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30 October 2013

Last minute sewing

Does it count as a WIP if I started today?  And why, oh why, did I wait so long?

My little guy wants to be Kick Buttowski for Halloween.  And for those who don't know this character, here's a visual (of Kick, not my little guy):

Kick Buttowski,
Image Source: Stuffpoint.com

Kieran informed us of his choice as soon as the Halloween chatter started the first day of October.  I've been in talks with my husband as to how exactly we're going to pull this off, as no pre-made Kick Buttowski costume exists.  I've known for weeks that the jumpsuit would have to be sewn.

And yet here I am, the day before Halloween, with this on my dining table:


Modifications I'm making are skipping the zipper in favor of a velcro closure, and I'm going to attempt to make the giant batwing collar (wish me luck).  The rest of the costume will be cobbled together with duct tape- red down the sleeves, yellow over Kieran's rain boots, white and red over a Top Gun helmet we found at Goodwill.  We're still trying to figure out the yellow gloves. 

See that guy in the upper left corner of the photo?  He's getting ready for Christmas.  Meanwhile I'm just trying to get this costume assembled before he walks out the door tomorrow afternoon to beg strangers for candy.

23 October 2013

Variations on a theme of Modern Maples: Nature Walk

The chilly mornings and evenings tell me it's Fall, even if the warm afternoons tell me otherwise.  My family typically do a lot of hiking in the fall.  We've been lazy so far, choosing instead to watch football and soccer on the weekends.  But I'm starting to get antsy- time to get out and commune with nature!

I must have had communing with nature on the brain when I was working on Modern Maples


In this quilt top are a couple of elements that my family and I frequently see on our hikes around the Bay Area.  There are feathers (re-sized from Anna Maria Horner's pattern) and mushrooms (which I drafted and paper-pieced).  One of my children suggested that I represent banana slugs.  Sorry kid, no dice.

Heavily inspired (and I do mean heavily) by this version, I used a mix of low-volume prints for the background.  I re-sized the blocks to 10.5" (finished) to allow for the addition of sashing.

I've chosen to back this quilt with a Valori Wells Urban Flannel print.  These green roses have been a favorite for so long and I'm happy to have found a project for them.  I'm not quite sure how to quilt this yet, but it will most probably be straight lines. 

Linking up to WIP Wednesday at Freshly Pieced.

09 October 2013

Still growing...

Now that we're well into October, I'm feeling the itch to start decorating for Halloween.  Especially since the littlest one's birthday is coming up, and he wants a Halloween-themed celebration (in his mind that just means pumpkins everywhere).   

In between dreaming up clever ways to transform the house into a Halloween wonderland (I'm leaning cutesy-crafty, though the rest of the family want ghoulish-gory) I've done a bit of work on Marcelle.


I chose mostly prints from various Anna Maria Horner collections (which I own in droves) because of their deep and rich colors.  I added a skinny strip of newsprint after the bricks to lighten it up a bit.  But the next border, which is a big, chunky cut, makes the top feel heavy and I'm unsure whether or not I want to keep it.  The next round will have plenty of low-volume goodness, so I'll reserve judgement until I see the pluses framing the whole thing. 

More maple blocks are in the works.  I hope to have the last of them done today.  I may even have a Modern Maples quilt top by the end of the week!

Linking up to the Marcelle Medallion Quilt-along at penny poppleton and WIP Wednesday at Freshly Pieced.

03 October 2013

The geese have landed

Now that fall is in the air (in the mornings, anyway), the urge to finish the quilts I have going is especially acute.  Swept up in two quilt-alongs as I am, chain-piecing has been the order of the day.  I've got nine Modern Maples blocks done with three more in progress.  (I do them in threes because I need the instant gratification of seeing finished blocks.) 

But what's more gratifying is that I've got border #4 (flying geese) of the Marcelle Medallion done.


I think this border has cured my desire to make a flying geese quilt (at least for now).  All those bias seams!  I really like how this quilt is shaping up.  I'm aiming for a rich and saturated scrappy look.  I like that the low-volume prints in the center and alternating borders keep it from looking too busy (I think).

The bricks for border #5 are all cut and ready for piecing.  I'm going to put the bricks in a bag and *try* to sew them as I pull them out rather than laying them out beforehand. 

Linking up to the MMQAL over at penny poppleton.