The Bad-a** Block

Why is it that sometimes the things that seem the easiest also tend to be the most difficult? I spent my spring break trying to figure out how to make a quilt block. If you have done this before please let me know, because I am starting to think I might be a bit crazy! Okay, we already knew that, but seriously... a week for a simple (looking) block? Who knew!

Two months ago, Cathy Miller, co-founder of Michael Miller Fabrics, presented their new collection of Couture Cottons at the Portland Modern Quilt Guild. Thanks to Violet Craft (of Peacock Lane fame), they donated fabric for a guild challenge. We were challenged to make a 15 1/2" x 18 1/2" block using the fabrics and 16 of those blocks would be chosen to be featured in a quilt and shown in the Michael Miller booth at Quilt Market. Well, that sounded like fun so I kept an open mind and waited for inspiration to strike. That moment happened on a walk on the promenade in Seaside, Oregon.

Originally I noticed the cinder blocks in the wall in the foreground of the photo (those of you who know me know I have a weird obsession with cinder block bricks!) but then I started to stare at the wall in the background. I played around with the math in my head and in my mind it worked swimmingly. I was excited to get home and make the block.
The block needed to be precise, so I drew my plan using Adobe Illustrator. I created a page that was the finished size of the block (meaning no seam allowances) and built the block pieces to the sizes I thought would work. My theory worked perfectly and I moved onto a test block.

The plan was to cut 3 1/2" x 6 1/2" strips (or bricks) and use a quarter square rectangle technique for the grey triangles that fellow guild member Rachel Kerley had demonstrated at an all day sew. The technique was a bit of a brain tease, but it was really fun once I got the hang of it. The only problem was the rows kept coming out 1/2" smaller than planned. I was baffled so I decided to make a template. Same thing happened. I checked and rechecked my seam allowances but they measured out to 1/4". I showed the block to Nancy Stoval and Susan Beal and emailed my cousin Jan and pulled out my go-to Barbara Brackman book for help. I was getting frustrated so I gave up for the day. The next morning I decided to try adding 1/8" all around to my template. It didn't make sense mathematically but sometimes in sewing you have to add a bit of ease. I held my breath and sewed the row together. Success! It worked! But... The second time I made a row it shrunk 1/2" again. Huh?

I desperately wanted to figure this out but I was ready to quit. It was just a quilt block afterall. I could make a similar block using tumblers or flying geese but the fact of the matter was I would still HAVE TO DO THE MATH! Grr. The good news was that the guild had a second 'improv block' challenge and I now had plenty of scraps to cut up and use for that. Then it hit me. What if the fabric shrank slightly on the cross grain? I had cut some of the pieces with the long side on the length and some with it on the cross. Could it be? I did an experiment and by golly it was! The fabric seemed to shrink more when I cut it on the cross grain. Strange, I know - but that solved the problem.

To celebrate I made two improv blocks with my left over scraps.


Susan also has a terrific tutorial for how she made her challenge block on the PMQG blog. When I finished my block I texted her a picture of it. She wrote back that her husband said it was Bad-a**. Therefor I have aptly named my Seaside block the Bad-a** block. I have posted the template I made for it here. If you want to make this and have any questions please let me know. I certainly have had alot of practice making it! And, if you want to see what other guild members are making check out their work in the PMQG flickr group. They have come up with some terrific designs!

PS I did a little presentation on improv at the last PMQG meeting. There are some photos and slides from that posted here.

Pendleton 'Half-a-Slice' Fabric Cuts

How about a square yard of Pendleton fabric for 28 buckaroos? But of course!

The Pendleton Woolen Mill Store 'Half-a-Slice' program officially launched for the WMS March Madness fabric sale this week. Pendleton fabrics are 60+ inches wide and are sold by the repeat, so a yard can cost upwards of $80. I thought, well, if I get a quarter yard, which is 9" in length and 60 " wide that isn't always the right cut for my projects. A yard can be too much for the project and not always cost effective, so they started a program to offer square yard cuts. Each month they will offer a new Half-a-Slice fabric for $40. It is on sale though the end of the month for 30% off, so a 34" x 36" cut of the Half-a-Slice fabric only costs $28! Think of the possibilities!

I've been working on a bunch of free patterns to go along with the half slices. This month the fabric is featured in my co-worker Stacy's DIY covered boots (no pattern yet...) and for the fabric they are selling next month I have already made a lined yoga bag.

What would you make with a square yard of Pendleton wool? Leave a comment and if I get ten or more comments by the end of the sale I will draw a winner to get a Half-Slice in March of Pendleton Sage Harding.

http://thewoolenmillstore.blogspot.com/

Burda Style Sewing and beyond

I love that I am the self-proclaimed Sample Girl at Pendleton Woolen Mills store. I've had a few fun projects handed my way lately so I thought I'd share.

The Burda Style Sewing Handbook came out recently and many of the projects in there were made with Pendleton fabrics. The gals at the store wanted a few samples to take with them to the NW Sewing and Stichery Expo in Puyallup next month so I volunteered to make a skirt and jacket. The book is a guide to how to manipulate patterns, and this was a fun challenge. The first jacket I made ended up in the scrap bin; not easy to swallow at $40 a yard...

I moved onto working on a skirt (success motivates me more than failures). I used the pattern from the book to start with, but didn't think to lengthen it. I am not exactly comfortable wearing a 16" skirt, so I ended up making a second (longer!) wrap skirt. The wrap skirt gave me the idea to make a wrap jacket. I love playing with the 1" felt binding (and it is only $1 a yard!) and while it took a lot more pattern manipulation than I anticipated I love how it turned out.


