A Spoonflower invitation, and back-tack 4 sign-ups all at once???

CRAZY. In a good way.

Now, to get onto doing something other than playing Spore today….

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Originally uploaded by sewingstars

I’m so excited to have gotten into Craftland for 2008! The pic above shows some of the items I sent - don’t they look happy to be hanging out in Providence?

In all seriousness, I think it’s time for my annual, “I’ll never be able to make enough holiday product this year!” freak-out, so you’ll have to excuse me while I get to that.

Not great sights, because all I had was my iPhone when I strolled through the San Mateo County Fair to see what my quilting neighbors have been up to since last year.

Still, I thought my favorites were worth a quick post, since they’re inspiring in ways that seem to transcend quality of lighting or focus.

At least, I hope they are!

I just loved this black and white checkerboard. Will I ever develop more complicated tastes? Guess not.

This cute 1930s sampler had little folded areas of fabric for more texture. I quite like the border.

I love the little variation on these pinwheel blocks, and the two-color setting.

My favorite quilts at the whole fair were, predictably, vintage and being used as tablecloths.

Seriously, I could stare at this picture all day.

After finishing three quilts in two weeks - while working full time - I’m not really amazed at people who can get so much crafting done.

I’m amazed at people who can get so much crafting done and then photograph and blog it. Truly, I am just not there yet.

Just a quick shot of a quilt you’ve seen before. I wanted to show the backing, and the binding, which I fear have thrown my once tidy little top into a state of chaos, but the idea of taking the time to change them is enough to make me determined to love this as-is.

As is, and quite to death. Sometimes it’s nice to create a flawed quilt. If I am ever going to have the kids, dogs, and additional cats that I want, I might as well come to terms with the fact that all of the above a natural-born stuff-wreckers.

Exhibit A.

I also bound the “Summer Breeze” quilt, which I will photograph more thoroughly when it’s time to review the pattern, and - if you can believe it - The Total Love Quilt.

The Total Love Quilt is so unbelievably old that it was named after a line from that cute video game, PaRappa the Rappa. I think I started it in something like 1999, finished the top in November of ‘01, and hand-quilted from then until February of last year. We slept under it last night. I feel like I just graduated or something!

But lest I feel too accomplished, in characteristic Jennicakes fashion, having it on the bed has raised all sorts of doubts about its suitability for a sleeping quilt. For one thing, it’s thin, and I like a lot of weight on me when I sleep. For another, it’s a tiny bit short on all sides for our massively fat mattress. Not that I could have known that almost ten years ago, but looking at it now, I do wonder why I never considered making us a custom-sized bed quilt that would take less than, oh, a year or so.

And then there’s the kitty factor. She likes to play in bed, and I shudder to think of the effect of her claws on all my meticulous blanket stitching. She also drools something terrible, usually on things that belong to me, not her, and I have a terror of washing this quilt, given all the handwork and interfacing and the wear and tear it saw in its making when I dragged it through three states and four or five residences.

So mayhaps it is into the blanket chest with the TLQ? Ever since I made this baby quilt, I’ve been unable to sell it, because I love the colors too much. And it’s so simple to make, and could be quilted so sturdily….

I need to stop now, because my husband is going to read this at work, and do a little headdeskin’. Just thinking out loud, baby!

I’m working on binding a quilt today, and trying to finish up this book, which makes this kind of a big day for me. If I’m depressed or upset about something, I like getting lost in book. For many reasons, but I love to be able to get to the end and say, “If nothing else, at least I finished this book today!”

Thanks to my busy hands, I only read 20-30 books a year, which is really not a lot for this former English/writing student. But what can you do?

I feel the same way about binding a quilt. It’s such an unimpressive feat after months or even years of the work a quilt takes, and when I’ve finished, it’s almost an anti-climax compared to, say, finishing up hand-quilting after something like 5 years. So I plod along, dispassionately, until the end, at which point I say, “Well, if nothing else, at least I finished that quilt today!”

If I can do both this afternoon? I may really feel I’ve done something.

Speaking of binding, how crazy is this satin-ribbon version? Crazy like a FOX, I say! I have such simple taste in quilts, I’d love to try this to spice things up some day. Next time I find a big ol’ spool on sale, I’m going for it.

