dress shirt quilts #1

I promised to share some of the beautiful quilts I found while researching other quilts made from old men's dress shirts. So much loveliness out there.

This first quilt was found over at My Spinning Wheels, a new blog find full of beautiful things. This quilt was made by Jill's mom from her dad's worn dress shirts. She is making one for each of her children.

The shirts were cut on angles, and mixed and match to form a modern patchwork.

Then the pieces were sewn into strips and quilted with a simple grid. The binding was a striped fabric sewn on the bias, so it resembles a neck-tie.

a quilt for my sweet boy

Remember this color palette? Finally, the quilt is actually done. And my boy couldn't be happier. This is the first quilt I've actually finished since I took Joelle's patchwork quilting class almost three years ago.. it sat for over a year all pieced and ready to be quilted, and then once quilted, sat for a few months patiently waiting to be bound. And of course, now that it's done, I have a million ideas for the next one.

For those of you who are new, this quilt was made from a pile of old dress shirts my husband was throwing away. I love the idea of my son sleeping under a quilt made from his father's shirts.. I tried to incorporate as many little details as I could, a pocket here, a placket there.

I sewed most of this quilt while visiting my mom. When I lived back East, I would try to fly home each summer for a few weeks to visit my parents in California. This quilt came with me on a few of those trips. My mom has a beautiful Pfaff that sews like a dream, and switching back to my machine sometimes felt like switching from a Mercedes to a Pinto. (For my birthday last year, I finally got a Pfaff of my own.. not quite as nice as my mom's but it's so lovely to sew on..)

I made a little sketch of my quilt in Illustrator before I cut up the fabrics, so I could see it a few different ways. I decided to just keep the design very simple, in hopes that it would have a classic feel and that my son might keep it on his bed for some time.

For the backing, I wanted something with a very subtle pattern. I found a Japanese grid fabric at Purlsoho that was perfect. (thanks for your help Jen!)

When it came time for the binding, I didn't know what to do. I had originally bought a solid blue fabric, but it seemed so plain. In the end I decided to sew together some of the extra squares I had leftover from the shirts and piece the binding. I'm so glad I did. I think it makes the back look almost as pretty as the front.

I did a very simple "stitch in the ditch" quilting. For some reason, I'm just scared to death to throw it in the washing machine, so it has yet to be washed. I think the squares will have a little more poof once they've been washed and dried.

I wanted to leave a message to C somewhere so I finished it off with a little cross stitch... "to C, love MOM". Using a grid for the backing certainly came in handy.

After finishing my quilt I started researching other quilts made from men's dress shirts... turns out it's not such a new idea. I came across so many beautiful examples, I will be sharing them with you over the next few days. They make my simple little quilt look quite elementary... but my son loves it, and that makes me so very happy.

easter outfits

Last year I made my first Easter dress for Bee. It was the Tea Party dress from Oliver + S, which turned out rather sweet, but I felt badly that I didn't make anything for my son C. This year I decided to try the Birthday Party dress, which Liesl assured me I could handle despite it's perfect pleats and five (!) buttonholes.

I made the dress out of linen, which proved a little shifty, but I love it nonetheless. Bee is a very active three year old, so there really is no hope of keeping it wrinkle free for long, but lucky for me, it looks just as cute rumpled. And Liesl was right, although the construction of this dress is a more complicated than anything I've made before, if you just follow the directions carefully, it will all work out in the end.

But what to make for C? The plan came together when I saw Molly's tie pattern on the Purl Bee. Perfect for a brother-sister duo. Matching, but subtle. Sweet, but not too sweet.

I didn't realize the tie is mostly hand-sewn, and it was fun to make. You can easily finish a tie in one sitting, and I get a weird sense of satisfaction sitting down on the couch with my needle and thread, stitching each little stitch one at a time.

I don't know how many more years I can coordinate their outfits. C is going to start having opinions about his clothes at some point. But I'm sure going to try and keep this up for at least a couple more years.. The pictures alone are priceless.

b is for book

We have a new nephew (two actually, but only one gift is ready!). His name is Lincoln and he just came for a visit (my sister and her family live a few states away). I have loved seeing his big cheeks and sweet smile all week.

When our son C was born, my husband's family put together a bag full of favorite children's books. Each person in the family chose a book, and wrote a little note explaining why they had picked it and what they hoped C would learn from it. It was such a thoughtful gift, and almost five years later, many of those books are my son's favorites.

