Wensleydale Quilt for My Son

At the end of last year, I decided to make a quilt for my oldest son. Sure, I made several quilts and blankets for him in the past, but not as a grown man. The great thing is, I already had a pattern in mind. It was Wensleydale by Jen Kingwell. Jen came to town last August and I attended her trunk show with my friend. I enjoyed looking at all her quilts, but the Wensleydale quilt stuck out to me and I thought to myself; that would be perfect for my boys.

Scrappy Strip/String Pillow ~ Two Versions!

There are many scrappy strip/string quilt tutorials out there. Some tutorials suggest using white fabric as a foundation and some use different types of papers. I wasn't sure if I wanted to use fabric and have an extra layer in my pillow. So I used tracing paper I had at home and it was too thick to peel off after the strips were sewn. I know there are special papers available online, but I wanted to start making the blocks right away. Yes, I was in the mood that I had to start the project at that moment and couldn't wait for an extra few days for my order to arrive at my doorstep. I looked around my room and found tissue papers for gift wrapping and decided to give it a try. Because this project doesn't need specific design on the paper and random piecing, simple tissue paper did the trick. Peeling it off was a breeze too.

Before you start, you want to Iron your tissue paper to smooth out any wrinkles and cut them to the size you want. I used cutting tools to do this and it went so fast. Also, sorting your scraps by color (if you already organized them that way you are good to go!) speeds things up while you are choosing and mixing colors as you are piecing.

Let's begin!

Scrappy Strip Pillow --- finished size 16"x 16" * YOU WILL NEED

12 pieces --- 4 1/2" x 4 1/2" tissue paper
12 pieces --- 1' x 7" (or longer if you prefer) white fabric strips
Various scrap strips
1 --- 18"x 18" Batting
1 --- 18"x 18" backing(I used muslin. It is going to be in hidden inside of the pillow)
2 --- 11"x 16 1/2" fabrics for the back panels to create the pillow

* HOW TO

1. Fold both ends of the 1"x 7" white strip in half. Match the folded line to the opposite corners of the tissue paper.

2. Lay the printed scrap strip on top of the white strip. I used pins to keep them aligned and the corners matched.

3. Sew them together onto the paper with 1/4" seam, open the seam and press with iron.

4. Repeat the process and do the same with the opposite side as well.

5. Lay the pieced fabric side down on the cutting mat. Trim the excess fabrics using the tissue paper as a guide.

6. Peel the tissue paper off.

Tada! A block is done. Isn't this so fun?

7. When you are done making the rest of the blocks, play with them to decide on the layout and piece the blocks side by side to create the rows.

8. Then, piece those rows together.

9. I did simple rows of quilting on this. Degital Dual Feed foot is one of my most favorite accesorries for my Babylock Aria. It feeds the fabric evenly and consistently. I felt the big difference on finished projects especially when working on larger items. Trim the excess around the quilted square.

10. Take a 11"x 16 1/2" piece and fold one side of 16 1/2" twice (1/2" each time)and sew. Leave the other side row edge. Do the same with the other 11"x 16 1/2". Lay them on top of the quilted square right side down. Center part will overlap by 4". Pin and sew around the edge. I used zigzag stitches to finish the edges to prevent flaying.

11. Turn it inside out and press with iron.

Time to enjoy!

This is a simple project and a great way to use your strips of scraps. Also, this quick project will make a great gift. I created this pillow in one afternoon while I was half watching Korean dramas on my phone. I had so much fun doing it, so I decided to make a bonus project for you!

Bonus! Scrappy Strip Mini Halloween Pillow --- finished size 11"x 11"

*YOU WILL NEED

4 Pieces --- 6"x 6"tissue paper
4 kinds of 1 1/4" strips
1 kind of 2" strips for the corners
1 --- 12"x 12" batting
1 --- 12"x 12" backing (I used muslin. It will be hidden in the pillow)
1 --- 11 1/2"x 11 1/2" fabric for the back of the pillow
1 1/2 yard of pom-pom trim
*HOW TO

You can pretty much follow same steps as I provided above There are few differences between those pillows, which are:
* I used unified width of strips (except for both corners of the square).
* The each squares are larger and you only need 4 pieces
* The back is one piece, instead of two panels. When you are ready to make it in to a pillow, sew quilted top, pom-pom and the backing together leaving a few inches opening. Turn inside out. Stuff and stitch the opening to close.
Thank you for visiting. I hope you will enjoy making those projects! :)

Breast Cancer Awareness Month and Heart Pillow

Today marks my 3rd mastectomy anniversary. If you are interested you can read about it in my blog post after when I was diagnosed, the day of the mastectomy and the day I came home from the hospital.

