I can't believe how long it's been since my last "regular" post! May was such a crazy month! I'm looking forward to things slowing down a little bit! Thanks to everyone who entered the giveaways! I'll pop in tomorrow and announce all the winners! Okay, let's get caught up! :)
I squeezed in a little free sewing time this past week and dug into my stack of works-in-progress. I ended up working on putting together this quilt, using blocks made by the Twice Around the Block Bee ladies! I added to them so they were all 12.5" square, and made two more. I am really happy with how it's turned out so far. I think I'll finish it off with some pebble quilting!
I made myself a new zipper pouch! I got this fabric combo stuck in my head (Habitat by Jay McCarroll and Wonderland by Momo), and a pouch seemed like the perfect project! I use Kelly's zipper tab method!
There has been a bit of fabric mail lately. I was really behaving for a while there... and now, not so much, hehe! This delicious stack is Jenean Morrison's new line, Grand Hotel! I love, love the colors! I bought my stack from Sprightly Fabrics. You can also find the entire line at Fat Quarter Shop.
Look at this cute little guy that arrived today! I could not resist adding him to my collection of stuffed animals. He's so well made and so tiny! I purchased him from Protopye on etsy!
I actually have a non-sewing finish to share this week! At our last apartment in Ohio, some one put this little chest of drawers out for the trash and I snatched it. It's pretty cheap wood (but it is wood!), and it was in bad condition, but it's been the perfect size for all my shipping supplies. I finally had a chance to refinish it last weekend! I painted it with chalkboard paint and some knobs that we found at a Habitat for Humanity ReStore for $.50 each! I'm so happy with how it turned out!
I actually found a bit of vintage pyrex recently too! I found these three pink refridgerator dishes tucked in a corner at an antique mall last weekend. They definitely weren't thrift price, but they are in awesome condition and it was waaaay better than online prices! Now I just need the 502 and my set is complete :)
My garden has been doing great! I put plants in on Mother's Day and Michael did a great job taking care of it when I went to Quilt Market. I put down a bunch of leaf mulch since this shot to help keep the weeds down, which has been great. I even have a few flowers on my tomato plants already!
George has been good too!
I'm excited to welcome three new sponsors to In Color Order! The Annex Sewing Lounge, specializing in vintage fabrics, notions and quilt kits, Bloomerie Fabrics, a great selection of fabrics, books, patterns and even baker's twine, and finally Form and Fabric, beautiful modern fabrics, great customer service and discounted US shipping! I hope you'll check them out! :)
Today I love the..
Smell of: Fresh air
Sound of: Monk
Taste of: Diet Coke
Sight of: New fabric
Feel of: Warm sunny day
Good Things about Today:
- Productive day!
- Taught a quilting class at the Sewcial Lounge!
- Happy mail!
- George has been extra cute today!
Saturday, June 2, 2012
Friday, June 1, 2012
HST Block of the Month: June
Welcome to the Half-Square Triangle Block of the Month! For each month in 2012, I'll present a quick tutorial for a traditional quilt block using half-square triangles (HST)! It's going to be a lot of fun, feel free to join in at any time! For past posts see here.
Happy June! Today I'm sharing with you the sixth block of our block of the month series! We're half-way done! Isn't that crazy? This block is a super simple! Let's dive right in!
Cutting
Traditional Method:
- (8) 4" squares from background fabric (white)
- (2) 4" squares from print fabric (green)
- (2) 4" squares from second print fabric (turquoise)
- (2) 4" squares from third print fabric (teal)
- (2) 4" squares from fourth print fabric (navy)
Alternative Method:
- (4) 6" squares from background fabric (white)
- (1) 6" squares from print fabric (green)
- (1) 6" squares from second print fabric (turquoise)
- (1) 6" squares from third print fabric (teal)
- (1) 6" squares from fourth print fabric (navy)
1. Assemble your half-square triangles using either the traditional method, or the alternative method. Press seams open.
2. Trim your HSTs to 3.5" square.
3. Arrange your HSTs as shown in the image above.
4. Sew your HSTs into four rows. Press seams in alternating directions as shown above.
5. Sew your four rows together, pinning where the seams match up. Press seams open. Trim block to 12.5" if necessary.
Voila! You're done! :)
Now that we're half-way through, I thought I'd take a shot of all my blocks together! I'm getting excited seeing this quilt come together, I hope you are too!
If you create a block using this tutorial I hope you'll add it to the flickr group!
Happy Sewing!