I made this bag for Lincoln, following the directions from this book. Now that I sew, I understand why people make bags. Quick. Frustration free. Totally satisfying. I used canvas for the bag itself, and cotton fabric for the bottom and handles. The bottom fabric lays over the canvas, so I know the bag will be nice and strong. And I always add a strip of canvas to the handles too, since books can get heavy. To make it a little more special, grab a needle and thread and add an embroidered name.

My mom, sister in law and I all picked a few of our favorite books to include, below are a few of my favorites. Happy reading Lincoln! Please come and visit your Aunt Brooke again soon.. We miss seeing your sweet smile already. (especially Bee and C, so sad to see their new cousin leave. "But how will he get on the plane by himself, Mom?" asked Bee.)

the lucky winner

Wow! Thank you all for taking the time to tell us about your lovely weekend plans... There were definitely some repeated themes: sleeping in, spending time with loved ones, good food, a little exploring, and some creative me time. I second all of those!

We had a close-to-perfect Saturday here. Pancakes at home, then off to the Wild Animal Park to see the new baby elephant (born just one day before), meeting up with old friends for dinner, and driving home late with the kids asleep in the back.

Such a sweet sight.. the baby was still figuring out how to balance and would stand up and then topple over. His mama, being the good mom she is, would reach her trunk out and pick him up and help him get his footing, over and over again.

The only thing that could have made this any cuter was if the baby elephant hooked his little trunk to his mother's tail and they broke into song as they marched off.

The giveaway: We used some UNO cards to help us pick a random number since there was no fair way to choose the "best" weekend. Three rows of cards, one for each of the three possible digits. We shuffled each row and my helpers and I each picked a number.

And the winner is:

Congrats to Amy who loves spending weekends having breakfast with her family, play time outside, leisurely naps with her 11 month old, and a movie at home. Happy sewing Amy!!

weekend sewing giveaway

Weekend Sewing by Heather Ross is finally here in my hands. I've been waiting patiently to see it. I actually laughed out loud when this cover was chosen because that is ME balancing up in that tree. I never intended to be the cover model, it's just easiest to use whomever is around when you are off in Vermont on a photo shoot, it's a good thing I shaved my legs that morning!

The back of the cover shows some of the projects in the book, a great mix of clothes, bags, aprons, cute ideas for kids, and even a pup tent to relax in when you're all done with sewing. All the projects in the book are easy enough to finish in a weekend.

When you take the jacket off the book you can see one of Heather's patterns from her Kokka line "Rabbits and Race Cars". We thought it was a nice little surprise. 

Heather actually illustrated all of the how-to's in the book, I love her drawing style. To see more of the photos in this book, visit the photo gallery.

Each book also includes two huge pull out pattern sheets for the projects in the book. (And believe me, it was tricky to fit all those projects on there!)

You may not realize that book publishing is a long, slow process. The photo shoots for this book were shot way back in the summer of 2007, and Heather was working on the actual patterns and projects a long time prior to the actual shooting. The photos are then edited, and the manuscript finished and edited. I designed the book last year, between February and July, sending it back and forth with Melanie Falick and her team. So almost a year later it's been printed, bound, shipped, and finally is here in my hands.

And I'm happy to pass it along to you. Leave a comment letting us know your favorite way to spend a weekend, and my little helpers and I will pick a winner Tuesday evening, March 17th. (Comments will close at 8 PM Tuesday PST.. Wow! That's a LOT of comments!)

color story #7

There's nothing I like more than finishing a longtime work in progress. This color story comes from a quilt I have been working on for my son C who is 4 1/2 years old and the sweetest boy you've ever met. (I know I'm biased because I am his mother, but man, he is a sweet one.)

A few years ago my husband cleaned out his closet and ended up with a stack of old dress shirts. Nice shirts that had gotten old and worn out, and he was ready to toss them in the trash. Instead I threw the pile into my fabric stash, and a little later decided a very simple quilt would be the perfect way to use them.

I don't think I will ever throw out another one of JR's shirts. Men's shirting fabric has such a lovely feel and I love the small grids and tiny ginghams and all the shades of blue. I love the idea of a quilt made out of a father's shirts for his son. And I've tried to perserve little bits of the shirts in the quilt, a few pieces of pockets and plackets here and there. It's a very simple little quilt, and I'm a little embarrassed it has taken me so long... why do I always stall when it comes to the binding?

My sweet boy has been waiting so patiently.

sweet dreams

This is the quilt we sleep with every night. It was made for my husband's father, by his grandmother, and it's over 60 years old. Marked in pen in one of the corners it says 1948.. so my father-in-law received it when he was 10 or 11. John remembers his parents having it on their bed when he was a little boy.

