squares I need to make a decent size lap quilt. ACK! My pile seemed so large and I was so excited to make them into a quilt. I love all of the little bits of fabric and reminiscing about the projects each was used for. Now I have to start collecting all over again!!!

This Hat Actually Fits

noreply@blogger.com (Kate) — Tue, 12 Jun 2007 17:04:00 +0000

I adjusted the hat pattern a little so that it's not so tight and the brim is a bit shorter. Now, I can see while I walk!
I also made another shirt and a new skirt for me (all the clothes!!), but my camera batteries are charging right now so pictures will have to wait.

Trying to Get Serious About Getting to Work

noreply@blogger.com (Kate) — Tue, 05 Jun 2007 01:51:00 +0000

I've been meaning to try my hand at making my own clothing for a while now. I have a few patterns to work with and loads of fabric piles to work from. It seems that many friends and relatives decide to use me as a way to rid themselves of their unwanted stash. I love all of the free fabric, but I am quickly running out of space to store it all. So, I need to use it up and at the moment I'm focusing on clothing.

This tunic is from Simplicity 3927, the "It's So Easy" line. I figured that easier was better for my first attempt at a shirt, although the zipper did make me nervous. While sewing the actual top was as easy as advertised, getting it to actually fit me was not so easy. I took my measurements and chose my size based on those, but ended up with way too much space in the bust area and not much breathing room. Apparently, this pattern was made for really skinny people with large boobs. Since I don't fall into this category of body types, I took out the side seams and added panels so that the waist actually fit. Then I added darts to the side to make the bust fit better and took up the shoulders a little. Even with all that, I'm not entirely happy with the results. It's too low cut for me to be comfortable wearing it and there is still too much room around the arms and shoulders (I know, it doesn't look too low cut in the picture. But trust me, when I sit down there is some serious danger of my bra showing itself off). I think I may give it another go by redrafting the pattern pieces with some modifications of my own. Something tells me this is a lot harder in practice than it is in my head.

In other sewing news, I recently bought my very own copy of Lotta Jansdotter's Simple Sewing and immediately made this lovely, floppy, sun hat. It's actually a little tight and the flops make it so I can't really see unless I'm looking straight down. So, it's great for reading a book while lounging on the beach, but not so great for taking walks along that same beach. I've decided to give this hat to my sister, She loves hats and has a smaller head than me. And, I've already started on a new one for me with a slightly narrower brim and, hopefully, a better fit around my big, fat head.

Your Eyes are Not Playing Tricks on You

noreply@blogger.com (Kate) — Thu, 24 May 2007 17:07:00 +0000

If these pants look familiar to you, it's because they are the same jeans that I altered back in January of this year. I made them a little too small at the time and now that it's May they were WAY too small. So, I added a few inches in the form of a red, corduroy cuff. I think they may be even cuter than before. I briefly toyed around with the idea of embroidering a little design on the denim, but thought that might be overkill. Besides, it would take up time that could otherwise be spent cleaning out my sewing room. It has reached critical mass once again.

T-Shirt Quilt Completed!

noreply@blogger.com (Kate) — Wed, 23 May 2007 00:18:00 +0000

The quilt was so heavy and bulky that I decided to go with straight-line quilting rather than a meandering pattern. I'm very happy with the results and very glad to be done with this project. I have a whole list of things I want to make and just need to find the motivation to actually tackle them. I seem to be having some problems with procrastination lately. Maybe I need to take a break. Or, maybe I just need to suck it up and get to work.

I've been trying to get back into the groove of listening to books on CD while I sew, but I haven't had much luck with the books I've taken out of the library. I can't listen to anything that requires a lot of attention, as my attention needs to be focused on my work. Young adult books work pretty well for this and I've listened to Harry Potter many times. But even Harry Potter gets old after a while. I'll let you know if I find anything that works.

The Three Bears

noreply@blogger.com (Kate) — Sat, 12 May 2007 12:38:00 +0000

Goldilocks is nowhere to be found, but these bears don't miss her at all. Using t-shirt material to make stuffed animals is a little tricky, but its doable and makes them extra squishy. Oh, the squishiness!

Baby Quilt!

noreply@blogger.com (Kate) — Wed, 09 May 2007 15:36:00 +0000

I made this quilt in less than a week. It's very simple, but I kind of love it. I love the bright cheery fabrics, and I love green, and I love the circles. But mostly, I love that I actually got it done. Some friends of mine recently had their third baby (a boy) and since I had made quilts for their first two children, I couldn't neglect the third. I needed to make something fast since I was short on time and still need to finish a big project (I'm nearing the finish line on that one!). This was a great quilt because I didn't plan much out in advance and didn't need to worry about measurements very much. I may be making a lot more like this in the near future!