nanaCompany

hand tied hexagon doll quilt

Daaang, the chicken soup was good.  And thanks so much for your well wishes and great cooking tips (for next time).  Sounds like you ladies are some real serious soup eaters ~ my kinda people.  Well, today is my first day of feeling major improvement and I have a finished hexagon doll quilt to show ya...

I did handquilt, per usual with my trusty DMC perle no. 8 cotton floss, around the hexagons and all the borders, but as you can see I also did some hand tying for the first time ever... and I know it won't be the last.  I love the vintage old-timey look and it's super easy.

I hope I did it right.  This morning I did a search on the internet ("how to tie a quilt by hand") to find out how and I just happened to have some red perle floss that's no.5, I think.  The label was gone so I can't be sure, but the ties held up after their first wash...

The prints I used are my absolute fave 1930's reproductions and Japanese prints ~ mostly by Lecien and Atsuko Matsuyama...

And the finished doll quilt looks pretty cute on Livi's wall of handmade stuff...

If you haven't tried sewing hexagons and you've always wanted to, it's time to start.  For this doll quilt, as in most of my projects, my hexagons measure 1 1/4" per side and I use these papers.  Instructions are included with the papers, so go ahead and buy a starter pack and get stitching already!  It's so easy!

Seriously.  xo amy

chicken soup

Whew, this week was a blur ~ I've got a head cold and I'm taking meds and I'm simply dragging myself through the motions to get the bare minimum done.  Dirty laundry?  Yep, I've got piles of it ~ and I won't get to it today because after I write this post I'm tossing a chicken in my stock pot to make some chicken soup.  I am, however, very open to improving upon my award-winning (the husband raves over it) tried and true recipe, so I'm wondering if any of you would be kind enough to share that magical ingredient that makes your chicken soup a knock-out?  An herb, a special spice?  Really, is there anything better than soup when you can't breathe through your raw pink nose, when your mouth is dry from hanging open, and your head aches???  Oh, also, one thing I'm really interested in making next time is matzo balls... know a good recipe for those?  I'm all ears :)

Well, the hexagon progress is going delightfully ~ everything else has been dropped like a hot potato.  I did make one more star for Liv's garland...

The new star is the one with the bell.

Enjoy the weekend!

1. Tasmin in the lavender field, 2. Giant Dwarf // Dwarfette Bunny, 3. kapok,hemp and vintage, 4. balcony, 5. eleanor and prudence, 6. vintage books, 7. Busy Bark, 8. weekend fare, 9. Granny Squares Scrappy Quilt, 10. que chique.... achados da net, 11. main 003, 12. naturally dyed strips of fabrics, 13. Remember Spring

Created with fd's Flickr Toys

xo amy

sidetracked again

Focus?  Pshaw!  Who am I kidding?  I can't even focus when I call myself out on it.  I was so lazy all weekend, watching movies and sewing hexagons in full addiction mode ~ I couldn't stop.  Plus, the movies were good ~ "Midnight in Paris", "Harry Potter", and "Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day."  And, ya know,  I'm not actually watching the movies, I just listen and lift my head occasionally at the parts I really love, so is it really so crazy that I might've watched "Midnight in Paris" three times?

When I finally got to my sewing machine I pushed my 'wips' aside and started something new.  And it's all because I'd found a pic on pinterest of the cutest thing in the world and I just had to make one too.  Here's the original:

Source: kkomegii.com via Amy on Pinterest

 

The Korean website this comes from, kkomegii.com, has a ton of cute things and I dare you to go there and not want to copy at least one of her adorable crafts.  When I was making my bear-mat I was working off my memory of that picture and as much as I wanted to look at the pic again, I didn't want to copy her mat exactly, so I didn't.  I see now the differences and I like some things better about hers and mine, but I am totally bummed it's not my design.  Oh, sob, sob, because it's sooo cute!

Bear-mat (that was nowhere on my check-list): check!  And now Olivia has a new snack mat and Nicholas has informed me that it's too baby-ish for him, so he'll stick with the 'cookies and milk' mat I already made him.  That's fine.  I've got so many other projects to get to ;)

Hope you're all having a great week!  xo amy

:: focus

I really only do well if I have a list to check-off, otherwise I flounder and flop around like a fish.  How 'bout you?  Focus ~focus~ is my issue.  Like today, I sewed up one tiny thing I needed to get done but spent the rest of my time playing with spools and trims...

... to take a few pretty pics.  Which is nice, but I'd be happier getting stuff sewn, ya know?!

This needlebook has been floating around in my "to-do" fog for a while.  It's done, check.  And now I'm moving on to the Valentine's Day postcard thingy...

... tomorrow.  I hope you had a great week, everyone!  Happy Friday...

1. ., 2. Pink, 3. Untitled, 4. On a whim quilt, 5. mobile nuage, 6. ♥ teacups, 7. Quilted Blanket, 8. Double hourglass quilt completed-edit, 9. Bow @ the printworks - Prints for sale - EXPLORED, 10. Vintage Fabric Picnic Blanket, 11. just say it like it is..., 12. Untitled, 13. .

Created with fd's Flickr Toys

xo amy

love:

I'll never tire of sewing hexagons, much like I'll never tire of quilting by hand~ mainly because you can do it anywhere in the house (like on the loveseat) and with a movie playing in the background.  This is my heaven.  So, I've started another hexagon piece and this time I'm using some of those fabrics I've got precious little of...

