Sewing by Moonlight

Be Free Bees: addition for Ann

November 6, 2014/0 Comments/in Bees, Quilting /by sewingbymoonlight

Oh my goodness! I found this in the depths and wanted to share it. It has been YEARS since I have done this project. Really, years. It was a “free form” quilt bee called Around the Bend and Across the Pond and started through the Old Red Barn Co. group on Flickr.

It works like this: each person in the group send out a starter piece to the next person in the group. Since this is a free form bee, we were to add whatever we wanted to and then pass it on to the next person. Ann’s quilt looked like this when it came to me:

I added a section to the bottom with an assortment of wonky stars in various sizes and colors.

I felt there was already a lot of color saturation in the quilt, so I kept a good portion of the background white, but switched it up with a couple of the stars to break up the white.

At this particular time, I actually ended up with three of the quilts at my house. Ann’s was ready to mail out, as was the one in the bottom of this photo. One of our members had to leave for personal reasons, so I kept the previous quilt and did a second addition. The third one is the one I had just received and would add to next. Fun to see the three of them together like this!

Sierra’s moustache shirt

November 4, 2014/0 Comments/in Clothing, Crafts, Finished /by sewingbymoonlight

It’s time to clear out the saved posts in my drafts and show them up here. I hope to get back to posting a little more regularly after a long hiatus. Even though I made this shirt last spring, now is the perfect time to revisit it. Sierra had mustache day in school last week, but insisted that she didn’t want to wear a mustache. No problem, child, you have a mustache shirt!

The shirt is store bought, and I made it using a freezer paper stencil. I found an image that I liked and printed it off. I transferred the image to freezer paper and cut it out. I ironed the freezer paper onto the shirt where I wanted the image to be.

With the image in place, I used a stiff brush to apply fabric paint inside my stencil. In this case, I went for an ombre effect, so with each mustache, I added a little more white to my black fabric paint.

When the fabric paint had dried, I went over with a layer of glitter because … glitter!

The shirt turned out well, and the girl is happy with it!

Caramel mug rug

June 27, 2014/0 Comments/in Quilting /by sewingbymoonlight

I continue to be amazed by the kindness and friendship I find in the online quilting community.

This winter, a friend posted a photo on Instagram of some caramels she was making. I left a comment about sharing with me, and then she messaged me and asked for my address. A few days later, I got a package in the mail filled with homemade caramels. They were delicious!

In return, I made this caramel candy mug rug. It was a quick little project, and a good chance for me to practice a little bit of free motion quilting as well. I did a little lava flow quilting in the background (my 3-year-old saw it and said “worms!”) with some pebbles in the candy.

The back is just a bright bit of happy flower fabric. I like that you can see the candy shape from the quilting.

I did a quick machine sewn binding with the edge plate on my walking foot.

And then it was off in the mail. I really should make a mug rug for myself. I’ve sent plenty to others, but they are a great little project to have a fun bit of handmade goodness in your life everyday.

St. Louis MQG Cares

June 20, 2014/0 Comments/in for the home, Guild and groups, Sewing /by sewingbymoonlight

Another I-actually-finished-this-awhile-ago-but-haven’t-posted-it finish.

My local Modern Quilt Guild participated in a charity sewing project at the end of last year and the beginning of this. We made pillow covers and gave them away to people receiving treatment at the Siteman Cancer Center sites here in the St. Louis area. You can read more about the project on the STLMQG Cares page.

We wanted to use high quality, beautiful fabrics and finish them in a way that would make the covers last.

The envelope backs are double layer on each side and the pillow covers are finished with French seams.

Members of our guild gave the first round of pillows away on Valentine’s Day and another round a little later.

Check out more great finishes!

Crazy Mom Quilts

Thank Goodness It’s Finished Friday

Mini seat back pocket

June 16, 2014/0 Comments/in Sewing /by sewingbymoonlight

I found this post in my drafts and thought that I might as well share it.

When my daughter’s kindergarten teacher learned that I was an avid seamstress, she asked if I would be willing to take on a project for her classroom. I agreed and she purchased the fabric.

Sh wanted to have a seat back pocket for each of her students so they have their desk space open but still have their work and pencil boxes close. I measure the chairs and made a couple of prototypes. This is my first prototypes:

It’s a straightforward concept. One piece of fabric is folded over to create the sleeve that goes over the chair.

The second piece of fabric is cut shorter and wider than the first to create a pocket with a gusset.

In this first example, I sewed bias tape on all three exposed edges. Ultimately, though, I changed the construction a little bit. I sewed bias tape along the two side and then finished the bottom with a French seam. This made a nice, sturdy finish and it was less fiddly than attaching the bias tape around the corners and not eliminating the effect of the gusset.

I ended up making 19 for a class of 17, so my daughter’s teacher would have a couple extra. I have some extra fabric, and I will be making a few more. My daughter’s teacher tells me that she will have a larger class next year.

Modern Quilt Guild Riley Blake Challenge

May 23, 2014/0 Comments/in Finished, Quilting /by sewingbymoonlight

This has been finished for some time, actually (as you might have guessed based on the SNOW on the ground in the photos!), but I’m just now getting around to posting about it.

This quilt, which I’m calling “Twisted Triangles” was my entry into the Modern Quilt Guild‘s Riley Blake Challenge. Seriously, I don’t know how it didn’t win the prize, as it is clearly awesome!

In all honesty, there were innumerable stand-out entries. I was blown away by all the talent displayed and it was really fascinating to see how the same fabrics inspired such a wide array of projects.

I was amused by the process of making this quilt in particular:

1. Whip out rotary cutter and slice up pretty fabric.

2. Sew fabric back together in a triangle.

3. Slice through the fabric I just finished sewing.

4. Insert white strip and sew back together again.

5. Repeat.

It just seemed completely counterintuitive to cut up something I had just sewed together!

