loot!

I had some great scores at the thrift store last weekend! Wouldn't these three sheets make a pretty something together? I think I can hear Amanda's sharp intake of breath - I know that one on the right is one of her favorites. :-)

And how about some more butterflies? I really debated about the one on the right - It's a Vera print, and I have it in purple (and love it, of course), but brown and orange aren't the most popular colors. Oh well, I always err on the side of buying!

I seriously almost squealed out loud when I saw these pillowcases! I love this print, and have it in orange and pink. It pained me a little to fork over $2 each for them, but wow, I just love them!

I also found a bag of new FQs from Joann, 7 of them for only $1! Very timely too - I just used the one on top for one of my bee blocks!

And last, but not least, some vintage fabric that had been sewn into a duvet cover. I love the orange and pink combination!

No thrifting for me this weekend - I'll be too busy sewing instead! Yay!

retreat - project #2

After all those triangles, I was ready to slip back into my comfort zone! I was inspired by this quilt on Jeni's blog In Color Order (another vintage sheet fan!), and knew this would be a fun and simple retreat project. I went through my stack of pre-cut sheets (6" squares), and grabbed any that I liked that I had at least 5 of. I brought about 80 prints, when all I needed was about 30! Oh well, it gave me plenty to choose from at the retreat!

I really love the simplicity of it. I didn't think too hard about the layout - I just narrowed it down to my favorite prints (anything 'colorful'), and then I slapped them up on the design wall. I did some minimal rearranging as I went, but I really tried not to over-think it.

(I stole this picture from Karen's blog post). The purple square really jumps out, doesn't it? I probably won't get this quilted until next year. In the meantime, it will languish in 'quilt purgatory' (draped over the stair railing upstairs), where I'll get enjoy petting it whenever I walk by!

bee blocks and the table quilt

To my bee partners: I'm so sorry I haven't thanked you all individually for your blocks, and that it's taken me so long to post pics! Here are the ones I have received so far - aren't they awesome?? I absolutely love them!

Top row: Two from Leslie, (thank you for sending two blocks!), plus my sample block
Middle row: Jodie, Amanda, and Jane (and thank you Jane for the beautiful notecards!)
Bottom row: Two from Janice (thanks for sending two blocks!)

I've made a little more progress on my table quilt. I'm happy to report that the top is all quilted. Yay!

From the beginning, my plan was to have the final size of the quilt exactly match the size of the table. I made the top at least a few inches bigger in both dimensions, thinking I would trim it down to size just before I put the binding on. Of course the fabric is pre-washed (a zillion times over - ha!), but I didn't bother to pre-wash the batting. And I've never stopped to calculate how much shrinkage there is from the quilting itself. So... after serging the edges and giving it a wash and dry, I am dismayed to find that it's already slightly smaller than the table!! And I still need to straighten up the sides! Oh well, it's all good. It will still work okay, and I'll know better next time!

Check out the backing - isn't this an awesome print? It's another old sheet - it was in pretty bad shape, but there was just enough good fabric left for this quilt. I might even like this side better than the top!

potholders

I'm having one of those terribly unproductive days... I really should be working, and I have a big task for work that needs to be done. But the tree people, who were supposed to come next week (nicely timed for when I'd be out of town), decided to show up this morning. So instead of concentrating on coding, I've been doing chores and trying to not go crazy listening to chainsaws and wood chippers and leaf blowers (my least favorite sounds EVER). They finished up not too long ago, and I had about an hour of peace. And then the yard people showed up, with their lawn mowers and MORE leaf blowers. Seriously. Happy Earth Day, have some noise pollution! I know I shouldn't complain - we hired the folks after all! But this just wasn't the productive day I was envisioning this morning!

So, as long as I'm not getting any work done, let me show off a little potholder project I whipped up recently...

