This short and sweet post is to share a recent finish! Last month, I decided to make a quilt for a dear friend, and together we decided that a Stars Hollow Quilt would be the perfect design.
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Hello, hello! Welcome to my stop on the Typecast of Characters tour!
So, funny story. . . when Sheri Cifaldi-Morrill of Whole Circle Studio asked me to help celebrate the release of her new Typecast EPP pattern, I was a little bit nervous, but mostly psyched. I had never made anything with EPP before, so I looked at this as an opportunity to learn a new skill — or fail hard. But I’d seen so many pictures of pretty hexie EPP projects on line, I figured, why not give it a shot?
Which is why, when I opened the envelope with the pattern pieces, I was in a panic that I had misplaced something. I was so confused. . . this was EPP, right?!?. . . so, where were the hexies??? I decided I would track Sheri down at QuiltCon to apologize for losing the hexies she *must* have sent, and see if I could get a replacement package. Well, joke was on me! We all got a good laugh when it was explained to me that: You can EPP with ANY SHAPE! And the shapes in Sheri’s pattern make it super-easy to learn this new (and addicting) skill!
Let’s get started: I began with some gorgeous Liberty fabric, my new scissors that I bought from Brooklyn Haberdashery, my Typecast EPP template, and a glue stick. (Note: do as I say, not as I do. Apparently this type of glue could have distorted my fabric and not easily come off of the template. Beginners luck, I had no problems, but I don’t know if I, or you, would be so lucky the next time around).
I started by marking the pattern pieces for my “I”, as suggested by Sheri in the pattern instructions. Now, if you’re wondering why I was selected for the letter “I” when my initials are I-lacking, it’s because I-is-for-EASY. No curves. No challenges for my EPP-naive self.
Sheri recommends labeling each piece of the Typecast template with the letter name, as well as identifying each piece as either positive (a part of the letter) or negative (a part of the background), to help keep things organized once the template is pulled apart. I added additional numbering so I could keep track of the order in which I wanted to re-assemble the papers once the fabric was attached.
Next, I used a whip stitch to sew the pieces together. At first I was using a ladder stitch, which made the stitches invisible, but was taking way too long. Then Jenny from PapperSaxSten mentioned a tutorial from Karen the DIY Addict that shows you how to whipstitch in a way that the stitches will not be visible from the front. It was really helpful, so if you are interested in EPP-ing like an award-winner, I’d recommend you check it out!
Once my block was complete, I knew that I wanted to incorporate it into a Liberty-inspired embroidery project. I drew out the letters for “love you” while listening to the Don’t Keep Your Day Job podcast, and the time just flew by. Before I knew it, it was time to pick my kids up from the bus stop.
In case you are interested in doing something similar, I outlined the letters using black pearl cotton in a chain stitch. To embellish the words, if you squint, you can see I faintly drew some motifs in pencil that mirrored the flowers in the Liberty fabric. I used Anchor floss in a variety of colors to fill them in — and had so much fun doing it!
Finally, I stitched the words together and turned it into a bolster pillow, which is now sitting (much to my husband’s chagrin) as the 7th pillow on our bed.
Thanks so much to Sheri for including me on this blog hop. I was really fortunate to have this deadline to force me to learn a skill I’d been intimidated by for a long time. Now I know, not only is it easy, but it’s SO MUCH FUN!
My stop was only the 9th letter on the Typecast tour, so make sure to keep up with all of the letter project that Sheri is sharing on her IG feed and at the blogs below. There are so many chances to WIN! And a very special thanks to you, Sheri, for including me in this project! I’m forever changed for the better thanks to this experience!
TYPECAST OF CHARACTERS BLOG TOUR hosted by Whole Circle Studio:
• Wednesday, March 27: Tour Introduction by Whole Circle Studio
• Monday, April 1 — A: Kate Brennan of Aurifil
• Tuesday, April 2 — B: Mathew Bourdreaux of Mister Domestic
• Wednesday, April 3 — C: Tara Curtis of Wefty Needle
• Thursday, April 4— D: Leah Day of Free Motion Quilting Project
• Friday, April 5 — Week 1 Wrap Up featuring A-D and GIVEAWAY at Whole Circle Studio
• Monday, April 8 — E: Jess Finn of Paper Pieces
• Tuesday, April 9 — F: Sylvia Schaefer of Flying Parrot Quilts
• Wednesday, April 10 — G: Giuseppe Ribaudo of Giucy Giuce
• Thursday, April 11— H: Hilary Jordan of By Hilary Jordan
• Friday, April 12 — Week 2 Wrap Up featuring E-H and GIVEAWAY at Whole Circle Studio
• Monday, April 15 — I: Kim Soper of Leland Ave Studios
• Tuesday, April 16 — J: Yvonne Fuchs of Quilting Jetgirl
• Wednesday, April 17 — K: Karen O’Connor of Lady K Quilts
• Thursday, April 18 — L: Kristy Daum of St. Louis Folk Victorian
• Friday, April 19 — Week 3 Wrap Up featuring I-L and GIVEAWAY at Whole Circle Studio
• Monday, April 22 — M: Molli Sparkles of Molli Sparkles
• Tuesday, April 23 — N: Nicole Daksiewicz of Modern Handcraft
• Wednesday, April 24 — O: Scott Hansen of Blue Nickel Studios
• Thursday, April 25 — P: Pat Sloan of Pat Sloan
• Friday, April 26 — Week 4 Wrap Up featuring M-P and GIVEAWAY at Whole Circle Studio
• Monday, April 29 — Q: Joanna Marsh of Kustom Kwilts
