Happy Zombie

Welcome to the final day of the Ruby Star Wrap-Along! The Wrap-Along is the brainchild of Amy of Sukie - don’t you know who I am? to celebrate Melody Miller and Allison Tannery’s beautiful and craftyawesome new book, Ruby Star Wrapping - Creating Gifts to Reuse, Regive & Relove.

You can read more about the entire Wrap-Along here for info on where to buy the book and enter to win prizes. In addition, visit Sew,Mama,Sew! for the Ruby Star Wrapping Contest where you can enter to win some seriously good stuff by showing what you’ve made from the book.

The project I planned to make for the Wrap-Along was the Gift Card Truck Softie and use Winterkist to make a faux shirt to make the cute little truck softie.

I made a placket from strip of fabric joined at the center and pressed open, and then added two prairie points to make the cuffs.

And then I went away for the weekend with my friends (Yams!) for a sewing weekend (Yamcamp!) in Sisters.  And then a blizzard crashed our party and we spent more time than planned up at Sisters (poor us, snowbound with friends and fabric). And more time on my Instagram as well!  And well, in my rush to get my project done and lost time - I decided to fudge a little on the project because before I knew it - it was time to post my day on the Wrap-Along, and I still had so much to do, so I turned the truck into a shirt pillow. So I feel kinda bad that I didn’t make the cute little truck, but I also like that I’m showing an alternate option. At least that’s my hope!

I added some buttons down the placket and popped in a gift card (I used my VA card - a precious card from my Uncle Sam) and made gift card pillow. I thought about how fun it would be to make little love pillows and slip in little love notes, or make a pillow out of your kids outgrown jammies and make little tooth fairy pillows.

Below is a list of everyone who participated in the Wrap-Along, and everyone is linked directly to the beautiful project they made. Totally worth a visit to everyone!

NOV 7 – Anna of noodlehead
NOV 9 - Amanda of A Crafty Fox
NOV 12 – Elizabeth of Oh, Fransson!
NOV 14 – Brooke of Pitter Putter Stitch
NOV 16 – Erin of Two More Seconds
NOV 19 - Jen of BettyCrockerAss
NOV 21 – Rochelle of Lucky Lucille
NOV 23 – Sukie of Sukie – don’t you know who I am?
NOV 26 – Elizabeth of Don’t Call Me Betsy
NOV 28 – Gina and crew of Bolt Neighborhood
NOV 30 – Ellen of The Long Thread
DEC 3 – Katie of Swim, Bike, Quilt!
DEC 5 - Faith of Fresh Lemon Quilts
DEC 7 - Lee of Freshly Pieced
DEC 10 - Maureen of Maureen Cracknell Handmade
DEC 12 - Sara of Sew Sweetness
DEC 14 - Colleen of The Busy Bean
DEC 17 - Amy of Diary of a Quilter
DEC 19 - Monica of Happy Zombie

On a side note, had it not been for the blizzard in the Cascades and having to turn around and head back to Sisters - Violet, Elizabeth and I never would have seen these deers crossing the highway near Black Butte Ranch. Thanks to my CoPilotViolet for grabbing my iPhone in time and getting shots of this amazing winter scene!

Round 6 of the Traveling Quilts Bee has made it’s way to my house. I received John’s beautiful QIP (quilt in progress).

I added my addition to the top of the QIP (photo at bottom of this post), and I had just got done flying so I was in airplane travel mode and that influenced my addition.  Plus I want to do some handwork for John.  Not so much in how the handwork looks or what it is… I just wanted to give John’s QIP a little extra lovins from something I so dearly love to do.  Why?  Because QuiltDad is my Homeboy, that’s why.

I love this bee in so many ways, and one of the reasons is because it’s assembled by creativity and not by rules. Some participants don’t add on to the QIP itself, but rather make elements for the QIP. Some of the participants have used the elements and added them on to the QIP or into their own addtion. This round I decided to use those elements and add them on vs passing them on with the QIP.  This round included some blocks by Amber and a big block by Heather.

It really hit me the community aspect of this bee as I was pressing Amber’s and Heather’s blocks. In Amber’s case - there’s an ocean between us - and yet it kinda felt like she was there as I was pressing her blocks. Weird and indescribable - but that big, fat ocean was more like a puddle all of a sudden.

I joined and set the blocks to resemble the arc I used in my addition. I hope John likes it!

John’s QIP is now on to Daniel’s house for his addition, and I can not wait to see what Daniel does next!

So I had this little quilt along. A little 12 “days” of block making. Cut, sew, press and then bam - a Ron Swanson quilt. And then this happened:

So long, wonderful story short:  I make a quilt and then decided to share on my blog how to make it.  Because who doesn’t want to help blanket the world with warm and cozy Ron Swansons? 