This here is a little pile of what I think of as "sheet selvages". They are the bottom hems that aren't really useful for much. I used to throw them away, but then I wondered if I might be able to use them for something. So, I started saving them. During my boring weekly meetings, I trim them by cutting right along the stitching. It's only somewhat quicker than seam-ripping, but a whole lot less messy!

I cut 9" squares of muslin and Insul-Brite, layered them, and then sewed strips on as if they were selvages - the folded edge goes on top, the cut edge gets covered up by the next strip, which is top-stitched down.

I made two like this, trimmed them up, put them back-to-back (rotated one by 90 degrees, not that it really matters), serged the edges and bound it like a quilt. Instead of starting in the middle of one side, I started at a corner, and then made a loop and tucked the binding in at end.

And there you go, one potholder! Cute!

And I'm happy to report that the yard people are done. Thank goodness! Now maybe I can get an hour of work done!

two vintage sheet giveaways...

For all you vintage sheet fans - there are two fun giveaways you should check out.

Rachel at my tiny robot heart is giving away this huge envelope of scraps.



And Emily at Creative Chicks is giving away two sets of scraps.



Go and enter!

keep those orders coming...

Thanks everyone for the fabulous response to my 'share the loot' post! I'm a little slow (had my daughter's bday party yesterday - what a zoo!), but steadily working on getting things packed up and mailed. I thought you guys might like a look at what's on the way...

Here's a "groovy flowers" set...



And a "blues and greens" set (which has been quite popular!)...



And the four packages I sent on Friday - so stuffed!!

I still have PLENTY left, especially yellow/orange/pink, so feel free to order more!

Speaking of sheets, have you all seen Jen's new Vintage Sheets blog? It's going to be a fantastic resource! Jen also started up a flickr group for the blog. After you use your loot to make awesome projects, go add some pics there!

sharing the loot

Do you love to sew with vintage sheets? Have I got a sweet deal for you!

A while back, I posted about the Seattle Fabric Stash Purge Party, and my plans to put together some sets of vintage sheet FQs to sell there. The sale is coming up in just a couple weeks, and I've been diligently chopping up my stash and getting prepared to package them up. But then I had a thought - what if my wonderful blog readers would like a chance to buy these before the sale? I don't really want to make a load of cash - I just want to share the loot and decrease my stash. And then keep on buying more cool sheets! :-)

So, here's the deal: $15 for a flat rate envelope stuffed with FQs (that's including postage - what a deal!). My FQs are extra chubby, and I can fit about 18 of them in one envelope. You can pick a theme, like "pinks" or "blues and greens" or "multi-colored" or "stripes and geometrics" or "anything with flowers" or "anything except flowers" or "as little white as possible", etc. I'll try to match it as best as I can. At last count, I had about 80 different prints, so I'm sure I can come up with a set for pretty much any theme! Well, except purple - there's not much of that in vintage sheet land for some reason!

First come, first served, until I run out. Please comment here, or email me directly, and let me know what your theme is. I'll mail you back to confirm. As far as payment goes, I'm hoping we can just do direct PayPal payments. This will be my first time trying to do an online stash sale, and I don't really want to bother setting up a "shop". So, we'll see how this goes. If anyone has done something similar like this before and has any advice for me, let me know!

If you'd like a closer peek at what's in my stash, here are some images I grabbed from my past loot reports. Not all of these are available, but it's a good representation of what I've got.

If you're in the Seattle area, we can arrange a local pickup, and your set will be $10. If you're international, I think it will be $23 (assuming it doesn't weigh more than 4 pounds - I haven't checked!). And if you're totally nuts and want more than one set, we can talk about combined shipping!

vintage sheet bee blocks

I have signed up for my very first quilting bee - the Vintage Sheet Quilting Bee, hosted by Jen at Rosey Little Things. Rachel at my tiny robot heart has the first month, and requested scrappy string blocks. I was so excited, because it's been on my list of things to try forEVER. I was all over it this weekend.

Twenty 6.5" squares pieced....



And trimmed...