... which means it'll probably end up a wall hanging so that little fingers and markers won't find their way to it.  I also have a Valentine's Day project in the works.  I'm kinda excited about this one.  This was my inspiration:

Source: fler.cz via Amy on Pinterest

Source: designcrushblog.com via Amy on Pinterest

Source: etsy.com via Amy on Pinterest

 

Thank you, Pinterest!  In the meantime, I've stitched up a teensy eensy 'pretty little thing' just to satisfy my creative urges.  I don't know why I haven't made more fabric tags, they're so fast and fun...

You can never really go wrong with linen and scraps, right?

(And hey, thanks for all the sweet comments about the brown quilt.)  Have a great week!

xo amy

the finished quilt

I love how inspiration can sometimes lead to copying... and sometimes leads to bold new interpretations.

I pretty much copied the vintage doll quilt in the book ~ with only a few slight variations.  Obviously, mine has less nine-patches, and I added a touch of white quilting instead of all brown, and then I bound the quilt with a bright floral calico, even though as much as I wanted to bind it in brown, I just couldn't resist the urge to add more color.  But still, I love it...

And now it's done.  And when it is washed and has that crinkly, soft, scrunched up look, I suspect I'll love it even more.

Happy Friday all!

1. Bennett, 2. blossom nest, detail, 3. homemade bias tape, 4. floral dress, 5. raspberry jewel, 6. Untitled, 7. Pencil case Cara - name detail, 8. Warmers, 9. Mail, 10. Untitled, 11. Linen Chamomile Ring, 12. dress2, 13. Burano lace umbrellas

Created with fd's Flickr Toys

xo amy

:: almost finished!

Sewing on the binding by hand...

Now I wish I'd made this quilt larger... much larger, like queen size 'cause it's so dang pretty.  Someday I'll have the guts to make a quilt that big, but not today.  Making small quilts feels safe and easy and doable, y'know?

In case you were interested, the book that inspired my baby quilt is called, "Warman's Vintage Quilts: Identification And Price Guide" and it's going for like $3 on Amazon.

Here's another one of my favorites from the book:

Love that palest seafoam green as a background.  Okay, I gotta go.  I mean, I literally have to leave this room because a strange smell is wafting in through my window ~  probably no one else in the world can smell it, but you know how crazy your sense of smell gets during pregnancy?!!  Ugh, gag!  Okay.  See you tomorrow, friends!

xo amy

vintage quilt ~ inspired

Inspiration for the baby quilt I'm working on came from a book about vintage quilts ~ got from the bargain racks for a mere $5.  Inside are pages of beautiful, old quilts with interesting color combinations and astonishing testament to the durability of a well made quilt, passed down through the years.

This doll quilt caught my eye and had me coming back to examine it again and again.  I really don't know why... but, I was inspired to at least try to make a version of it for myself.  And so began the cutting of the squares, and now there is a quilt top.  Of course, to achieve the look I want I'll have to hand quilt my version as well, but I've made mine a baby quilt, and rather a small one at that.  It consists of only 12 nine-patches, and here's a sneak peek...

The quilt below my quilt top is still being hand quilted... a project going since last year.  But the baby quilt will be finished in days, I hope!

xo amy

:: fabric love

What better way to start the new year than with a fresh new pile of half-yard cuts and something sweet?  Yesterday the postman delivered these lovely prints and a package of my mom's homebaked cookies :)

Of course, I have a sewing to-do list but I've let inspiration get the better of me ~ after glancing through a few books I've discovered a quilt I just have to make and right away.  Luckily it's a small one.  So I began going through my scraps, cutting 2.5" squares, and before I knew it I was in a cutting frenzy...  1.5" squares... 1.75" squares... 2" squares...

um, okay.  Maybe it wasn't exactly a frenzy, but it took me a while to cut all these and, sadly, didn't even make a dent in my scrap bin.  But anyway, there is a baby quilt in the future!  And with these pre-cut squares I see lots of other fast and cute projects, too!

Have a great weekend, friends!

1. Family Heirloom, 2. Closet Candy..., 3. vintage floral quilt, 4. Untitled, 5. the girly girls, 6. Purdy Treats, 7. Northern star, 8. Muffins, 9. Maxine's Room, 10. Modern Crazy Quilt for Aurifil Thread Challenge, 11. Cookie Bear Door Hangers, 12. Sequin storage, 13. More apples..

Created with fd's Flickr Toys

xo amy

:: first sewing of the year

hello!  Unexpectedly my best friend came to stay with us for a few days, so my hopes for a New Year's Eve full of food and movies was spot-on.  But after that gluttonous start to the New Year (a roast, potatoes au gratin, creme brulee, more eggs benedict, red beans and coconut rice, pavlova with raspberries, pasta in cream sauce with sausage, fruit and chocolates and cookies...) I'm actually glad that life has settled into its less indulgent normalcy. 

The kids are all back to school and I have returned to my sewing corner.  First sewing of the year?  Mini paper tags with fabric scraps... I love making these to put in my shop orders when I have the time.

But this morning, I got to some more substantial sewing with a fabric jacket for my composition notebook ~ the one in which I write down notes and ideas and sketch pics of new projects...

I made a mistake in my measurements, so the dots on the bottom weren't planned, but I like it better this way anyway.

Actually, I love it. 

xo amy