52 craft projects // patchwork pillow

Remember this quilt top I shared in September? I had some leftovers from the jelly roll so I decided to use some of the scraps to make a pillow case.
I used the same plus patchwork pattern to make it match the lap quilt (which I hope to finish and post this month). Of course it's impossible to take pictures of anything handmade without Lina photobombing at least one of the pictures.

The pattern super simple and great for beginners: simply cut one 6.5 x 2.5" and two 2.5 x 2.5" pieces of fabric for each cross. Using jelly rolls is really great if you don't like cutting or you only have a limited time and don't want to spend hours cutting and measuring. They're expensive but they make it super easy to finish a small project like this in one evening.

For the back I used an old sheet that my mom dyed a light blue. I decided to add a simple envelope closure because it was getting late (my ability to think at 1am is slightly limited) and after a crappy day I wanted to feel like I did something productive and finished a project, instead of adding just another wip to my to-do list.
I'm really happy with the way this pillow case turned out. I used a cheap ikea pillow but I underestimated the size of it. It looked really small when I bought it…

I still haven't used up the whole jelly roll so I've been thinking of making a grocery shopping bag from the very last leftovers. Who would've thought that I'd get three projects out of one $30 jelly roll?? It's not super expensive if you think about the value you get out of one jelly roll :)
This is project #31 of 52 craft projects I'm attempting to complete in 2013. You can see all the other projects I've complete so far here.

my first quilt. ever.

The other day, my mom and I were searching for something in my parents' attic and we found the very first quilt I ever made. I don't remember how old exactly I was when I made it but I was probably 5-6 years old. I asked my mom why it didn't look all wonky and badly sewn and she claims she pinned everything in place and let me sew it with her sewing machine.

The pattern is pretty simple (duh!) and I wouldn't choose the same fabrics again but it looks like I've always had a thing for pink :)

The finished size is about 25 x 25 inches which makes it more like a wall hanging than anything else.

I remember using a quilt stencil to draw the lines for the border quilting. It was so much fun and probably my favorite part of making this little quilt!

It was hand quilted but I can't imagine that I did it all myself - I'm really impatient when it comes to sewing anything by hand and I don't think that was any different when I was younger ;)
I'm not too sure what to do with it yet; it might go back to my parents' attic. Or I might hang it somewhere... it definitely needs a good wash because there are some white stains on it but I'm afraid the fabrics might not handle a washing too well.

Do you still have your first quilt/sewing project? I'd love to see it!

'A Walk in the Woods' - Quilt Top

I bought this 'A Walk in the Woods' jelly roll in Canada. Last year. It's been patiently waiting in my stash for me to summon up the courage to untie it. It's almost too pretty to use!
I decided to make a cross quilt out of it because I needed something mindless and quick. Patching the crosses together took me three evenings/nights. That was back in June. Then my exams started and the quilt top went into my ufo drawer.

I know it's a shame to leave an almost finished quilt (or so it feels...) laying in my ufo drawer for months. I'm not trying to make excuses but it took some time to find the fabrics for the borders.
First I thought about using one of the gray fabrics from the Walk in the Woods collection. When I saw the prices (and realized the fabrics are hard to find because the collection is discontinued) I decided to go with a simple white border. Easier said than done.
I went to about five fabric stores, had my mom look at craft fairs, went to several fabric markets... nothing. This particular white seems to be impossible to find in Germany.
So what to do if you can't find the fabric you're looking for? Ask the designer.
Yepp. I asked Aneela Hoey in person (well sort of... via instagram) whether she knew of any coordinating solid white to go with the collection. And guess what? She answered within several hours!! I couldn't believe my luck. Apparently it's a 'bleached white' that's available from bella solids by moda.
Well I didn't find that particular fabric but I found a kona cotton bleach white.

Adding just a white border was too boring so bought the blue mushroom fabric when I was in Berlin.
For the binding I'm gonna use all the scraps from the collection I have left to make it fun and colorful.

I also found the perfect quilt backing fabric in my stash. It's a soft flannel that I originally bought to make pajama pants. Well, two years later it's still in my stash so I figured I'd just use it for the quilt.

Now comes the worst part: waiting for my mom to quilt it!

fabric sources:
'A walk in the Woods' jelly roll by Aneela Hoey for Moda: Hamels fabrics in Chilliwack, BC, Canada
'bleach white' by KONA cotton: Quilt und Textilkunst in Munich, Germany
'blue mushrooms' by Aneela Hoey: Volksfaden in Berlin, Germany
quilt backing fabric (brand unknown): Alfatex in Göttingen, Germany

52 craft projects // shirt coasters

Am I the only one who thinks it's hard to find gifts for men?
My uncle and his boyfriend invited us to their 101st birthday(my uncle turned 51 in August and my uncle's boyfriend turns 50 tomorrow) so of course a present was needed. They just moved to a new apartment that I haven't been to (yet) but I know that they wanted to buy lots of new furniture. A pillow for their couch was out of question since I don't even know if they have a couch yet and if so which color it is.

