Summer at Grandma's House

It's a boy!

2014-09-10T16:59:00.002-04:00

Jon and I are excited to announce the arrival of a healthy baby boy! Jacob was born on September 4th at 2:32am, weighing in at a healthy 6 lbs 11 oz. Jake has a head full of blonde hair and we think we've even spotted dimples! The three of us are doing great as we settle into our new family groove.

For more pictures, check out the ones my ridiculously talented cousin took... http://www.andreabarnesphotography.blogspot.com/2014/09/jacob-newborn.html

Burp Cloth-a-palooza

2014-08-15T10:35:00.002-04:00

This stack of burp cloths makes me happier than is probably normal, but it's really fun to see some of my favorite stash fabrics move from a bin in the closet to an item that will be out and used.

I made 6 out of prefold cloth diapers and I just eye-balled the size of the fabric, turned under the edges and sewed it down.

For the rest, I picked up 4 soft XL shirts at Goodwill for about $4/shirt. I went with a friend and we had fun finding the biggest, softest plain shirts in the fun colors. When I got home I raided my stash for fun fabrics that I could match up with the shirts.

Using Made by Rae's tutorial, I was able to get 4 burp cloths out of every shirt--usually two that were 11x18 (from the bottom half of the shirt) and two that were a little smaller (from the top of the shirt).

I think that will be the end the baby projects for now, but I'll be back to share a final nursery update once I remember to take pictures. And who knows, I might whip up a pair of pants or two but we'll see. I'm 37 weeks and you never know when a baby will decide they're ready to come!

Three Kinds of Covers

2014-08-06T21:14:00.000-04:00

I've had these projects done for a while, but kept forgetting to take pictures (duh!). Here are 3 covers I made using fabric I had sitting around in my stash. It's so nice to see them come alive in actual projects instead of sitting on the shelf. I also love how satisfying these kinds of projects are, quick with awesome, useable products.

Number 1: A Car Seat Cover/Canopy
I used the tutorial from Cluck Cluck Sew and I'm super happy with how it came out!

Number 2: Extra cover for my nursing pillow
I used Made by Rae's tutorial for creating a cover from an existing cover. My pillow came with one obnoxiously bright pink cover, so I wanted to make sure I had an extra. It went pretty well and the only modification was using an envelope closure instead of a zipper.

Number 3: A Nursing Cover (aka Hooter Hider)
For this one, I used tutorial from Craftaholics Anonymous, which includes boning at the top. I'm not sure how much I'll use it since I also got an awesome nursing cover at my baby shower that doubles as an infinity scarf and is super cute and doesn't scream "I'm nursing over here" but I hardly cut the Washi fabric to make it, so I figure it could get upcycled down the line.

Sorry for the blurry photo!

And because this isn't a random enough post as it is, I'll also share my toes since I got a super adorable pedicure over the weekend. (It's the little things, right?)

A Quilt for MY baby!

2014-08-01T08:00:00.000-04:00

After making lots of quilts and other projects for little kiddos, it was fun to finally make a quilt for my own little one.

It's a basic squares/rectangles in squares layout--a more random version of the Puzzle Box Quilt over at Moda Bake Shop. I quilted each of the big squares with wavy lines using matching thread color.

The backing is an adorable large scale print "A is for Apple."

And a Riley Blake yellow chevron binding finished the whole thing off!

Can't wait to snuggle our little one in this quilt! Only about a month to go!

Oops!

2014-07-29T15:14:00.002-04:00

I was making another one of those little cardboard boxes for the nursery last night and I had to laugh when I tested it out and saw that it looked like this:

Whoops!

Good thing I have a seam ripper and know how to use it!

Nursery Rocker

2014-07-24T20:41:00.003-04:00

I have 6 weeks until my due date and a bunch of projects to post about (I've been busy!), so here's the first one. We "hacked" an IKEA Jennylund chair to make a slipcovered rocker for our baby's room. I wanted a comfy upholstered/slip-covered rocker but couldn't stomach the price that such a chair would cost from a place like Pottery Barn. But fortunately, moms-to-be on the internet have already solved this first-world problem with an IKEA hack: buy an IKEA chair and attach a swivel/rocker base instead of the legs.

We lucked out and found a Jennylund chair on Craigslist for only $80 and picked up the rocker base for about the same price. Then, my dad and husband got to work on it.

