Summer

Summer vacation has started. We celebrated the first day of summer break with our family tradition of having ice cream for dinner.

I’ve spent the last several days alternating between weeding the unruly garden and sewing. Throw in some cleaning, 2 graduations, and nightly walks with the spouse, and there you have it.  Oh, I was also featured on the EtsyKids web site. You can read the interview here.

Our cherry tree is doing very well. This is the dwarf cherry tree we planted 3 years ago.

Our Blueberries are also doing very well.

My busy summer so far: Sewing samples, example projects for my sewing camps, and I finished my quilt top for my daughter.

This is a sample going out to The Stitchin’ Post in Sisters, Oregon. They’re getting ready for their large outdoor quilt show in July. I’m looking forward to it! This is the Spring Top made with Dear Stella Fabrics – Stella Dots, and Cuffed Shorts projects made with perfectly matching Dear Stella Solid.  Both sewing patterns can be found in my new book: Sew in Style – Make Your Own Doll Clothes.

Here’s my finished quilt top. It’s hard to find a space in my home big enough to get a nice picture of the whole thing.

The pattern is City Blocks  from Sweet Jane on Etsy.  Lovely pattern and instructions are easy to follow. I added a row at the bottom to make it larger for her twin size bed. Sue also has a book out that looks amazing! I plan to make something from it, but I need to finish this sweet monster first.

Fabrics for the quilt are Holly Holderman fabrics for Lakehouse Dry Goods (mostly from various Pam Kitty lines). The solid is an RJR fabrics  white quilting cotton I purchased from my local quilt shop, which is awesome to work with as well. I can’t emphasize enough how important it is to buy high quality fabrics, such as the ones you find in your local quilt shops. Many students come to class with fabrics from JoAnn Stores and the difference is apparent. It’s more difficult to work with sometimes as they iron and piece fabrics together, especially for kids who are just learning.

Quality quilting fabrics are softer, too.  I’m working on the back right now, which will be  pieced as well, but larger scale. One fabric I found in my stash that my daughter picked out came from Joann Fabrics.  After pre-washing it, it’s still really scratchy and clearly not as nice as all the other fabrics. Bummer. No one wants to cuddle under a quilt that isn’t soft.

Next week will be another busy one as I prepare for sewing camp and a book signing event at Barnes and Noble in Eugene, Oregon. (Friday at 2 pm). Click on the pink link if you’re local. It would be fun to see you there!