My mom collects old shirts to make quilts etc. out of them. My uncle and his bf received a shirt quilt a couple years ago and they love it. So I thought why not make something out of shirts (mainly their shirts... probably.) so if they don't like the colors they are to blame because they chose them in the first place ;)

I decided to go for a very simple classic pattern. There's just something about anything log cabin that I love. So I picked a couple of scraps from my mom's old shirts stash and made six coasters. You might remember these coasters that I made last year. I use them pretty much every day and they've been in my washing machine so I know that the interfacing works great for coasters. Never change a running system, right?

I did some veeery basic quilting (my mom the pro quilter is probably ashamed of my non-existent quilting skills...) just to hold the whole thing in place. I used fabrics with very different textures - some were very thick and sturdy while others were thin and slippery. Take that and a moody sewing machine and you've got some wonky yet very cute coasters, if I may say so. Definitely a cute and rather quick present - and suitable for men :)
This is project #23 of 52 craft projects I'm attempting to complete in 2013.
You can see all the other projects I've complete so far here.

52 craft projects // you've got mail

The hallway has been a work in project since I moved in. Its shape makes it hard to decorate. There's quite some white wall space above the dresser but the fuse box is right next to it so we can't drill any holes in the wall. My solution for now is to make a small wall hanging and hang it using two tiny nails.

I made the you've got mail wall pocket by Ayumi. When I browsed through her new book 'patchwork, please!' I knew that it would be the first (but certainly not the last) project I'd make from the book. It was very easy and quick to make. Though I had to rely on some Spanish quilter on youtube to explain to me how paper piecing works again. It's been about 15 years since I've last used the technique - crazy, right?

The colors match my text art perfectly. I divided the top row in two pockets so there's one pocket for my mail and one for my roomie's. There's a large pocket at the bottom to fit larger envelopes. Also I only realized that the wall hanging is crooked after I took the pictures...oops!
Most of the fabrics I used were in my scrap basket. Hence the random selection of colors and patterns.

I followed this tutorial to sew on the binding by machine. I thought my mom exaggerated when she said sewing on the binding by machine looks like crap and I should never do it. Oh well, lesson learned. It does look like crap and I'll never do it again. Unless I'm in a hurry and the person who receives the quilt/project doesn't know anything about sewing and is not a perfectionist.

Also I realized that I didn't inherit my mom's quilting genes. Sadly.

Of course Lina had to make sure she'd be featured on my blog, too. Here she's checking whether she got any mail today.
This is project #20 of 52 craft projects I'm attempting to complete in 2013.
You can see all the other projects I've complete so far here.

52 craft projects // sam's patchwork pouch

I met Sam from Fluffyland (a very cute shop with lots of handmade cuteness - e.g. tiny narwhales with graduation caps!!). She's in Germany to improve her German and I couldn't resist making a little something for her to remember her time in Hamburg and Berlin.
I've had this cute woven Hamburg ribbon in my stash for quite some time now. When I saw the matching Berlin one in my mom's ribbon collection I had to make a project using both.

I opted for a pouch because let's be honest, you can't have ever have enough pouches, right?
I have pouches for just about everything... camera charger, make up, sewing supplies, knitting supplies, medicine, ...
I chose a light interfacing because Sam has to take the plane home; lighter pouch means more fabric capacity! :)

I started with a basic log cabin block using her favorite color and a cute penguin in the middle to match the colors of the woven ribbons. Next I added some strips in different sizes to one side of the block. I made zipper taps to match the green stripe and my label. The zipper is from a flea market. It has been used before but I couldn't resist using it because the color matched perfectly.

I sewed the woven ribbon to one of the solid fabric strips and incorporated it in the log cabin block. Unfortunately it doesn't say 'Berlin' on this one but I think most people recognize the Brandenburger Tor and the Fernsehturm ;)

The lining is an old ikea bed sheet that I found in my mom's stash. All the other fabrics are from my or my mom's ever growing scraps collection.

I'm reeeally behind on sharing all the projects I've done lately. I'll try to catch up before I go on vacation in a week. A wip post might also be necessary because I'm working on a thousand projects (okay, maybe only ten...).
This is project #19 of 52 craft projects I'm attempting to complete in 2013.
You can see all the other projects I've complete so far here.