And now, back to work. At which point, I will reward myself with a run and a dinner of scrambled eggs. At least I’ll accomplish that much today!

Man, this vintage sheet love is going viral!

One of my favorite aspects of vintage sheet use is that you can get the same one over and over. I was instantly saddened by using my pretty pink rose sheet to back this quilt, but was able to pick up another on etsy… plus the same print in a yellow colorway! So, sooner or later, expect to see some wholecloth quilts from these.

I could have gotten a lot crazier with the sheet-buyin’, but my Paypal account is a tad worn out after show application fees and some other supply needs, so I restricted myself to some fat quarters. Oh, how I love these!

Not really what I originally had in mind when I initially started planning a very sweet, muted palette like these, but I am nonetheless in love - and looking forward to piecing something super sunny, like Jeannine’s cute WIP!

For more inspiration - not that we need it, with all these gorgeous sheets around - check out the vintage sheets Flickr pool. Yum!

It’s Quilt Monday on a Tuesday, y’all - the very best kind!

I know three straight days of work sort flies in the face of the whole Labor Day concept, but, sometimes, it’s the getting up and getting out, the preparing a face to meet the faces that you meet that’s the real effort.

Between Saturday morning and Monday night, I sewed 5 aprons, cut out 12 more, cut and sewed two quilt tops, finished tying the Summer Breeze quilt, and machine quilted a top I made something like three years ago. I still managed to host a Civ 4 marathon, have dinner with neighbors, and read half a book on the Carter Family.

I’m not bragging so much as listing the virtues of a 72-hour life drop-out. If you want to get stuff done, do nothing.

And now, show and tell:

The Summer Breeze Quilt, dropped carelessly on the floor to reveal the vintage sheet I used for the back. I’m getting so much more joy (is that possible???) out of working on quilts when I use these vintage sheets. I don’t know if it’s the extra shot of color, or just the sense of history I feel when I look at the old-fashioned prints. The sense of belonging in my home is already palpable, like it’s been around for 10 years, and not just a month. And I haven’t even bound this guy! Binding, I’m afraid, will have to be put off until the weather cools. Or until I can’t wait any longer. So either autumn, or, like, tonight.

From Summer Breeze - which I had to finish first, or risk working *gasp* out of season - I moved on to playing around with some of my new fabrics. I have a TON of fabric right now, and while I’d love to get in on the “destash” movement everyone is talking about, I paid for this, and, darn it all, I’m gonna make product with it. I decided to put together a couple of simple smaller quilts, which, at about 42 inches square, actually make a fairly handy picnic blanket. We’ve been taking this throw to the park and beach, and it’s perfect for two.

I have ideas for a veritable plethora of these in mind. They are simple to sew, which means I can enlist the elves to help me make some for Christmas gifts, and they aren’t the yardage piglets that a lot of quilts are, which means I can incorporate lots of fun things from my stash without buying anything beyond batting. (And maybe some binding fabric, because I’m so picky about scale, and color, and making a nice, neat frame for the whole thing….)

But for now, I have two tops. Saturday’s:

(Why, oh why, did I fold it before taking a pic??? Close-up of fabrics here.)

and Sunday’s:

(Notice that the carpet is absolutely filthy with scraps and thread ends. Mark of a weekend well spent.)

Being on the roll that I was, I seriously considered putting together another top on Monday, to make it a long weekend trifecta. Good idea, but I think I’ll save it for another long weekend. (Or even do two a weekend till my head explodes!) But I had an itch to do some machine quilting, preferably on a quilt I was free to completely wreck. My machine quilting can use a little practice. And so I practiced.

I really practiced quite a lot.

This is yet another summery quilt that I just wanted to be done with. I made the top in about an hour in something like the summer of ‘05, and it’s amazing how letting a project languish like that just knocks it right off your to-do list.

Until, suddenly, you’re sending your husband to the hardware store for the widest roll of masking tape they have, because you cannot possibly put off the basting for the ten minutes it will take to walk to Ace yourself.

Good times.

Good, good times.