I happen to show my friend Dana as I’m making it, and she then has a bee fly in her bonnet - and takes my finished quilt (aka RonQuilt) on a grand adventure around SoCal and secret TV shoots (she works in the television industry) and the photos are sprinkled throughout the quilt along days (links at the bottom of this post), and then culminating with a visit to the Parks and Recreation set for a mano-a-mano meet-n-greet between RonQuilt and Nick Offerman (who plays the beloved and iconic Ron Swanson on NBC’s Parks and Recreation). For the record - yes, I did poop my pants. Also for the record - best day ever when I saw these pics!

What a nice guy Nick Offerman is. Not only did he indulge my quilt fantasy (and I’m told it was his idea on staging that hallway shot and that he really had a lot of fun with it), but he signed the back of my quilt as well - and in true Ron Swanson-esque fashion.

None of this could have ever transpired had it not been for one of the Parks and Recreation’s producers who made all the magic happen. Not sure if he wants to be mentioned by name here, so for now he’s Kickass Awesome Producer Guy. When Kickass Awesome Producer Guy FedEx’d me back my quilt, he also include actual photographs - how flippin’ sweet! It’s all just so nice and dreamy and fun and special and magical and holy shit bally. More for the record: I offered to send my quilt back should Parks and Rec ever want to have a RonQuilt vs Knope Wyatt Unity Quilt smackdown (#quiltfightclub). And of course my friend Dana played the major role in this, so if you’re on Instagram and wanna see for yourself how awesome she is - you can find her at danahannah310.

All the solid fabrics in my RonQuilt are Robert Kaufman’s Kona Cotton and the prints peppered about are scraps from my stash and from my Winterkist line. I told the nice people (nice is an understatement) at Robert Kaufman about my choice of fabrics, and I let them in on The Big Secret and told them I was going to have a grand finale giveaway once the Parks & Rec magic happened. I asked if they’d like to participate in my grand finale, and they so generously sent me not one but TWO Kona Roll-Ups for me to give away!

Both rolls are the exact solids I used for my quilt - all the colors in the Kona Silent Film bundle as well as the Kona Cotton White. Both rolls would be for a great starting point to make one’s own RonQuilt.

In addition to the two Kona Roll-Ups, I’m adding into the giveaway a bundle of fat quarters (ish - some pieces are bigger than a fat quarter, and some smaller) from my Winterkist collection in the graphite colorway.

To participate in the give-away, just leave a comment and I’ll have Random.org draw a number this coming Thursday morning (22 Nov 2012, PST). If you like, you can tell me what you think Nick Offerman wrote above his signature (hint: it’s written in Ron Swanson voice) on the back of my quilt.  I’ll post the winning name (along with what Nick Offerman wrote) sometime that afternoon. EDITED IN: The giveaway has ended.

RESOURCES:
-  Make a Ron Swanson quilt: Ron Swanson Along
-  See, join and show Ron Swanson quilts: RSA flickr group
-  My fave stores for Kona (and Winterkist):  Sew,Mama,Sew! & Sew Modern

The Ron Swanson Along
[print yardage/cutting info] [print block layout] [print face map]
[Day 1] [Day 2] [Day 3] [Day 4] [Day 5]
[Day 6] [Day 7] [Day 8] [Day 9] [Day 10]
[Day 11] [Day 12] [Day BEST DAY EVER]
[Ron Swanson Along Flickr group]

My two favorite times of the year are when Amy Ellis has her Blogger’s Quilt Festival. Both festivals coincide ish with Spring and Fall Quilt Market’s. If you’re unfamiliar with the BQF, it’s an online quilt show where everyone posts their favorite quilt (at the moment). BQF has evolved and grown over the years, and now there’s even Viewers Choice voting - and prizes. Lots and lots of generous sponsor prizes! If you’re interested in participating in the show-n-tell aspect (like I am) and/or submitting your quilt for voting… and/or to vote… or just plain want to see a bounty of beautiful quilts - head over there now - PS, submissions close today!

Here’s my favorite quilt at the moment, it’s my teenie quilt-as-you-go-log-cabin quilt I made specifically for some Tammis Keefe Tribute cat fabric scraps I got from my friend Elizabeth (pretty much where 99.5% of all my amazing scraps come from!).

I also secretly make teenie quilts just so I have something to bind. On the night of the final game between St. Louis and the Giants for the NLCS title, I rushed to get my binding sewn on so I’d have it to bind during the game.