And waiting to have the paper removed - a PERFECT chore for my weekly team conference call tomorrow afternoon. :-)



I played with a few, just to get an idea of how they'll look together. So pretty!



I can understand why people say these are so addictive. I barely made a dent in my scrap pile, and I just want to keep making more and more and more!

long time, no post...

Sorry for the long absence! Last weekend, we took a little vacation to visit the inlaws at their new place on the Southern Oregon coast, with stopovers in Portland each way. It was a long drive (about 8 or 9 hours each way), but the weather was mostly good and traffic was light, and spreading the driving out over 4 days (and 4 naps for Vada!) really helped. I'm happy to know that the trip isn't too bad, because I'm sure we'll be doing it fairly often.

If it was just me, I would have mapped out and hit every thrift store on the way. My husband is the exact opposite - he likes to get to his destination as quickly and directly as humanly possible. But if you have to stop for a break, and there just happens to be a Value Village nearby (thank you, iPhone!), why not stop and let the kid run around in there, right? I was so excited to find these pillowcases (two pink, one green), in one of my favorite prints! Score!



It actually feels like a different fabric than the sheets I already have (maybe all cotton, instead of a cotton/poly mix?), and the print is smaller and the colors are brighter. They don't have any labels inside, and seem to be hand sewn instead of mass produced. A little mysterious! I wonder if anyone has documented vintage linens? I wish I had made a record of the labels for the ones I've collected. Maybe I'll start doing that...

Anyway, here are the other 3 I have. I think these are all the colorways I've seen for this print. I just love it!



After we returned from vacation, I had the whole rest of the week off. I had planned to do nothing but sew, sew, sew. Ha! Let's see... I did taxes, sold the old toddler bed and moved Vada into a new "big girl" bed, and caught up on laundry. Then I spent two days decluttering and tidying the house, in preparation for the initial visit from the cleaners we finally hired. Then half a day of killing time away from the house while they cleaned. Yesterday, we got crazy and started painted Vada's bedroom (pink! and blue! with swirls!). It's only half done, but it's looking great! I'll share some pictures when it's complete. I managed to sneak in a little sewing this weekend, but I'll save that for another post too.

Phew! I admit it - I'm actually looking forward to going back to work tomorrow. Vacation is exhausting!!

new WIP

I swore I wasn't going to start any new projects until I'd finished all my existing WIPs, but Mandy has led me astray! She has hosted a sewing afternoon at her house the last two Fridays, and it's just easier to bring a new project to piece, you know? So, here is last week's project - another vintage linen patchwork quilt! I know, I'm so boring. But this one is different - it's pink! It will be for a friend of mine who is battling breast cancer. I'm actually a little torn about the pink thing - I can't help but wonder if people who are dealing with breast cancer don't get totally sick of pink, pink, pink....

The "solid" squares are actually gingham, from a Pottery Barn sheet. I love those PB gingham sheets! I snap them up whenever I see them. They are so fine, and there's just something about woven gingham (as opposed to the printed stuff) that I absolutely adore!!

calling all vintage sheet addicts...

Just a little public service announcement... Jen over at Rosey Little Things is hosting her second Vintage Sheet Fat Quarter Swap! I missed it the first time around, but I'm definitely going for it this time. Come join us!

loot, swaps, and someone else's giveaway

Just because it's been the holidays doesn't mean I haven't been hitting the thrift stores! Here are some of the pretty linens I've scored over the last few weeks...

Man, I'm really looking forward to garage sale season! If you're looking for a vintage linen fix, I've started several more Swap-bot swaps - one each for January, February and March. For each swap, you'll send (and receive) two packages containing 2 FQs each (for a total of 4 FQs). If you're new to Swap-bot and have any questions, let me know.

And speaking of vintage linens, you should hurry on over to Brown Paper Packages, to enter to win this lovely set of FQs. Better hurry - the giveaway ends sometime tomorrow!

happy new year!