And here it is in the room! (Pay no attention to the boxes on the floor, we still have another piece of furniture to assemble)

Once we told the woman we bought the chair from that we were going to convert her chair into one for our nursery, she threw in a free storage box. I bought an extra ottoman slipcover from IKEA and converted it into a cover the storage box. I'm pretty please with how it looks considering I was just working what I had and making up a "pattern" as I went along. It's also removable so it can go in the wash with the car slipcover when it gets dirty.

And did you catch that ADORABLE koala?? A friend stitched it up for our baby and it's just about the cutest thing!

Playing in Melted Crayon Rain

2014-06-15T20:59:00.000-04:00

Last weekend, Jon and I tried out a fun little crafty project. I saw these cute melted crayon art projects while searching for ideas for our baby's room and we figured to give it try! It's a pretty easy concept: (1) glue crayons to the top of a canvas and (2) apply heat to the crayons so they drip/melt down the canvas.

We thought it would be fun to have the melted drips look like rain and have a couple of kids playing under umbrellas. I found some images online and doctored them to fit my needs and then traced them onto the canvas with a Sharpie.

At first, we used a hair dryer and only covered the kids over their umbrellas. We found the hair dryer to be slow to heat and tough to control, but were encouraged by the result.

Since we were a little disappointed that the rain went under the umbrellas, we tried again with a heat gun (turns out my dad just had one sitting around!) and also covered the kids umbrellas and down the side so rain couldn't slide under. This was a lot faster and more controlled so the rain stayed where we wanted and the crayons didn't get melted together at the top.

I can't tell which I like better and we can't decide which to hang in the room... which do you like better?

Nursery Projects

2014-06-08T19:54:00.001-04:00

I've actually been sewing for my little one!

First up, a collapsible storage bin that will likely live on the dresser/changing table. The fabric is this adorable yellow giraffe home dec fabric. I also have a teal chevron in a similar weight, so I'm considering making another one so I have two that are the same size.

I mostly followed this pattern, but I didn't put binding on the bottom of the box (instead I did the seams so that the seams ended up on the inside of the box). I also hot glued the binding on the top of the box and the fabric on the removable bottom of the box. The pattern suggested sewing these one, but there is no way my machine was going to handle sewing through cardboard.

Next up, a pillow with a base envelope closure. We're planning to get an IKEA slipcovered armchair and install a glider base, but the chair will need an extra back pillow.

Curtains for Katers

2014-06-01T09:38:00.001-04:00

I've been sewing away since my last post for a special, spunky little lady. A few months ago, my cousin asked me for some advice on black out curtains for her daughter (who I made a baby quilt for a couple years ago) and I couldn't resist but offer to make them for her.

The criteria were that she wanted them to be cute (feminine but not over the top girly), block out all of the light from east-facing windows and be able to withstand a very independently minded two-year old. Here's what we ended up with:

My cousin lives in Madison, so I went to a fabric outlet here in the Twin Cities where I bought a whole bolt of Ty Pennington fabric (50% off). Then I picked up another 15 yards of basic blackout fabric from Joann. I was nervous to pick fabric without her there, but she sent me some inspiration pictures and I felt confident I understood her vision for the room.

The actual construction of the curtains was really easy, I basically just hemmed the four sides of each panel using the blackout fabric as lining underneath each hem. This tutorial is more or less the strategy I used. The trick was that crawling on the floor to maneuver the 86" panels got progressively harder as I've gotten a bigger baby bump. I joked with Jon that I'm glad there isn't photo documentation of me pinning and cutting the fabric!

So I'm really happy with how they turned out and we got to visit Madison last weekend and they looked great in person! You'll notice that the curtains are hung with clips so that if Katers tries to climb them, the panels will just release. So far, she hasn't tested this, but I figure it's only a matter of time.

Glad you like them so much, Andrea! Love you!

Major WIP

2014-04-04T17:05:00.000-04:00

I'm excited to let you know that Jon and I are expecting a baby at the end of the summer. I'm due the first week of September. So far, pregnancy has been treating me really well with minimal morning sickness and mostly feeling good. I even have a bump now to show for it!

18 weeks!

The blog will likely pick up over the next few months as I sew for the baby. I have a list of things I want to do for the nursery and a few smaller clothing projects, but we'll see how I do as I get farther along!

Bedding and Valances for Ashford

2014-03-15T19:27:00.003-04:00

One of the cool parts about moving back to my hometown has been reconnecting with old friends. Like Melissa - she and I have known each other since we were really little. We went to the same church and lived only a few blocks away. As kids, people always thought we were sisters or twins since we looked a lot alike. Although we haven't stayed in touch, we have a ton in common and it's been wonderful to have her back in my life.