Full disclosure: I find baseball painfully boring, but the Giants are The Other home team (go A’s!) so it was exciting and fun to watch and my teenie quilt was going to be a Lucky Giants Quilt. And they won the NLCS.

And then the Giants won the World Series. Coincidence? PS: You’re welcome, San Francisco.

So now that the World Series is over, my teenie quilt is now my Happy Halloween Quilt.

And because I’m so lazy because I’m so filled with holiday spirit and like to over extend my holiday seasons - I threw in some graphite Winterkist into my SF Giants-Halloween-Christmas-ish teenie quilt. Bam. Seasonal multi-tasking.  PS:  You’re welcome, Santa Claus.

Never ever in the history of nevereverness has there been such a cool, new embroidery floss!  The super cool and brilliant genius (coolest girl in the whole damn school), Jenny Hart of Sublime Stitching unveils her new Sublime Floss embroidery floss today. I was lucky (lucky is an understatement) to be able to take Sublime Floss out for a test spin before today’s big unveiling.

After I parked from the test spin, I confess to wanting to make out with the floss.  That or eat it. Sublime Floss is like candy without the nasty repercussions. Sweet little 7-packs of crazy, sick yumminess.

Organized in perfect little color group packs. I love picking out fabrics for a quilting or sewing project so much, that I think I actually get a buzz.  But with floss, I don’t have brain juju to put colors together.  In my hand a gathered bundle looks amazing and well put together - but once I’ve stitched with it and see it on my fabric… I wonder what the spork I was thinking. Blerg ferg, I suck at auditioning floss. With Sublime Floss I no longer have to think or audition floss, it’s all been done for me. GAH, love it so much. <Arnold Schwarzenegger> Stitchery super powers are now mine! </Arnold Schwarzenegger>

It took everything I had to open the sweet little packages o joy and take out the floss, but thank goodness I did - there were even more sweet surprises inside! OHMYUNIVERSE, the color names are so fun and clever!

And then I saw the little messages at the end of each skein - too cute, too clever, too funny and TOO COOL!!

For my test spin I thought it would be fitting to sample a pattern I had recently bought at Sublime Stitching - a pattern by Carson Ellis on Sublime Stitching’s artist series. I had no idea how much I loved Carson’s work until Sublime Stitching unwittingly feed me nuggets of enlightenment… HEY, that’s the same Carson Ellis who’s illustrations grace the Wildwood books (with her writer husband Colin Meloy of The Decemberists!)  - THE reason I bought the books was because of the cover artwork (and because I got great feedback when I Instagram’d Colin & Carson’s books while I was at Costco, and because the books take place right here in Oregon). AND OH HEY, Carson Ellis is the same artist who’s benefit poster I’ve loved so much for so long.  I was initially drawn to the mention of my little town of Astoria and the Liberty Theater on the poster, and then fell in love with the artwork.   Talk about sublime serendipity!

Besides loving the colors of Sublime Floss, I love the tightness of the floss (all while retaining it’s soft, buttery feel). I’m a 2-strand stitcher, but often find I have to go to one strand for detailed embroidery work. With this floss I can still use two strands and not loose my detailed stitches in a fat, blubber of floss.  I stitch with long threads because I’m lazy, and this floss really holds up to prolonged stitching time without getting separated, thin, or fuzzy. I love you, floss.

I don’t know yet what I’m going to do with this любовь (Love) stitchery once I’m done, but I’m just happy to be stitching with my new floss boyfriend.
Yo.
Stitch.

Resources:
sublimestitching.com
sublimefloss.com
carsonellis.com
wildwoodchronicles.com

I don’t do a lot of book or product reviews, but when something comes along that I really want - I jump at the offer. When I was offered the Lisa Lam “A Bag for All Reasons” review opportunity, I admit that I’m SUCH A HUGE FAN OF LISA and U-Handbag that all I *saw* (ala Gary Larson) in the publisher’s email was, “aasdkfjl azdlkjzmrg’ dglkzdk LISA LAM slkdfoc we;r a’d idfoijsodj dkmlk LISA LAM sdkp[ e ald ogpwekr fkjgo LISA LAM slaoi difoijfoiam alfj’a adfkjaldkjg doijcoijoi LISA LAM” and immediately replied, “YES”, and then went back are re-read the email.

I had seen the 3-1 Convertible Backpack on flickr and KNEW I wanted to make one, too.  My fear was that it would be too advanced of a pattern for my not-too-advanced brain. And because I often don’t read pattern instructions, I knew that since I was doing a review I would have to actually read the instructions. Oh the pressure was so strong, I almost ditched the backpack plans. But I gave it a go and read the instructions the well written instructions!  And then fear quickly turned into a fist pump in the air and a proclamation (to my dogs) that I CAN DO IT! Besides, I already had some Amy Butler Daisy Chain, a teal solid, and some poser linen (a cotton weave) already set out to make the backpack. The sperm had pretty much shook hands with the eggs at this point - and I HAD to get this backpack baby get made.