I wonder if January 1 is the most popular day for blog posting? It does seem right up there with writing down resolutions in a journal! I wasn't blogging last January, but if I had been, my goals for 2009 would have been:

• Make an effort to reconnect with old friends
• Teach myself how to quilt by making one Project Linus quilt each month

I did pretty good on the first goal. I took two trips (Nashville, TN and Ames, IA) with my daughter to visit two very dear old friends, and it was so wonderful. I'm hoping to continue with that this year. I'll definitely make the time to visit a couple friends in Texas when I'm back for the family reunion in October, and maybe a trip to visit another friend in Chicago. I'm really appreciating that it's getting easier to travel with my daughter as she gets older. Yay for potty training!

I did AWESOME on the second goal, if I do say so myself! I didn't technically complete it, but I'm still declaring victory in the form of:

9 completely finished Project Linus quilts...



6 swaddling blankets, and 2 "quiltlets" (everything but batting)...



4 more quilts basted and ready for quilting (just this past week - oh my aching back!)...



and 2 tops, 2 backs, and binding for Margaret's Hope Chest and 3 quilt tops for Give a Kid a Quilt...



Meanwhile, I did some quilting of my own! One doll quilt for my daughter, one quiltie for a swap, a quiltlet for my daughter, 5 thrifted/vintage linen quilts (3 given away!), and two quilt tops.



Add to that - starting a blog, doing some other crafty projects, a couple tutorials, a few fun giveaways, AND making some really awesome bloggy friends!! Whew - I'm glad I took the time to write that all up, because now I feel GREAT about all I accomplished last year. Sweet!!!

Here are my goals for next year:

• Continue making Project Linus quilts, and attend as many monthly meetings as possible.
• Lose the extra 15 (okay fine, 20!) pounds of "baby" weight I've been lugging around for the last 3 years. I haven't been able to wear my wedding ring since I was 6 months pregnant, and I miss it!!
• Lose the frump. Working from home has made me so careless about my appearance. Time to update the wardrobe, get a haircut, get back to wearing a little makeup (at least on the weekends!).
  
• Do better about replying to blog comments. I do appreciate every single one of them, I just generally suck at email!
  

Happy new year to everyone! Here's to a fabulous 2010!!

moleskine cover, take 3

I think this is it! I added interfacing, moved the pen holder down so that the bottom gets caught in the seam (just makes assembly a tiny bit easier), and narrowed the inner sleeves a bit (again, for assembly reasons).

I also traded out the hair tie/button closure for an easier full-length elastic closure, because it was actually a pain to sew the hair band and because I'm basically lazy and didn't relish the idea of hand-sewing all those buttons! On the top, it's in the "locked" position (elastic pulled over the back), and on the bottom it's "unlocked". It would have been better with black elastic, but I'm not picky with my prototypes. At least I did change out the white thread for brown. :-)

I also added a ribbon at the top, for a page marker. Kinda gratuitous for such a small notebook, but I like the detail.

I love this floral fabric, and I'm so glad to have found a use for it. It's a "mystery" fabric that I got at a church rummage sale. It feels like cotton, but maybe just a little bit crisper and "vintage-y". The funny thing about it is that when I iron it, it smells just slightly spicy, kinda like Opium perfume! And yes, I washed it! This one is definitely a keeper, and it's mine. :-)

So, now I'm all set to gin out a couple dozen of these at the retreat this weekend. Yay!! I'll take pictures and write up a tute while I'm there, and will post it sometime next week.

auctioned off

Remember this quilt?  It's the one I made for the annual family reunion auction.  I heard from my mom that it sold for $84.   On one hand, that doesn't sound like much for all that work.  But on the other hand, it fetched the second-highest price of all the items (and none of my relatives are very well-off anyway!) so I think it's great.   I'm hoping we'll get to go next year, and I'm already thinking about what to make...  :-)

And speaking of old sheets...  I don't know why I haven't mentioned this before, but I've been hosting a series of vintage sheet swaps over at Swap-bot.  If you haven't heard of Swap-bot, here's the pitch from the home page:  Swap-bot is a online service that organizes group swaps and a community of creative individuals. Swap-bot takes the hassle out of participating in group swaps by organizing all of the participant information and doing all of the partner assignments. On Swap-bot, you can host swaps, join swaps, and chat with other swappers from all over the world. 