Favorites
1. layout - almost all the blocks together, 2. Clamshell pillow, 3. wacky stack quilt in raspberry, 4. Retro Flower Quilt, 5. purple simo outside, 6. Rainbow Geese in the Forest, 7. Cherry Creamsicle, 8. Detail on Urban Bead, 9. circle bedthrow
Every Friday I go through my favorite photos on Flickr, and choose nine sewing/quilting related projects to showcase here. These photos and projects are not my own, you can find the original images and creators by clicking the coordinating links! If for any reason you do not want your project featured here, please feel free to email me and I'll remove it!
Happy Weekend! :)
Every Friday I go through my favorite photos on Flickr, and choose nine sewing/quilting related projects to showcase here. These photos and projects are not my own, you can find the original images and creators by clicking the coordinating links! If for any reason you do not want your project featured here, please feel free to email me and I'll remove it!
Happy Weekend! :)
Tuesday, May 29, 2012
AGF Fat Quarter Gang!
It's going to be a year chock full of weekly project tutorials from members and giveaways all featuring Art Gallery fabrics! It's going to be such a blast, you won't want to miss it! I'll be sharing my first project later this summer! And... here is my gang photo, haha! I'm Jeni 'Seam Busta' Baker!
Please note my fabric "cash", scissors necklace, and most importantly, open rotary cutter! I think this is quite possibly the toughest I've ever looked! ;)
You can find more information and meet all the members here. There might just be photos of all the other members too... just sayin'!
Happy Tuesday!
Fat Quarterly Shape Workshop Book + Giveaway
Hello Everyone! Welcome to my stop on the Fat Quarterly Shape Workshop for Quilters Blog Tour! If you aren't familiar with Fat Quarterly, it's a popular e-magazine for modern sewists! The e-zine and now this new book are put out by the talented Katy Jones, Brioni Greenberg, Tacha Bruecher, and John Q. Adams. Lynne Goldsworthy has also recently joined the FQ team!
Now, on to the book!
Flat out, I love this book. In my mind, most quilting books can be put into two categories: books with quilt blocks, and books with quilt patterns. Lucky for us, this book has both! The book is divided into six sections, each focusing on a different shape: squares & rectangles, circles, triangles, stars, polygons, and diamonds.
In each section, you'll find quilt blocks from the four authors featuring that shape, all done in the same combination of fabrics. Makes it easy to visualize the similarities between the blocks, and great sampler ideas too! Then, each section has quilts and projects as well! I love the idea of having 60 modern blocks at my fingertips as well as full project patterns! :)
I combed through the book and narrowed down my favorite project from each author! Let's take a look!
John Q. Adams - Cub Crawl Baby Quilt - I am always on the lookout for quilts that have large blocks or leave large sections of fabric intact. Perfect for showcasing those extra special prints!
Katy Jones - Orange Soda Quilt - I generally shy away from applique, but this quilt has me wanting to give it a try! The patchwork is so fun, it's just such a cheerful quilt!
Tacha Bruecher - Fast Forward/Rewind Quilt - Who can resist a good flying geese quilt? I sure can't! The different sized geese in this quilt did me in right away!
Brioni Greenberg - Starry Hanging Storage - I'll be making room for one of these for sure! So much patchworky goodness, I love the star piecework especially!
There is a little something for everyone in this book, whether you're a seasoned quilter or you're just beginning. I think this is a must-have book for any modern quilter! You can find the book for sale here! I encourage you to check out the Fat Quarterly blog and e-zine issues as well!
Lark Crafts has kindly offered up a copy of the book for one lucky reader! To
enter, just leave a comment! One entry per person, I'll choose a winner
randomly. Giveaway ends Friday, June 1st at 5pm CST.
Giveaway is now closed, thanks!
Don't forget to check out the rest of the tour!
5/18 Kickoff at FatQuarterly.com and LarkCrafts.com!
5/21 Lily Quilts
5/24 Handmade by Alissa
5/29 In Color Order << you're here! :)
5/31 Comfort Stitching
6/4 Generation Q
6/7 Sew Mama Sew
6/12 Pat Sloan
6/14 WhipUp
6/18 Sarah Fielke’s The Last Piece
6/22 Fat Quarter Shop
6/26 Diary of a Quilter
6/28 Amy’s Creative Side
7/3 A La Mode Fabric
7/6 It’s Sew Kiki!
7/10 Craft Buds!
7/12 Craft Foxes
7/16 {sew} Allegorical
7/18 Wrap-up Party at FatQuarterly.com!
Good Luck!
Now, on to the book!