OBSERVATIONS:
I’m am a visual, non-reading instruction follower. Lisa’s instructions are well written and in a way that feel like she’s talking to me one-on-one giving me personal instruction.

I took my time and made my bag over the course of 3 days. One step at a time, and no speed-demon-plow-my-way-through sewing.

I traced my pattern pieces onto freezer paper, and ironed-on the pieces to my fabrics (no pinning!).

I used cotton duck (available in the “outdoor” fabric section at JoAnn’s) as my interlining. Cotton duck canvas makes for a nice, stiff form with not a lot of bulk. I learned this genius interlining trick at Oh, Fransson! - thank you Elizabeth!

Another trick I learned from Elizabeth is using Clover’s Wonder Clips in tight, curvy, bulky spaces. These clips are a DREAM to use!

Permission granted! I love when pattern writers “give permission” to do things your own way (something I encourage on my own patterns). I was already apprehensive enough with all the hooks, loops and snaps (the H Word… hardware) - but the grommets about had me running for the hills since I was doing this step by step and literally by-the-book for this review. In the book Lisa says, “if you have a phobia of eyelets (grommets) don’t let that stop you making this bag - in place of eyelets, make a casing for the top of the bag and thread the ties through this instead”. HOLY GROMMET HOLES, it’s as if Lisa wrote that for me. So I did, I made a casing.  I also made a little flange-ish thing (the technique name excapes me because I just learned that word only a few weeks ago) - the result when you have a little bit of the lining showing.

I top-stitched a tube around the top with an opening at the front.

I got one of those squeezy knoby bobs and voila.

I could not be more happy with my backpack. I can’t put it down and I keep playing with it. I repeatedly tell my two cats and two dogs, “oh yeah, I made this”. I really couldn’t have made this without such well written instructions and Lisa’s crazy awesome designs.

For now my backpack is a trophy bag - on display and sitting pretty.  Tomorrow we go out, and I show the world (or the 10,000 people of Astoria) my new baby.

My only dilemma now is deciding to whether to make another backpack or one of the other fabulous projects in the book!

Edited in:
I was told that there has been a printing error with that pattern and that it should have been corrected with the latest batch of books. If anyone should get a previously printed copy, here are the instructions I recieved (that should follow step 26):

“Three in one convertable (bblfr)

The bblfr needs to be stitched centrally over the bag flap (on the bag back exterior). The top edge of the bblfr needs to be placed one centimetre above the bottom edge of the bag flap (so the bottom edge of the bag flap this covered by the bblfr). PS the top edge of the bblfr will have the d-rings and grab handle pointing upwards.“

RESOURCES:
U-Handbag: u-handbag.com
Digital preview: A Bag for All Reasons
Lisa’s blog: u-handbag.typepad.com

GIVE-AWAY!!
F+W Media is kindly giving away a copy of A Bag for All Reasons to one of my readers! Leave a comment and I’ll draw a lucky name this upcoming Saturday morning.

Edited in: The giveaway has now ended, and using random.org for comments 1-238, the winner is #31 by Pam of Library Gal Quilts (how awesome is it that the library gal won a book!). Yay, Pam!

My beloved Ron Swanson Along quilt is still touring around and having grand adventures thanks to the kindness and awesomeness of his tour-guide Dana. Holy cow is she taking him to some amazing places!  Wish it was me!

Ron Swanson - Hell on Wheels

Ron Swanson - Mariachi

Ron Swanson - Band manager

Ron Swanson - Upstaged

Ron Swanson - Muralist

Ron Swanson - Eastsider

Ron Swanson - TV Medical Examiner
(Dead guy not so dead… it’s TV magic)

Ron Swanson - Mayor
(Dana peeking out from behind!)

Ron Swanson - Santa Me visitor

Ron Swanson - Hasslehoffer

Ron Swanson - as Bert Macklin: Federal Boobie Inspector

Everyone needs a name from Bert Macklin’s FBI Name Generator. Turns out that I’m “Tandy Rodeo”.  I can’t wait to do my last update with RonQuilt - especially because he’s going to have some souvenirs to share.  Stay tuned!

I was so over calling mug rugs, "mug rugs" even before I knew what one was. I have an arsenal of really bad names, but my mom doesn’t know I know these words. So I had to think of something that wasn’t NSFM. So I’m trying "quiltini" on for size.