I reflected on the past three years and the main thing that comes to my mind is that how grateful I am. I woke up this morning, got ready, went to church and later that day I was able to Facetime my sons who are both serving our church in Japan. I was able to cook and had dinner with my family. They are all small and simple things, but to me the fact that I am still here and able to be with my family is a tremendous blessing. I have been working on heart shaped pillows to donate again this year. As I was stitching them I had this epiphany, that it is better if there were no need for these pillows, that means no one is getting breast cancer. But the reality is, there is a need for them. 1 out of 8 women get diagnosed with breast cancer. I hope you are not the one in these statistics, but if there is someone somewhere diagnosed with breast cancer, I hope my pillow will bring some comfort and love; just like the pillow I received, did.

Cindy of Riley Blake Designs has a great video tutorial using my heart pillow pattern; if you would like to make some to give to someone or to donate, please do so.

"Early detection is the key!", I say this all the time to whoever wants to ask me questions about breast cancer. Getting a mammogram doesn't take much time out of your day but it makes a big difference in your survival rate and treatment options. Please take care of yourselves everyone!

McCall's 8044 Skirt with Linen

Hello! How have you all been?? As I mentioned in the last post, I had a pretty busy summer and I didn't sew much... I just wanted to spend more time with my children. They are growing up too fast, but they seem to not mind that at all. I was having a hard time catching up with the speed. Now that my middle son has left home and my youngest has gone back to school, I am getting my sewing mojo back! There were a few things I wanted to sew, but I decided to try the McCall's 8044, pattern first.

When my family and I took a quick trip to Colorado this summer, I visited a fabric shop called Fancy Tiger Crafts. They had a great selection of linens and I picked up a Terrazzo printed linen without any particular project in mind. When I was looking at the pattern, the fabric came to my mind right away. I was drawn to the picture of style C on the pattern, but I didn't quite have enough to make that, so I went with style B instead.

I used my Babylock 5/8" adjustable seam guide foot again to ensure the accuracy of the seam while I was sewing. It not only sped things up, I feel like I could sew with confidence.

It is hard to tell with this fabric, but there are buttons on the side. I like how this pattern doesn't require that much fabric, the skirt drapes nicely and also looks slimming.

Since this is made with thin linen, I won't be wearing it during the winter, but I could enjoy it a little bit longer with the right layering. I pulled out a cardigan from my closet and got ready for the evening.

A New Dress from Casual Chic Clothes/ きれいめカジュアル服

It has been a while since my last post. I hope you all had a great summer. You might be asking what I have been up to and here it is... In the beginning of summer, I was planning to sew many clothes using my stash of fabric. I did sew a couple of things for myself and did some charity sewing, after that the desire to sew sizzled down. It was not gone, but sizzled down, way down. I was wondering why that was and I analyzed myself. I was busy working to finish our basement, I just wanted to spend more time with my kids as much as possible while I could instead of sewing or quilting. My kids are older now and my oldest is currently serving a two year church mission in Japan, and my middle child has been getting ready to go to Japan as well for two years. He is leaving this week. My youngest just turned 16 this summer, driving, more time with friends, extra curricular activities, dating etc. she is ever so busy. I realized that the gate with a sign saying "empty nester" is getting closer and closer by the second. Yup, the realization is setting in. I cooked their favorite meals, we went out together, played games, watched movies, just sat and talked and sometimes I hung out with their friends too! I have no regrets how I spent this summer. I am going to get back to a normal schedule soon and start sewing more and I am excited about that now. Meanwhile, Let me share a dress I made at the end of June from the Japanese sewing book "Casual Chic Clothes"

There are many things I want to make from this book and the first thing I wanted to try was this dress. I love the design so much and I happened to have shirting fabric in my fabric closet; there is no reason not to try!

As I am getting old... I mean matured in my age, I say "nah" to somethings that are "too cute" or "too fluffy"; but I felt like the sleeves are exceptional and I really love them. I also think using gray and white thin striped fabric instead of pastel color helps tone down the cuteness of it.

When I looked at the pictures, I realized that the waistband is sitting lower than the natural waistline. I have a short torso, and I wanted the waistband to sit on my natural waistline, so I shortened the patterns close to a couple inches.

Also I added a thin liner for the skirt; that added more volume to the skirt than I wanted, but oh well.

I love how it turned out and I wore the dress several times this summer. I would definitely go back to this pattern someday once I make other things from my "to sew list".

Red Heart Quilt for My Friend

A few months ago, I found out that one of my dear friends for over 23 years was going to have open heart surgery in August. I wanted to do something special for her and pretty much immediately, an idea to make a heart quilt came to my mind. I talked to our mutual friends about the idea and they were all on board.

When I went through breast cancer three years ago, I was gifted with a special pink heart quilt from a talented group of friends. I was so surprised and touched with everyone's generosity and every time I wrap myself in it I feel so loved. It is one of my prized possessions still to this day and it will be for a long long time.