The back is a Riley Blake print I had purchased for another project and ended up not using, along with some coordinating solids.

I attempted to repeat the twisting triangles in the quilting.

Even though though this isn’t a recent finish, I’m sharing at Crazy Mom Quilts. Lots of great projects linked; go check them out!

Sunday Stash Winner

May 21, 2014/0 Comments/in Giveaway /by sewingbymoonlight

We have a winner!

The Random Number Generator picks #23, which was Sarah at Things I Make. Her post said that it was her first time posting for Sunday Stash. With odds like that, I’m sure she’ll be back.

Congratulations, Sarah. I’ve emailed you, so send me your address and I’ll get your fabric in the mail!

A big thank you and a sad farewell

May 19, 2014/0 Comments/in Quilting /by sewingbymoonlight

Several weeks ago, I told you that my dad had cancer and that I wanted to make him a quilt for his birthday. I had less than 6 weeks to have it completely finished, and I asked for your help because I didn’t think that I could complete the project on that timeline by myself.

Well, I am happy to report that we succeeded! I was overwhelmed by the response from my quilting friends. I received blocks or fabric from members of my local St. Louis Modern Quilt guild, from around the country, and even from around the world. I am blown away by the kindness of this community. I had three long arm quilters volunteer to do the quilting for only the cost of shipping, and another offered just recently when she learned about the project.

I picked up the last of the blocks at the St. Louis Modern Quilt Guild meeting on April 12th. I actually ended up with more blocks than I needed for this quilt, so if you sent me blocks and you don’t see them here, fear not. I’ve decided that I will make the remaining blocks needed for a second quilt and pay your kindness forward by donating that quilt to Quilts of Valor.

After the April guild meeting, I put the blocks together and made the back of the quilt. I mailed it to Melissa of Melia Mae Quilting the day after Easter. She did the beautiful long arm quilting with stars and mailed the quilt to my parents’ house to make sure that it was there when I arrived May 1st. I used my mom’s sewing machine to finish the binding and the surprise was almost spoiled when my dad peeked in to see what I was doing. Luckily, I had shoved the quilt under the sewing table and pretended I was fixing my daughter’s pants.

My girls presented the quilt to their Grandpa for his birthday, and he was so pleased. My dad is not the type to show a lot of emotion, so I consider it a big deal that he brought it up and thanked me more than once. My mom even said that when she was heading out to her own guild meeting on Monday evening after we left, my dad said, “Well, you’d better take this one to show.”

It brings tears to my eyes that I had so many of you offer to help me with this. If not for you, my dad would never have received this gift. I would not have finished it on my own before he died. I wish he would have been able to enjoy his quilt for years to come, but I’m happy it was finished in time for him to have this gift for a week. My dad passed away on Sunday, May 11th, 2014.

His obituary can be seen here if you’d like to know more about him. He was an active member of his community, a loving dad and husband, a good friend, and he was just awesome as Grandpa. The fact that my girls will not have more years with Grandpa Bob is what crushes me with sadness. He will be missed by many.

The two oldest grandkids hold up Grandpa Bob’s quilt

Close up of the quilting, some blocks, and the flag stripe binding

I like how the chain blocks create diagonal lines across the quilt

The back of the quilt

This boot print fabric was perfect for this quilt

Sunday Stash and Giveaway

May 10, 2014/0 Comments/in Fabric, Giveaway, Link-ups and special events /by sewingbymoonlight

Tap, tap, tap …

Ahem.

Is this on? Anybody out there?

Oh, hey, there! It’s been awhile. I’m here to host Sunday Stash, so welcome, if you’ve hopped over from Molli Sparkles.

I’m also considering this my “welcome back to blogging after an unintentional hiatus” post. Sewing by Moonlight, the blog, it seems, is a casualty of @moonlightsewing on Instagram. It just so simple to quickly share what I’ve been working on in the sewing room and to check out the latest from my sewing friends. I can do it on the go. In the sewing room. Often in bad lighting. I don’t have to upload photos to my desktop or login to WordPress or even write words because, you know, a picture is worth a thousand.

But stick around after today, or follow on Bloglovin’ because I have some actual blog posts lined up to share in the very near future. And meanwhile, come on over and say hi on Instagram. Go ahead, enable my addition. It’s not yet bad enough that I need a 12 step program!

I am a member of the St. Louis Modern Quilt Guild and this month we are having a fabric swap. Last month, if we wanted to participate, we shared an inspiration photo with our partner, who was to use the photo to select fabric.

My partner chose this photo from design seeds:

I went shopping and decided to stay pretty literal to the palette in the photograph. My partner gets a fat eight bundle and another one will go to one of you! I purchased half yards of most of these, so the remaining fat quarters will find their way into my stash. Don’t you just love how this is a stash addition and a giveaway all in one?

Have you made any fun additions to your fabric stash lately? Or do you have something from your current stash you want to share? Leave your link for a chance to win!

Minion Pinion

March 24, 2014/10 Comments/in appliqué, Design, for the home, Sewing /by sewingbymoonlight

A friend posted a picture of a minion in her Instagram feed, wondering if anyone had seen a pattern for one. She commented that she thought it would be great to have a minion in her sewing room with her.

I thought that if one were going to have a minion in one’s sewing room, the minion should do something. Like hold pins.

And I was thus inspired to make her a minion pin cushion: A PINION!

I used felt for the body and the hands and raw edge appliqué to add the overalls, goggles, and eyes.

I used a tight zig zag stitch on my sewing machine to add details: the goggle strap, the shoulder straps of the overalls, and the middle of the eyes.

Now I think *I* need a PINION to help out in my sewing room!