Flat out, I love this book. In my mind, most quilting books can be put into two categories: books with quilt blocks, and books with quilt patterns. Lucky for us, this book has both! The book is divided into six sections, each focusing on a different shape: squares & rectangles, circles, triangles, stars, polygons, and diamonds.
In each section, you'll find quilt blocks from the four authors featuring that shape, all done in the same combination of fabrics. Makes it easy to visualize the similarities between the blocks, and great sampler ideas too! Then, each section has quilts and projects as well! I love the idea of having 60 modern blocks at my fingertips as well as full project patterns! :)
I combed through the book and narrowed down my favorite project from each author! Let's take a look!
John Q. Adams - Cub Crawl Baby Quilt - I am always on the lookout for quilts that have large blocks or leave large sections of fabric intact. Perfect for showcasing those extra special prints!
Katy Jones - Orange Soda Quilt - I generally shy away from applique, but this quilt has me wanting to give it a try! The patchwork is so fun, it's just such a cheerful quilt!
Tacha Bruecher - Fast Forward/Rewind Quilt - Who can resist a good flying geese quilt? I sure can't! The different sized geese in this quilt did me in right away!
Brioni Greenberg - Starry Hanging Storage - I'll be making room for one of these for sure! So much patchworky goodness, I love the star piecework especially!
There is a little something for everyone in this book, whether you're a seasoned quilter or you're just beginning. I think this is a must-have book for any modern quilter! You can find the book for sale here! I encourage you to check out the Fat Quarterly blog and e-zine issues as well!
Giveaway is now closed, thanks!
Don't forget to check out the rest of the tour!
5/18 Kickoff at FatQuarterly.com and LarkCrafts.com!
5/21 Lily Quilts
5/24 Handmade by Alissa
5/29 In Color Order << you're here! :)
5/31 Comfort Stitching
6/4 Generation Q
6/7 Sew Mama Sew
6/12 Pat Sloan
6/14 WhipUp
6/18 Sarah Fielke’s The Last Piece
6/22 Fat Quarter Shop
6/26 Diary of a Quilter
6/28 Amy’s Creative Side
7/3 A La Mode Fabric
7/6 It’s Sew Kiki!
7/10 Craft Buds!
7/12 Craft Foxes
7/16 {sew} Allegorical
7/18 Wrap-up Party at FatQuarterly.com!
Good Luck!
Sunday, May 27, 2012
Mother's Day Quilt
Happy Weekend! I'm popping in here quickly to share a finished quilt with you! This quilt is a belated Mother's Day present for my Mom! My family is here visiting this weekend so I held onto it until now. I made my parents a quilt for their bed for Christmas last year, but I figured my Mom could use a throw too!
This quilt is made from vintage blocks made by my maternal Grandmother. They were all different sizes so I knew I didn't want to do a traditional grid layout. I had to make one block (the giant churn dash) to round it out to 8 blocks, I used some vintage fabric from my stash so it would blend in! I fiddled with the arrangement for a while and finally landed on this.
For the background and sashing I used Kona cotton in Light Parfait! I wanted something pretty neutral but with a bit of peach to tie all the blocks together.
The backing is a vintage sheet I thrifted a few weeks ago. I free motion quilted it with doodle loops using my favorite shade of Aurifil 50wt thread, Beige #2310.
It's bound up in a vintage floral cotton fabric. It finishes at 66"x76"!
I'm happy to report that the quilt was well-received! It feels good to finish up a few works-in-progress! My grandmother sewed these blocks approximately 40 years ago, so this quilt has been a long time in the making! :)
This quilt is made from vintage blocks made by my maternal Grandmother. They were all different sizes so I knew I didn't want to do a traditional grid layout. I had to make one block (the giant churn dash) to round it out to 8 blocks, I used some vintage fabric from my stash so it would blend in! I fiddled with the arrangement for a while and finally landed on this.
For the background and sashing I used Kona cotton in Light Parfait! I wanted something pretty neutral but with a bit of peach to tie all the blocks together.
The backing is a vintage sheet I thrifted a few weeks ago. I free motion quilted it with doodle loops using my favorite shade of Aurifil 50wt thread, Beige #2310.
It's bound up in a vintage floral cotton fabric. It finishes at 66"x76"!
I'm happy to report that the quilt was well-received! It feels good to finish up a few works-in-progress! My grandmother sewed these blocks approximately 40 years ago, so this quilt has been a long time in the making! :)
Friday, May 25, 2012
Geared For Guys Blog Tour + Giveaway
You can find the book in paper and PDF format in Emily's shop here. You might also be interested in Emily's fabric lines for good guy sewing material: Hall of Fame, Going Coastal, and her newest line, Shore Thing!