If you are up for a sewing adventure head up to the Sewing Expo March 1-4th. Susan Beal with be at the Pendleton booth signing copies of her books and there will be great deals on Pendleton fabrics. I will be in DC for the JDRF Government Day conference this year. Bummed that it conflicts but it is important work that I wouldn't want to miss.

On days when I am done with embroidery duties I get to invent projects for classes and free patterns. My co-workers cleverly named this next project The Michelle Bag. A few Sunday's ago I had some time to play and was inspired to make something quick and easy. The Cloudcroft fabric caught my eye and I grabbed a slice off the table and started playing with it. The design lent itself to a bag - it pretty much sewed itself!

I have a free pattern that will be available for download on the WMS blog super soon. If you want it leave a comment and I'll email it to you.

The WMS be offering smaller cuts of Fabric starting in March which will be perfect for projects like this one. They will be called 'Half-a-Slice' and you will get a full repeat but won't have to buy the 60" width. Stay tuned for more about that as well.

Wedding Quilt Done -- Tada!

Lauren and Doug's wedding quilt is DONE!!!


I started the quilt this summer in a class with Susan Beal at PNCA. I decided to make a version of her Anniversary Quilt from her book Modern Log Cabin Quilting.

Lauren and I picked out some fabrics together - many of them are from Kate Spain's Central Park collection -- I got those from Hip Fabric, which is owned by a fellow PMQG member, some are from Purl Soho and the back fabric Lauren & I bought at Mood in NYC. And I can't leave out that it is sashed in Kona Bay Creme, my favorite sashing cotton that I buy obsessively at Cool Cottons.





Now that that is off my plate here is what is on my to-do list today: finish the gift for my sister Pam, finish the gift for my secret Santa at Pendleton, start the gift for my in-laws, mail out the January Design Camp [think outside the block] packets, and write thank you notes for all the wonderful handmade gifts I have been given in the past few days. Oh, and work on that outerwear project for that company in Vermont -- if I get the green light. Shew!

PS I should mention that my sister Pam sewed a few squares and she and my mom picked the quilt pattern, which was done by the most-talented Nancy Stoval of Just Quilting.

Classes, Classes, Classes!

Have I mentioned how much I love my new gig at Pendleton? Well, if not, I LOVE MY NEW GIG AT PENDLETON! I get to invent projects and then teach those projects in classes and then invent more projects for future classes... So come join me for some holiday-inspired fun. Here are the projects I will be teaching over at the Pendleton Woolen Mills store in December:


Western Boot Holiday Stocking
Saturday, December 3 10am - 12pm


Plaid Penguin
Sunday, December 11 11am - 1pm


Wool Quilted Nesting Boxes
Sunday, December 11 2-4 pm

Plus when you take a class there you get a 15% off craft supplies good for 30 days. There are a ton of fun classes (in addition to mine --) including Susan Beal's Quilted Cross Pillows and Wool Baby Blanket as well as felting, crocheting and crafts. And don't forget about the free tree poncho pattern
Use your class discount to buy supplies for that!

And while I have your attention, how about a little give-away? Okay, twist my arm. Comment below with a clever name for the Penguin and I will draw a winner at random on Thanksgiving and give-away 1/2 yard of Pendleton Ivory/Jade Check (ooh it is soooooo pretty!)

Pendleton Tree Poncho

A few days ago I got to participate in unpacking the holiday decorations for the Pendleton Woolen Mills Store. One of my tasks was to set up the large Christmas Tree at the front of the store. After we decorated it I asked where they kept the tree skirt and I was met with blank stares. "Okay, I'll make one!" I offered. I knew exactly what I wanted to do. I had recently seen a great pattern by Monica of Happy Zombie for Christmas Tree Pants on the Sew Mama Sew holiday sew-along. Using that as inspiration I decided this tree needed a Poncho!
One of the benefits of working with the Woolen Mills Store is that I get to make samples for the store and for classes. I choose my fabric: 1/2 of a 1/2 a yard of Red Four Directions Jacquard, grabbed 5 yards of black felt binding, and four silver buttons.

I've decided to offer it as a free pattern, since I was inspired by Monica's design and she gave her instructions away for free as well. Here is a link to a downloadable pattern. Enjoy!

Jay McCarroll Habitat Challenge

A few months ago the Portland Modern Quilt Guild challenged each of the guild members to create a 12" finished block using fabrics from the Jay McCarroll Habitat collection. We were given fat eights of six different fabrics and we had a month to create our blocks. The president of our chapter then put out a second call: would anyone be interested in putting these quilts together. My hand went up immediately: I was excited to work on sampler compositions and really challenge myself to come up with something that reflected the vibe of our guild: modern, fun and fresh.

I lived with the blocks for a while before I came up with the sampler designs. They fell into two distinct camps: the first I decided was the 'motif' camp, blocks that used solids with the prints to create a dynamic design. The second camp were blocks that used the prints together and didn't use solids (or didn't use high contrast solids.) I decided to approach the 'motif' blocks using more of a traditional sashing/frame idea, and the print blocks I went for a more risky composition that I called the 'scrappy film strip.' Luckily Linda Nussbalm, a fellow guild member and blogger stepped in and offered to help. We both sewed our hearts out at the PMQG sew-day at Fabric depot and I finished the last parts of the project todayI am sending them off to Rachel, of Second Ave Studio (and also a guild member) to quilt.