When Melissa told me last year that she was expecting, I knew I wanted to sew something for her little guy. We decided to do valances and crib sheets. She and I picked out fabric together for her vision of a navy, lime & gray nursery. Super cute, right??

The valances were an easy project, just sewing hems on all four sides. I did a wide hem on the bottom and added a little white oversized rick-rack I had laying around to make it look a little more polished.

For the crib sheets, I used a super easy tutorial that only required 2 yards of fabric and some 1/2" elastic. I think it only took about 20 minutes to do each sheet.

Blogging is a funny thing

2013-09-05T00:16:00.000-04:00

I started this blog in 2009 when I was completely miserable in the middle of grad school. Creating things and blogging about them was an escape. A way to make something tangible instead of gathering data. A way to be creative without feeling like my career depended on the quality of the product. A way to connect to people without worrying about whether they thought I was smart. A way to avoid thinking about living in a place where I couldn't put down roots.

I'm crafting and blogging less these days and I think that's a good thing. I'm finally living in a place with family. My husband and I both have fulfilling jobs that we generally look forward to going to. I'm getting out and enjoying the community where I live. I'm trying to reestablish roots in my hometown.

I've rediscovered my joy for life. I didn't realize how buried it was until last year when I finished my PhD and left academia. My joy still comes from making things but it also comes from a lot of other things that are a little easier on the budget and aren't as easy to capture in pictures.

So I'm still here and still finding creative outlets but the balance of life has tipped a bit and I'm rolling with it. I will probably post in fits and starts but I think I'm at peace with that. This blog has never been about gathering a ton of followers... it's been about remembering the things that I make and the people I make them for.

MN Love

2013-05-13T08:47:00.000-04:00

Before leaving Ann Arbor, I promised Jenna I would try to blog more. Since I'm not always crafty in the sewing sense, but I'm usually expending some creative effort, I'm going to try out blogging about more things to keep me in the habit of record keeping.

A few days ago we safely arrived in MN and had a bunch of fun along the drive from Ann Arbor to Minneapolis. Here some of the highlights:

Teddy Bear Factory in Chelsea, MI

Epic pirate-themed mini-golf in the Wisconsin Dells

I'm so happy to be home and I'm even more excited to get settled and put down roots.

Triple Finish

2013-05-11T08:41:00.000-04:00

About a week before the move, I finished up a project I'd been plugging away at for the last few months: three little quilts for a set of triplets.

The quilts weren't hard, but I was slow in getting them done since I was distracted by the impending move and nervous about such a high risk pregnancy. The mom did great though! She managed to go over 36 weeks and each of three were born last week at over 5 pounds!! So without further ado here are three little quilts for Mason, Noah and Paige.

My favorite fun fact about these little ones is that their uncle (one of my husband's best friends growing up) wanted to name them Corey, Sean and Tapanga (Boy Meets World, anyone?)

Movin' along

2013-04-25T07:18:00.001-04:00

I've been sewing, even though I haven't really been blogging...

I'm working on three little quilts for three little babies on the way (a friend is having triplets!) and I'm finally feeling urgency to get the project done since she's only a month from her due date (and is amazingly still pregnant, woohoo!) and as you can see from the boxes and my cutting table being on the floor, we're about a week and a half from moving again.

The move is really exciting. I got a job in Minneapolis, where I'm from, and I can't wait to live long-term near my family. I still don't like these kinds of transitions and major relocations, but there's some solace in knowing this will be the last one.

In celebration

2013-02-02T11:18:00.000-05:00

After making the quilt for my PhD advisor, I still had half of the Parson Gray fabric leftover. Since I loved that quilt so much (and Jon did too), I decided to make another almost identical quilt to keep for my self to commemorate finishing my degree. Mine is just a little bit bigger than the original at about 50"x70".

I pieced, basted and quilted almost the entire thing at a weekend retreat I went to with the Ann Arbor Modern Quilt Guild at the beginning of January. It was an awesome way to get this project down, I just hunkered down with a great group of women and no distractions (except for hilarious conversation and girly movies).

I learned all kinds of great tips too, from how to make my own spray starch, to ironing a quilt sandwich before basting so the top and back "stick" to the batting (you can use fewer pins!), to making sure that I have tables on all sides of my sewing table so the quilt glides as I quilt it. Quilting this quilt was the first time I wasn't sore from moving the quilt around!

the back

So all around, I'm loving this quilt and the label will read:

"In celebration of earning my PhD and starting the next chapter!"

antique quilt from my (other) grandma

2012-12-05T19:52:00.003-05:00

At the first Ann Arbor Modern Quilt Guild meeting I went to back in August, Ginia gave a great presentation about the history of quilt dyes and patterns. She also does quilt apprasials, so I had her take a look at this quilt. It was a lot of fun to talk to her about it and I thought I'd share it here to remember the details!