That is where I got the idea to make a quilt, but instead of pink, I decided to make a red heart quilt.

When we all first met 23 years ago, we lived in the same neighborhood and we had a great time together. One by one, we all moved away, but our friendship has lasted through the test of time. These are the group of women who had their own life's challenges and heartaches,but dealt with them with grace and a determination to move forward. I look up to each one of them and feel so blessed to call them my friends.

We were able to get together for lunch before her surgery and we gave her the surprise quilt. She loved it! I embroidered everyone's name with their favorite colors (my favorite color is white, but it won't show on white fabric, so I had to compromise)… we are all different, different backgrounds, likes, political views, but we have many things in common too. More than anything, we care, respect and enjoy each other's company whenever we could get together. I hope we will still be friends when we are older and more gray. Ha Ha!

Her surgery was over a week ago, We are still praying for her smooth and speedy recovery, but I am happy to report that it is going well!!

Burda Style 6414 Dress

I wanted to participate in #mymademay or #sewthatpattern during the month of May. I thought I should be able to create several outfits, and I quickly realized that I underestimated my schedule or how busy I will get just before the end of the school year. I finally found the time to sew one dress for this month!

I used Burda Style 6414 pattern and modified it a little. The original pattern had two options for the shoulders: one with drawstrings to adjust how much of the shoulders are covered, the other one is simply a no sleeve option. I decided to go with the drawstring design, but instead of following the pattern, I added thin elastic to loosely gather up the openings. For the skirt, the original design was a straight skirt with a slit on the side, but I slightly extended the sides diagonally to have a flare skirt.

The dress is made out of a soft and stretchy knit with elastic waist, this dress is so comfortable to wear. I especially love wearing it during the summer. It is perfect to lounge around the house or for going out. I have a feeling that I am going to use this pattern again. :)

Mother's Day Gift ~ Nova (Sapporo Coat)

You might be tired of me posting another Nova(Sapporo) Coat, so I apologize in advance. I made this third coat for my mom who is in Japan, for Mother's day and I shipped it last week. She called me today to tell me how much she loves it! I am so glad it got there in time.

I made the first coat with a white wool blend and the second coat was a quilted one. I knew my mom wouldn't care for either of them because she would say white will get dirty easily, the quilted coat is too bulky and the flower pattern is too much for her. We have very different styles and she prefers more simple and practical clothing. After thinking it over, I decided to make her coat with double gauze and gauze lining. Once it was done of course I had to try it on!

The coat is very light, soft and nice to the touch and I knew she would love the dusty blue. Rainy season will be starting soon in Japan and sometimes it gets chilly, even in June. I hope the jacket will provide the perfect warmth for her and that she will always feel that I care about her even from thousands of miles away. Happy mother's day, mom. :)

Nova Coat Pattern + Rifle Paper Co. Fabric = New Favorite!

I think it was about two years ago that I purchased the Wildwood fabric by Rifle Paper Co. I love it so much that it was sitting on my table for a while and every time when I walked by, I looked at it, touched it and thought about what to make with it. A tunic, a top, a skirt??? I didn't want to mess it up or didn't want to regret not making something else after I used it. My indecisiveness was in full swing and I had to put it on the shelf and wait.

After I made Sapporo Coat (Nova coat now), I decided to use that fabric and try making a quilted coat. it was bit scary, but I was more excited since I set my heart on a project with Wildwood fabric.

Since I have to machine quilt each piece, it was more work for me, but I enjoyed the process. It was like taking myself on an adventure! I really had to see the finished quilted coat that I saw in my mind's eye. I had already decided what quilt design I should do and at what scale.

I would say that the most challenging thing in the whole process was to make sure that the patterns of flowers would line up nicely in the back, sides and on the sleeves. I laid the pattern pieces in different ways to make sure that they matched up nicely.

To be honest, I didn't even think this would be a challenge. If I thought about it in the beginning, I may not have chosen this fabric. If you are thinking about making a coat, and you are still new at this, I advise you to choose solid, or small patterned fabric, you don't have to stress about matching the pattern.

I am happy to say that the coat turned out exactly how I imagined!

I used a blue woven fabric for the lining and I like how it is softer than quilted cotton. The coat is bulkier than the wool coat I made, especially around the armholes, so I wanted to use something less stiff.

The flower border lined up nicely at the pocket and the sides as well. Yes!

It is getting warmer, but there are still cold mornings and evenings where I live. I think I have few more weeks to enjoy this jacket, until I will put it away 'til fall (then I have something to look forward to!). I took the jacket for a test drive.

I absolutely LOVE how it turned out. I would love to do patchwork piecing with small pieces next time when I make a quilted jacket. Don't you think there are many possibilities for the patterns and colors?