I've been a member for about a year now, with mostly good experiences, and have made a few wonderful friends in the process (hi, June!).  I'm not a super-active swapper, but I do enjoy hosting these sheet swaps and spreading the vintage sheet love.  We're about to start round #6, and the deadline for signing up is this Friday, the 23rd.  If you're game, sign up and send me an email or a Swap-bot message to let me know you read about it here.  And if you have any general questions about Swap-bot, ask away!

giveaway time!

Have you been wondering why I'm so crazy in love with vintage linens? Have you been wanting to give it a try without having to raid the thrift stores or fill your closets with old sheets? Now is your chance!



I'm celebrating my last finish with a giveaway! It includes almost everything you need to make your own patchwork - at least 130 6" squares of vintage linens (all different!), and enough 3" strips to do a scrappy binding. All you need to add is batting and backing (I recommend a nice all-cotton sheet - that's just one trip to the thrift store!).

To enter, just leave a comment on this post. Any old comment will do, but if you're feeling chatty, tell me a favorite memory of something crafty your grandma or mom made when you were little. International folks are welcome. And I'd love to share the vintage linen love far and wide - so if you mention this on your blog, come back and leave another comment for a second entry. I'll pick the winner next Thursday evening (um, that's the 24th).

And speaking of giveaways, here's another little bit of eye candy from ircabbit - her second quilt made from the IKEA Rosali fabric from an earlier giveaway. Isn't it beautiful??? OMG!

linen patchwork 2.0, finished!

I finished my second thrifted linen patchwork quilt, yay!



Version 2.0 is pretty much the same as the first one, only one row longer (10x13 - that's 130 different prints!)



For the back, I used a fun cheater print sheet. Hmmm... Kinda looks like overkill in this picture, huh? Oh well, I think it's cute. The binding is scrappy, 7 different pieces.



It's all boxed up now, and will shortly be on its way to my mom in Texas. She'll be taking it to our family reunion in October, where it will be auctioned off. My grandparents are gone now, but their descendants (11 children, 36 grandkids, and I have no idea how many great- and great-great-grandkids...) get together every year for a reunion, and the highlight of the weekend is an auction of hand-made goodies donated by all the family members. All the proceeds go towards funding the next year's reunion. Isn't that such a great idea? (Feel free to use it!) Last year, I donated an awesome flannel rag quilt, and it went for $125!! I can't wait to see how this one does!

And really, I think my grandma would just love this quilt. She was a great seamstress (you'd have to be, with 11 kids in rural South Texas!), and so thrifty and crafty. I have so many great memories of the way her tiny sewing room smelled, the trips to the Five and Dime for fabric, and all the things she made. She kept all the hand-made prom dresses her daughters wore (from the 50's), and all the grandkids loved to play dress-up in them. And get this - she even used to give us handmade underwear for Christmas! She was probably the last person on earth who actually made underwear for reals, and not just for fun. And one year she made these hilarious fake bustier things (complete with stuffed boobs!) that hung from a coat hanger, that were supposed to be used to hold your pantyhose and other unmentionables. They were satin, with lace and straps and everything. Dang, I wish I still had mine! Ah, grandma, I love you, and thank you so much for your crafting legacy!

For the label, I googled up this totally cheesy poem:

A family is like a patchwork quilt
with kindness gently sewn.
Each piece is an original,
with a beauty all its own.
With threads of warmth and happiness,
it's lightly stitched together
to last in love throughout the years -
a family is forever!

Yeah, cheeeeezy! But good for a family reunion, I think. :-) (By the way, if you click to see it in a close up, and you notice any misspellings, don't tell me!)