This quilt is a bit of a mystery to my family. My parents found it in my grandparents' house after my father's mother pasted away. It was kept in the back of a closet without a note or label and my dad had never seen it before. You can still see markings from the original construction, so it probably has never been washed.

Ginia estimated the date of the quilt at circa 1940, which was an interesting time in my grandma's life. My grandparents were raised on farms in western Wisconsin and went to school to become teachers so they could live in town. In 1940, my grandpa was teaching at a school in Minnesota and my grandma was still in Wisconsin teaching one-room school. In 1941, they were married and my grandma moved to Minnesota as well. This quilt could have been something she did to pass the time before they got married; it could have been a going-away gift from a parent; she could have bought it; or any number of other things.

The craftsmanship on this quilt is pretty remarkable. Each Sunbonnet Sue is hand appliqued (perfectly) and embellished with embroidery. Each Sue has a solid bonnet with a cute matching print dress. The colors match beautifully and are wonderfully arranged. The hand quilted stitches are amazing. Ginia also noted that the binding is "jack-knife" binding which I've never seen before, but also adds to this particular quilt's value, as it's a more difficult and less common technique.

I can't help but think about the woman who made it and wonder who she was and why she made this quilt. There are two mystery marks in the border on the back of the quilt, one looks like a S and the other looks like a G or C next to a faint E marking. They look intentional, but it's not clear to me what they mean. I guess we'll never really know...

Since I'm the one in the family who's most interested in quilting, my parents gave it to me a few years ago. I think the sunbonnet Sue's are kind of cute and the colors are great. It's also a twin size so if I ever wanted to put it on a bed or hang it on the wall, it's a good size.

I need to be more careful about refolding it in more ways so that the fold lines aren't so prominent, but overall, I'm pretty happy that the quilt didn't get more damaged while my family's had it since none of us knew what we were doing with it.

Ann Arbor has a Modern Quilt Guild!

2012-10-25T10:00:00.000-04:00

One of the major benefits of living in Ann Arbor this year is that I get to be a part of a Modern Quilt Guild!! I've been to two meetings so far (they happen monthly) and the women are awesome and really welcoming. They also have a monthly "sew-in" where you can bring your sewing machine and a project to work on and quilt/sew together (this is where I got the art kits done).

I've never had a community like this before or a place to sew with other people before, so this is pretty great. Plus, it means I will definitely sew at least one day per month. :)

I'm taking part in a round robin style bee with some of the women of the guild. The starter blocks were really eclectic, but I think that's going to make it fun! My starter block was actually one from another bee I was in that didn't quite fit with the other ones I received, so I figured this would be a fun way to give it a new life.

Last month, I received this block from Cherie.

It was so beautiful and the piecing was perfect. I wanted to show it off and allow some space for others to add something more detailed later, so I just squared off the block and framed it up. I'm excited to see what becomes of it!

More art kits!

2012-10-24T22:12:00.000-04:00

My best friend is getting married this Saturday and I made the little kids attending her wedding (including the flower girls) traveling art kits like I did for my wedding. There are 4 girls and 1 boy all between the ages of about 3 and 7, so these will hopefully make them feel special and give them something quiet to do during cocktails and dinner.

Each kit has an 8-pack of crayons, 5 markers, a Dover Little Activity/Sticker book, a 4x6 pad of paper and a couple loose sheets of stickers, so the total cost for each kit was about $8 (I bought a number of items in "bulk" on Amazon). Like last time, I used the Traveling Art Show free pattern from Bread and Buttons (found here) and made the following modifications:

I used velcro instead of ties so that little kiddos could open and close them by themselves.

To make the velcro strap, I cut a strip of fabric 2 1/4" x about 5-6", folded it in half lengthwise (like a hotdog, not a hamburger), sewed right sides together, leaving one short end open to flip it right- sides-out. Then I sewed on the velcro to the strip.
When I attached the strap to the main part of the kit, I made sure to attach it in the middle, but lower than the top edge of the inside pocket (this allows the exterior velcro stitching to be hidden by the pocket).
To get the velcro on the pocket part of the kit in the right place, I put the supplies into the kit before I sewed the pocket divisions and placed the second piece of velcro so that the kit would close securely.

I also altered the size of the pockets so that they fit the supplies that I wanted to include.

