handmade kate

my first at thirty-nine

I finally did it.

I made my first-ever quilt! 

Funnily enough, I've always had sewing machines that were considered "quilting" machines, chosen because they tend to have the most basic stitches.  My first machine was a 1934 Singer featherweight (I still love sewing on that dear one!) and next was my Bernina Virtuosa 153 QE (now vacationing at my Mama's house).  Then along came this dreamy machine thanks to the folks over at The Sewing Republic. But I have to 'fess up--I've never made a real quilt.  Patchwork projects, sure, but the thought of putting together and maneuvering all of that fabric for a quilt was just too intimidating. 

Lately, I've been inspired by Erin's and Daria's wonderful loop-de-loop quilting and some gorgeous new fabric collections. So when my fabric purchase from said collections arrived and they all looked so pretty together in a bundle, I thought to myself, "please Kathryn, throw that agonizing perfectionism to the wind,  and just give the damn thing a try!"  So I did, and I put it all together in a quilt. 

I had no plan or pattern other than to base it on the Floral Columns Quilt I had seen once in Kaffe Fassett's Museum Quilts, quilted up in those wonderful loop-de-loops.  And it had to have linen in it, too.  I fought that nasty perfectionism the whole time, worried that my loops weren't all the same size.  (Thank heavens for that dandy BSR--at least the stitches were even!)  Yet when I finished each row of quilting I would hold up the quilt and think "I love this!" in spite of all of the wonky loops.  I finished hand-sewing the binding last night and I threw the whole thing in the washer with a scoop Biokleen with my fingers crossed; then a bit of magic from the dryer.  It's comfortably soft and crinkled, warm but cool, and to me, just perfect.   A project that I think I so desperately needed to coincide with my (yikes!) thirty-ninth birthday.  About time, I say.

I took these photos this afternoon, determined to get them taken in spite of a slow, chilly drizzle outside. Now I'm warm and cozy, curled up on the sofa with my new quilt, a plate of take-out from one of our favorite neighborhood restaurants, with a kitty and my laptop on my lap.  Gary and I will be watching a movie as soon as the kids go to bed. 

Thanks for letting me share my little milestones!

   

girls and boys

Taking a break from a big project to whip up a couple of burpies for some sweet new babes.  Inspiration from the lovely ones Juliette made.  I only wish I had followed her tutorial--I'm a bit worried now about how the straight stitching along the edge will hold up with all those washings!  Zig-zagging (is that a word?) along the edges makes much more sense.

*Hopefully I'll get that big project posted tomorrow--that's my goal at least!

someone's in the kitchen with Mäda

My apron tutorial is now up in the Sewing Republic's project gallery! 

It's been all things kitchen-y around here lately with Miss M.  (Making waffles and peeling hard-boiled eggs being some of her favorite things to do)  We've bought a couple of cookbooks to try out, but most importantly, we now have matching aprons!  Not wanting her to be without the most important of kitchen accessories, I came up with this variation on a half-apron.  It had to have just enough ruffle and trim for her, but could be simplified for her rather "plain-jane" Mama. 

And here's my girl modeling her new apron, looking an awful lot like this young lady:

Gustav Klimt Portrait of Eugenia (Mäda) Primavesi    

I guess the 'tween stance has been going on for generations.

Happy Mama's Day All!

 

...and receive

Look at this gorgeous bag I received from Lisa for the Bend the Rules Sewing swap!

I've already nicknamed her my "Garden Beauty Bag."  Beautiful black and green linen with flowers of sweet Liberty fabrics. And people, she has outlined them with hand stitched beads!  Between that and the cut-work leaves, it is absolutely amazing!  Take a look at her post for photos that do all the details much more justice.  This is the type of sewing and crafting I dream of being able to do.  Lisa, I adore my new bag!  Thank you so much!

to give...

I finished up my Pleated Beauty bag last night for the Bend the Rules Sewing Swap, and it's off to Nancy in London today.   As soon as I saw her blog, The Philosophy of Lists , I knew I had to pull out some of my most-favorite-ever fabric. Her photos have such lush lighting--most are outdoor shots--and the green of England is ever-present and oh-so-pretty!  All those greens and browns brought to mind this fabric:

I hope she likes the combo--Tina Givens ZaZu in earth and lime and a smidgen of Joelle Hoverson's Cake Rock Beach, lined in my favorite linen for a bit more sturdiness.      

I hope you enjoy the bag as much as I enjoyed making it for you, Nancy!

And on a totally un-related note, I was thrilled to read that she has some "in-town" chickens, too!  (I've got to write to you about that Nancy!) I'm still working on the husband, trying to get him to go for our own backyard flock.  Just ask him how much I love saying "chicken tractor"! 

arriving this week

Durant Nature Park

itty bitty

I finished my Itty Bitty Bag this weekend, gaining a bit more confidence using the BSR on the Aurora.  Click on the photo to see my first-ever "official" free motion quilting!  I even purchased a pair of quilting gloves to "gear-up" properly.  Hardly necessary for quilting on a 9" x 12" piece of fabric, but never the less, I was prepared! 

Karen West is a local celebrity (or to me at least!), teaching at one of my favorite fabric shops, so I'm glad I finally gave one of her patterns a try.  But I do think I made the pattern much harder than necessary (can anyone say "adult ADD"?). I had the hardest time keeping up.  The pattern really wasn't very difficult, but it did require that you take it one step at a time.  I guess my focus was a bit off this weekend.  All of the little details make for a quite "professional" looking bag though!

springtime toddler togs

Linen and gingham and a beautiful spring weekend.  Hope yours was wonderful too!

tutorials!

Exciting news!  The Sewing Republic has begun to post our tutorials, and the first one up is my Summer Serendipity Bag!

I do hope you'll enjoy it!  And if you've popped in from The Sewing Republic site--welcome! The bag is a super-simple project and will lend itself to all sorts of variations.  Unfortunately, one key piece was left out of the project instructions--the template for the bag's handle.  I've emailed the folks at Bernina to let them know about the omission, but meanwhile you can download the pattern piece here.

I'm thrilled how the site has turned out.  Really, it has surpassed everything I ever expected, and I'm in awe of how the patterns, directions and photos are being presented!  I'm equally excited about the new projects that will be posted every week by my fellow contributors:  Stacy of Stacy Sews, Juliette of Chickpea Sewing Studio, and Nicole of Appliance Clothing.  They are such talented ladies; there's more goodness to come!      

a cat's life

I wanna be a cat--or at least for the remainder of this week.  Lucky Clara Belle, all she had to do on this rainy day was to nap and strike super-cute poses.  Meanwhile, the rest of us had to go off to work in a cold drizzle, and from the looks of it, there's only more rain to come.

The kids are on spring-break this week, so they are splitting the week between the Grandmamas since Mama couldn't wrangle a week off work--blah!  Still, with a little more time for myself, I'm hoping to get back to the sewing studio a few evenings after work.  My mind is brimming with inspiration after this weekend's fabric run.  I picked up a few half-yard cuts from Amy Butler's new Midwest Modern collection, and I'm planning the first of this year's spring skirts with my favorite of the bunch. 

And over the weekend I gave the  BSR a try with some pretty happy results!  I practiced for only fifteen minutes or so on a few scraps of fabric and batting, and then, bam!, I finally got the "feel" for it.  I've had this pattern for ages but never felt like I could tackle the free-motion part of it until now. Oh, how I'm loving the new Aurora!