Giveaway is now closed, thanks!
Don't forget to stop by and see Shannon of It's Sew Shannon tomorrow for the next stop on the tour!
Good Luck!
Wednesday, May 23, 2012
Spring Quilt Market 2012
So you may have noticed that it was a little quiet around here last week. Don't worry, it was for a good reason! I was at Spring International Quilt Market in Kansas City! This was my first time attending the show, so I was pretty excited! I went along to help Vanessa Christenson with her booth (and so did Megan & Deedee!)! She debuted her first fabric line with Moda, Simply Color! I may be a bit biased since we're friends, but it's super awesome! Take a look for yourself:
Super cute right? :)
Okay! Now I have a mini recap of some of my favorite parts and you can see lots more photos on my flickr, here.
Booth I wanted to live in: Melody Miller's
Fabric I was most anxious to see: Bloomsbury Gardens by Liberty of London Lifestyle Fabrics (quilting cotton!)
Biggest fan girl moment: Meeting Anna Maria Horner
Favorite quilt pattern I saw: Diamond Ring Quilt by Green Bee Patterns
First and biggest stop at Sample Spree: Art Gallery Fabrics of course!
Absolute cutest booth: Out to Sea by Sarah Jane
Fabric that made me squeal the loudest: Picnic Pals by Alyssa Thomas of Penguin & Fish
Most beautiful booth: Art Gallery Fabrics (Oh how I love things in color order, hehe!)
Booth that made me want to run home and sew: Chicopee by Denyse Schmidt
Upcoming fabric lines I'm most looking forward to: Field Study by Anna Maria Horner, The Birds and the Bee by Tula Pink, Chicopee by Denyse Schmidt, Indie and Rock 'n Romance by Pat Bravo, Out to Sea by Sarah Jane, Heaven & Helsinki by Patty Young, Liberty Lifestyle Fabrics and Bella by Lotta Jansdotter.
Coolest trick I learned: Hole-punched business cards (thanks Erin!)
Phew! Hope that wasn't too photo heavy for you! If it wasn't and you want to see more, go here!
I'll be back on Friday with a fun book review! Until then, happy sewing! :)
Super cute right? :)
Okay! Now I have a mini recap of some of my favorite parts and you can see lots more photos on my flickr, here.
Booth I wanted to live in: Melody Miller's
Fabric I was most anxious to see: Bloomsbury Gardens by Liberty of London Lifestyle Fabrics (quilting cotton!)
Biggest fan girl moment: Meeting Anna Maria Horner
Favorite quilt pattern I saw: Diamond Ring Quilt by Green Bee Patterns
First and biggest stop at Sample Spree: Art Gallery Fabrics of course!
Absolute cutest booth: Out to Sea by Sarah Jane
Fabric that made me squeal the loudest: Picnic Pals by Alyssa Thomas of Penguin & Fish
Most beautiful booth: Art Gallery Fabrics (Oh how I love things in color order, hehe!)
Booth that made me want to run home and sew: Chicopee by Denyse Schmidt
Upcoming fabric lines I'm most looking forward to: Field Study by Anna Maria Horner, The Birds and the Bee by Tula Pink, Chicopee by Denyse Schmidt, Indie and Rock 'n Romance by Pat Bravo, Out to Sea by Sarah Jane, Heaven & Helsinki by Patty Young, Liberty Lifestyle Fabrics and Bella by Lotta Jansdotter.
Coolest trick I learned: Hole-punched business cards (thanks Erin!)
Phew! Hope that wasn't too photo heavy for you! If it wasn't and you want to see more, go here!
I'll be back on Friday with a fun book review! Until then, happy sewing! :)
Monday, May 21, 2012
Sew, Mama, Sew Giveaway Day!
Happy Monday! It's about time we had another giveaway around here, and it just so happens to be Sew, Mama, Sew's Giveaway Day! If you're new here, welcome! I'm Jeni! I like to blog about my sewing and quilting adventures, thrifting finds, and my tiny pet bunny George! I enjoy providing tutorials and informational series like The Art of Choosing to my readers! I hope you'll take a peek around!
I'm giving away 2 copies of my PDF patterns, the Lined Drawstring Bag Pattern and the Vintage Nine-Patch Quilt Pattern! I'll choose two winners and you'll receive a copy of each pattern via email!
Giveaway is now closed!
Good luck!
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