I love so many things about it. The randomness of the pattern, using whatever fabric was around the house. Certain corners are pieced together using every scrap available. There is no binding, she just turned the edge and sewed it by hand, and I love each imperfect little stitch. The batting itself is actually an old blanket, held in place by yarn ties at the edges of each piece (probably why we like sleeping under it so much).

I'm a fan of white in quilts, and lots of it. This quilt has a mainly white ground, but then random squares of blue, and pink, even black. It reminds me of some of the Gee's Bend quilts, which seem to use whatever fabric was handy (shirts, jeans, sheets, etc). I wish I could incorporate some of that random beauty into my own quilts.

My husband used to keep this quilt in a chest for safekeeping, it's understandable that he wanted to take good care of it. But when we moved into this house, we rescued it from its hiding place and placed it on our bed. It's now the place where I read bedtime stories to the kids, where we snuggle in the mornings when our kids come jump in bed. I like to think that great grandmother would have wanted it that way.

little pajamas

As many of you know, I design all the visuals and graphics for Oliver + S, a company my good friend Liesl Gibson started that sells sewing patterns for children's clothing. Last year when we were thinking about the new fall line, I suggested we do a pajama pattern. Growing up in my family, we always opened new pajamas each Christmas Eve. I've continued the tradition, but the pajamas in the stores were just ho-hum and I was hoping that with a new pattern from Liesl, I could make something the kids would really love...  Enter the Bedtime Story Pajamas pattern.

I'm fairly new to sewing, but the Oliver + S patterns have eased me into garment making. I'm not as fast as Liesl (who once made these pajamas for her daughter in one evening between dinner and bedtime) but I'm so pleased that I can follow the step by step instructions and without too many mishaps, end up with something close to the illustration (not always the case with children's patterns!). I finished Bee's set before Christmas, but at about midnight on Christmas Eve I threw in the towel on C's top..  he did get to wear his pants to open gifts Christmas morning, and the top finally got finished a few weeks ago.

I am a bit of a skimmer when it comes to directions. Though I'm new to sewing, I always kind of peruse the illustrations and then start sewing without reading any of the actual instructions. (Probably why I don't mind using Japanese craft books..) After sewing a few things with Oliver + S patterns, I've learned to trust Liesl and to actually read them step by step. She'll often give you a hint or make things easier for you if you just listen and do things in the order she has specified.

The fabric I used comes from Purlsoho. I didn't want them to match perfectly, or to make them from the same fabric, I just wanted them to be in the same color family so they would look cute together. Bee's is mini garden from Kobayashi in the blue color and C's is neighborhood, also from Kobayshi in the blue color. The trim fabric is just a solid color, I think these were from the Kona cotton line.

I tend to spend more time sewing for my daughter than I do for my son. It just happens that way, it's not intentional.. skirts and dresses don't scare me, pants and shirts do. He really gets excited when I am working on something for him. He tells me he sleeps better in these pajamas because "they're made with love."  And he's right.. they were made with love. And somehow I think they can feel that when they wear them.

Just to clarify: When I say I do the visuals for Oliver + S, I don't mean the actual illustrations on the Oliver + S patterns, those are done by the very talented Dan Andreasen. I design the packaging, logos, website, tradeshow booths and that sort of thing.. just wanted to make that clear.

the stockings — how-to

I'm so glad you like the stockings. Here are some steps on how to make them yourself. Remember that I am fairly new to sewing, so please be kind if I make a mistake here or there.. I am still learning as I go!

Step 1: Assemble a grouping of fabrics you think work together. Mix some fabrics that are a little busy (like the orange dots) with some on the quieter side (like the tiny red and white stripe). Cut them all down to the same size rectangle (mine are 2.5" tall by 2" wide). Start laying them out in a row, to see what looks nice next to each other (see bottom of the photo). The patchwork strip for each stocking is 6 blocks wide, so here's where you play around and figure out what looks best. You can choose to do the patchwork strip on the front and the back of the stocking (like me) or just on the front. 

Step 2: Pin your blocks together for chain piecing. Starting at the beginning of each patchwork row, take two blocks and pin them together along the long side, right sides facing. I made a stack for each of my stockings. Try to keep your pairs in order.

Step 3: Now for chain piecing. Sew all your pairs together (check to make sure right sides are facing!) with a 1/4" seam. Just feed them in right after one another, leaving a few stitches between each one. (This is the best thing I learned from my quilting class at Purl Patchwork, thank you Joelle!) 