• Monday, April 29 — Q: Lindsay Széchényi of Lindsay Széchényi (and Patchwork Threads)
• Tuesday, April 30 — R: Andrea Tsang Jackson of 3rd Story Workshop
• Wednesday, May 1 — S: Sarah Thomas of Sariditty
• Thursday, May 2 — T: Rachel Rossi of Rachel Rossi
• Friday, May 3— Week 4 Wrap Up featuring Q-T and GIVEAWAY at Whole Circle Studio
• Monday, May 6 — U: Kitty Wilkin of Night Quilter
• Tuesday, May 7 — V: Jenn McMillan of Fabric, Ink
• Wednesday, May 8 — W: Jenny Meeker of Bobbin Roulette Studio
• Thursday, May 9 — X: Stephanie Kendron of Modern Sewciety
• Friday, May 10 — Week 5 Wrap Up featuring U-X and GIVEAWAY at Whole Circle Studio
• Monday, May 13 — Y: Debby Brown of Debby Brown Quilts
• Tuesday, May 14 — Z: Nisha Bouri and Kim Martucci of Brimfield Awakening
• Wednesday, May 15 — Week 6 Wrap Up featuring Y-Z, Tour closeout and GIVEAWAY at Whole Circle Studio
In Our Own Words. This collaborative project is a celebration of women; of the amazing individual qualities that make us who we are, as well as our strength when we com together as a community. Continue Reading
finishes quilting events and conferences
Blogger Bundle With Needle & Foot Fabrics and a Giveaway!
Posted on July 16, 2018
finishes The Creativity Project
The Creativity Project Week #15: Steph Skardal
Posted on April 13, 2018
Steph Skardal is a modern-day renaissance woman. While she is a mom of three girls (ages 5, 3, and almost-1), she is also a part-time software engineer, a photographer, and of course, an award winning quilter. Her quilt Going Up was the winner of this year’s Best in Show at QuiltCon 2018, and her work has been featured in Curated Quilts, QuiltCon Magazine, and the MQG’s new book Modern Quilts: Designs of the New Century. Steph is constantly innovating new ways to blend her technological background with her craft. Similar to Libs Elliott, she has written her own code to create quilt designs. Steph is currently experimenting with a tool to help users place color within existing quilt patterns. The tool would enable users to visualize their final color choices before cutting into any fabric – visit it here. And for those looking to learn digital design, Steph shares tutorials on her website demonstrating how to use Photoshop to design quilts. She lives with her husband, three daughters, and five sewing machines in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Welcome, Steph! Continue Reading
finishes portfolio
twenty-twelve: a quilt with RJR fabrics and GIVEAWAY!
Posted on September 29, 2017
The Long Island Modern Quilt Guild does not meet over the summer months. So we usually set up some sort of swap for members to work on over the break. This makes the return in September something to look forward to — we get to reconnect with one another and get prizes! This year’s theme was a rainbow mini swap. When I hear rainbow, I usually think Alison Glass, so I raided my stash for as many AG prints as I could find.
I assembled the scraps into a star-shape known as the “Arkansas Crossroad” in my book of 1000 Great Quilt Blocks by Maggi McCormick Gordon. I quilted it with a simple horizontal and vertical cross-hatch 1/2″ apart.
The final size of the mini quilt is 16″x16″. I really love how it turned out, so I hope my swap partner will be happy! If you’d like, you can check out some of the other minis made by our members on IG with the hashtag #limqgrainbowminiswap
Hope your summer sewing has been going well, or if you’re like me, your back to school catch-up sewing! It’s been a game-changer to have all three boys in school for a full day – – I’ve gotten so much accomplished! I can’t wait to share it all with you over the coming weeks, so stay tuned!
They say it is impossible to understand how much your mother loves you until you become a mother yourself. I quite agree. Before you have a child of your own, if you are lucky enough to have loving and supportive parents, then you know love. But once you have a child of your own, you feel love so deep that it hurts, but in a good way.
Being a mother is like watching an actual, physical part of yourself, existing outside of your own physical body. And not the parts of yourself that you’re not too happy with. (It’s not like big thighs or cellulite walking around out there, so you could care less about it.) No. It’s the parts that you love the most. It’s your dreams, it’s your spirit, it’s your heart.
I’ve been a mom for officially 8 years, 46 weeks and 4 days. And I can tell you, it only gets harder to watch your heart walking around outside your own body. Especially when that heart starts talking back, making not-so-great choices at school, or doesn’t want to kiss you goodbye because his friends on the bus might see. I can only imagine what’s to come.
So it makes it all the more important to step back every once and a while and recognize that our own moms went through these very same struggles. With us. And that sometimes it’s just our job as mothers to hurt. But once we are able to appreciate that hurt, it deserves to be honored — with a a big ol’ quilt!
Made with a mix of Outback Wife fabric and chambray, this quilt is both cozy and lightweight at the same time. I chose a simple patchwork for a very simple reason: my mom really loves it. Plus, with the fabric being so special, I wanted it to be the star of the show.
I stitched a heart in the bottom corner and quilted it with curved lines to represent a beating heart — the connection between our lives before we even met.
I am grateful to my mom for her endless love. The love that this daughter truly comprehends, now that she is a mother herself.