If you want to make the pockets as shown here, the measurements from left to right:
4.5" - 4.75" - 1" - 1" - 1" - 1" - 1" - whatever was left.

I feel like those instructions are kind of confusing without pictures, so if you'd like to see me put together a tutorial on these modifications, let me know and I'll take some pictures and post one soon.

Settling in

2012-10-24T21:28:00.000-04:00

Since I last posted, Jon and I successfully moved to Ann Arbor! I've been at my job for a bit over two months and it's going really well. I definitely think the career change was the right move. It's too bad this position is only a year, but we'll see what life has in store for us in the spring/summer!

We're all moved in and I'm sewing again. Nothing big yet, but moving has definitely inspired me to get going on finishing up some old projects.

The first project in the new place was a yoga mat bag for my sister. I'll be honest that when she requested it, I had no idea she even did yoga, but it was an easy request and sewed up really fast!

I liked that the tutorial didn't require making a lining, but still had a pocket and drawstring (you can find the tutorial here)

One of the perks of having a "real job," instead of being a doctoral student, is that I have more guilt-free time for myself, so hopefully this is the start of regular blogging again!

Done and done.

2012-08-02T23:10:00.003-04:00

I successfully passed my defense this afternoon! I really couldn't be happier!

Thanks for all of the support last night!

Quilt for My Advisor

2012-08-01T20:24:00.000-04:00

On the eve of my dissertation defense (the final step of getting my PhD), I can't help but feel a little bit nervous and a whole lot of gratitude for all of those who have spent countless hours teaching and mentoring me to get me to this point.

The process of getting a PhD is very much an apprenticeship where one learns the art of research and scholarship from their advisor, and I have been extremely fortunate to have an amazing advisor. He has been patient and encouraging when I've struggled with my research, reminded me to celebrate when things went well and was incredibly supportive when I decided to pursue a career outside of the faculty-track.

I wanted to get him a gift, but I had no idea what to get him until I ran across this post on Greenleaf Goods. She had made a beautiful quilt for her advisor and I realized that a quilt would be perfect for mine as well. It would be personalized for him and the process of making it allowed me to reflect on my time in grad school as I sewed the strips together, quilted the top and hand stitched the binding.

And the product is my new favorite quilt. I'll be sad to have it leave, but I'm so thankful that I was able to give my advisor a gift that was made with my own hands. For me, it's the only gift that comes close to expressing how truly grateful I feel.

--------------------------------
Quilt details:
- Inspired by this quilt and this quilt
- 48"x 60"
- Fabric from Parson Grey's Curious Nature line with Kona O.D. Green
- All over stipple quilting with straight lines around the log cabins and along edge of stripe

Notes from some weekend sewing

2012-07-29T19:28:00.000-04:00

Highlights from the weekend:
- It is possible for me to make a quilt in a weekend
- This is probably my favorite quilt to date
- I heart spray baste and will probably never baste a quilt with safety pins again
- I would rather sew gifts for others than sew for myself
- The Curious Nature line (from Parson Grey) is very difficult to color match

I can't wait to get the binding on this quilt, not only because I'm excited to finish, but also because I can do the hand sewing while watching the Olympics! More photos coming soon!

Weekend Plan

2012-07-27T19:12:00.000-04:00

I have a plan for sewing this weekend. It involves:

these blocks

these strips

and this sketch

Wish me luck! I've got until Thursday to finish it up!!

p.s. Life has been particularly quiet on the sewing front for the last six weeks--I turned in my dissertation! Since then, I've been using the downtime before my defense to travel and it's been so relaxing to spend time with family and friends in all different places. My defense is on Thursday (this weekend's quilt is a gift for my advisor) and then we'll be making the big move to Ann Arbor a week later!

Ricketts Glen State Park

Me and Best Friend in Chicago

Family Reunion Band

Home Sweet Home (Minneapolis, MN)

More pants

2012-06-08T20:03:00.000-04:00

I'm going to a baby shower/welcome home party tomorrow for the owner of one the dino quilts I made recently. Since I wanted to bring a little gift, I made a little pair of pants using fabric in my stash.

I used Made-by-Rae's tutorial for newborn pants and added cuffs for extra length. The baby is still very tiny since he was born 9.5 weeks early and only passed his due date a couple weeks ago, and figured with the extra length of the cuffs, they'll work for a while given Rae's description of how wide they are.

These could've been a quick 30 minute project, but I took about an hour (still no big deal!) since I did french seams and added cuffs. I'm really happy with the extra time since I think they look pretty professional.