My two latest quiltini’s - which I’m pretty I make just so I can bind something.

It’s here, it’s here, it’s here… Winterkist is finally here! It’s been a long wait, and Winterkist has finally started shipping. I am so thrilled and of course I hope it’ll be well received and liked.  To kick things off, the Fat Quarter Shop is featured me and Winterkist on their Jolly Jabber blog in their “Designer Tidbits” feature. I personally think they’re pretty brave to run a Q & A on me… but I behaved (cough).

As the shipments trickle in, so far I’ve learned of the following shops that are selling Winterkist:
Brick & Mortar Shops
Bolt - Portland, Oregon
Fabricworm/Birch - Paso Robles, Calif.
Sew Modern - Los Angeles, California
Super Buzzy - Ventura, California
Voodoo Rabbit - East Brisbane, QLD

Online Shops
Crazyquiltgirl Fabric - USA
Elephant in my Handbag - UNITED KINGDOM
Fabric.com - USA
Fabricworm - USA
FatQuarterShop - USA
Mad About Patchwork - CANADA
Sew,Mama,Sew! - USA
Sew Modern - USA
SuperBuzzy.com - USA
Voodoo Rabbit - AUSTRALIA

Etsy Shops
Sew Dearly Loved - USA
Sew Fresh Fabrics - USA
The Stockroom - USA

RETAILERS: If you are a shop and are selling Winterkist (how do I love thee!), please leave me a comment with your shop name and I’ll list you on the Winterkist page.

I’m so happy with Winterkist finally getting into the loving hands of sewits, quilters and crafters - I thought I’d celebrate and give away a little happy roll of Winterkist (24 strips of 2½” wide fabric which could be fun for the Ron Swanson quilt!) + an assortment of fussycut Gnomas.  Leave a comment and I’ll draw a name Thursday morning (Sep 27, 2012). Easy as pie. Winterkist pie. Winterkist pie being delivered by Cullen Bohannon on horseback.

Edited in: Thank you all SO MUCH for the kind words and excitement over Winterkist. I AM SO TOUCHED! The giveaway has now ended, and using random.org for comments 1-222, the winner is #24 by mean sarah jean. Yay, Sarah!

When American Patchwork & Quilting asked me to participate in the One Million Pillowcase Challenge Blog Hop I jumped at the honor!

The American Patchwork & Quilting 1 Million Pillowcase Challenge is a really cool and fun way to Do Something for your community in your community. It’s so simple and so fun. Make a pillowcase and donate it locally! Well, that’s the nutshell version. APQ will explain it much better than I, but what I love so much about this is that it’s so community based. No fuss, no muss, no paperwork, nothing to mail - just making, having fun and giving.

What’s really cool is that APQ has gobs of pillowcase patterns, and even a video on how to make a really slick pillowcase. The APQ pattern I used was the Prairie Point Pillowcase one with my new Winterkist line.

I love Prairie points! When going to the pattern page, be sure to scroll down to see the entire archive of patterns.

APQ’s blog hop is hopping for the entire month of September with some of their favorite designers and 2012 sponsors. Be sure to visit every day to see the pillowcases and see how they’re helping the communities they’re in.

September 1: Welcome from American Patchwork & Quilting
September 2: Rashida Coleman-Hale
September 3: Olivia and Alayna’s Pillowcase Project
September 4: Morgan’s Smile Factory
September 5: Pat Sloan
September 6: Northcott
September 7: Betsy Chutchian
September 8: Vanessa Christenson
September 9: Andover Fabrics
September 10: Laurie Simpson
September 11: Oak Hill, Ohio
September 12: Robert Kaufman Fabrics
September 13: Pam Buda
September 14: Indygo Junction
September 15: 4-H
September 16: Katie Hennagir
September 17: Anni Downs
September 18: FreeSpirit Fabrics
September 19: American Patchwork & Quilting Staff
September 20: Patty Young
September 21: Moda Fabrics
September 22: Monica Solorio-Snow
September 23: Moda Bake Shop
September 24: Andover Fabrics
September 25: Roseann Kermes
September 26: Ann Kelle
September 27: Therm O Web
September 28: Edyta Sitar
September 29: Fabri-Quilt
September 30: Cherri House

Gather some friends and make pillowcases! I gathered up my friends Traci and Gabrien and we had a blast.

Packing up sucks when you have to wait for your iron to cool. If only someone would design an iron cozy for a hot iron…

Bam - iron cozy. I’m sure I’ll be hearing any day now from AP&Q begging me to write up my instructions. Yup, totally sure.

Happy Zombie Iron Cozy (patent pending)