Step 4: Clip the threads off between your sewn pairs, and iron the seam allowances to the right or left (I iron mine to the darker side, so they won't show through). Lay out your pairs in order to make the patchwork strip, and make sure you like the order. This is your last chance to move things around.

Step 5: Chain piece again, this time you're connecting the pairs you already chain pieced.. so these will be 4 blocks wide. I made a mistake at this point, chain piecing all of my pairs together. So when I sewed mine, they were all 8 blocks wide, and you only need them 6 blocks wide. If I were you, I would sew the first two pairs from a patchwork strip together (giving you 4 blocks wide) and then sew one more pair to the end, so it is 6 blocks wide. Repeat with the remaining rows.

Step 6: Arrange your strips for each stocking. Decide which strip will go on the front of the stocking, and which will go on the back. Look at the front strips all together and make sure they all look a little different.

Step 7: Cut two pieces for the outside of each stocking (I just traced a stocking I had for the basic shape, adding a 1/2" seam allowance). I originally wanted to make these out of linen, but thought it looked a little gray next to my fabric, so I chose a linen cotton blend in a creamy tan color. You'll need to cut a strip out of your stocking to add the patchwork strip. Mine are 2.5" high, so you need to remove a 2" high strip (leaving you a 1/4" seam for the top and the bottom). In the photo below, the top strip will become the top of the stocking, and I'm going to cut where the top of the ruler is and remove that 2" strip. Rotary cutters are great for this.

Step 8: Pin your patchwork strip in place, lining the bottom of your strip up with the cut edge of your stocking, right sides facing. I like to pin at each block's seam so you can make sure the seam allowances lay nice and flat as they go through the machine (just like Joelle taught me). Stitch with a 1/4" seam. Repeat on the top of the patchwork strip, attaching it to the top cut portion of your stocking.

Step 9: Press your seam allowances to the tan stocking side to reduce bulk, and iron around your patchwork strip, pulling on your fabric just a bit so all your creases are nice and crisp. In the photo below, the stocking on the right shows what the front or right side should look like, the one on the left shows the wrong or back side. Use your rotary cutter to trim off the excess bits at the right and left edge of your patchwork strips. You want the edge of your stocking to be one nice line so it will align with your lining.

Step 10: Now is the time to embroider your name under the patchwork strip on the front side of your stocking. Make sure you stop at least an inch before the edge to leave enough room for your 1/2" seam when you sew the stockings together. (I used two strands of standard embroidery floss, and I just make the letters up as I go..)

Step 11: I chose to line my four stockings with four different green fabrics. So when you cut out your front and back outer stocking pieces, cut a front and a back from your lining fabric as well. Grab your front and back stocking pieces and take a look at how they are matching up with the front and back lining pieces. Are they a little bit off? No big deal, just trim the edges with a rotary cutter so you can make them match.

When you get ready to stitch the stocking and lining together, lay your pieces in this order (pay attention because I did this wrong the first time) starting from the bottom: 1. lining front wrong side up, 2. stocking front right side up, 3. stocking back wrong side up, 4. lining back right side up. Starting at the top opening of the stocking, sew along the edge with a 1/2" seam (as you can see in the photo below). Leave the top end of your stocking open (you don't want to sew the whole thing shut!). 

Step 12: Finish your seams as you like (mine just got pinked), but remember to clip around your curves a bit so you can turn things out easier. Turn your stocking out, so the lining is on the inside and the stocking fabric is on the outside, focusing on the shape of the toe and boot area (it helps to put your hand in the stocking and carefully push the seams out until you have a nice curved shape). Iron, iron, iron.

Step 13: Finish the top edge and add a loop. Make a little loop from some scrap fabric. (I used a piece about 2" wide and 4" long. Crease it lengthwise, fold the long sides in to meet the middle and fold lengthwise along the middle crease. Stitch along the long edge.) To finish the top edge of the stocking, fold it over 1/4" (it helps me to iron as I go to help "hold" the fold) and then fold again another 1/4". Iron so you have a nice tight fold and pin along the entire edge. Pin your loop in place so you can sew it in as you go around (I positioned mine in the back, a bit off the stockings side seam, to reduce bulk). Sew along the edge as carefully as you can, since this one really shows. Take your time when you get to the bulky parts and remember to backstitch at the start and end of your row. I went over my loop a few times, just to make sure it was secure. 

Hang from your mantle and wait for Santa! Good luck!