Category Archives: Life

Color Inspiration Thursday {75}

July 21, 2016 kittywilkin 8 Comments

Over the past two weeks, we’ve been searching for colors rarely seen in my previous color palettes, namely white, grey, blue, and purple. Last week, we attempted some white palettes and settled for white with a pop of color. This week, I’m sharing a couple of palettes addressing the purples and blues. We tried something a bit new for the second palette, but I don’t think it will be the last time we try it! Color palettes were created using Play Crafts’ Palette Builder 2.1 and my photographs, with conveniently matched cotton solids and Aurifil threads in case a palette so inspires you to sew!

Corresponding solids from left to right:
Kona Black, Kona Shadow, Bella Baby Blue, Bella Aubergine, Kona Storm, Bella Betty’s Blue

Corresponding Aurifil thread from left to right:
2692 – Black
2615 – Aluminum
2562 – Lilac
2566 – Wisteria
2745 – Midnight
4140 – Wedgewood

Purple, lovely purple! Literally one, maybe two days after deciding to seek less frequent colors in nature, one of my kids spotted this pinecone refuse left by some critter alongside a hiking path. I went to investigate in response to, “What’s this, mama?” and viola! Purple! and a bit of blue! I love when my kids find little treasures out in the natural world, since that spark of wonder is what makes the world go ’round! I certainly will do all I can to keep it going as long as I have a speck of influence, and will cherish the treasures found.

Corresponding solids from left to right:
Bella Stone, Kona Surf, Kona Ocean, Kona Copen, Kona Periwinkle, Kona Blueberry

Corresponding Aurifil thread from left to right:
2605 – Grey
2525 – Dusty Blue Violet
2780 – Dk Delft Blue
2725 – Lt Wedgewood
2720 – Lt Delft Blue
2770 – V Lt Delft

For this palette, we tried something a bit different. There are bits of blue appearing around our gardens–blueberries are beginning to ripen, the blue bachelor button buds are ready to pop any day, and the borage is flowering its fuzzy blue blooms. But no where is there a strongly dominant blue; it is mixed in with the rest of the colorful bits of beauty but alone would not hold its own in a color palette.

To combat that, I decided to try a reverse color scavenger hunt. I picked a couple of borage flowers and gave my oldest the challenge of finding things in the house that matched the color perfectly. Borage is a tricky color–a blueish violet that’s very soft and subtle, but she managed to find one book that was an absolute perfect match: a little book called the Dali Lama’s Book of Love & Compassion, a sweet little collection of positive reflections that was a gift from my husband way back before we were even engaged. Everything else we tried was either too blue or too purple, so I headed up and grabbed some blue-violet Aurifil spools to see if we could get lucky. Sure enough, 2525-Dusty Blue Violet is the perfect match! If you look at the matching Aurifil threads pulled from the palette, the second coordinating color is exactly that! Once again, Aurifil has the perfect match.

It has been fun to seek the rarer colors, and I still have yet to find a convincingly grey palette, nor have I fully succeeded with a white one, so I will keep looking! I challenge you to spot some odd colors in the world around you this week–where do you see blue? purple? or any other unusual colors that stand out to you? Let me know in the comments, or link to a photo!

Enjoy the search!

Color Inspiration, Life

Color Inspiration Thursday {74}

July 14, 2016 kittywilkin 7 Comments

I have had some fun this week searching out some of the colors in nature less commonly seen in my color palettes, as you helped me name last week: white, grey, blue, and purple. I have also been getting more comfortable with a new camera, since I very recently upgraded our nearly 10 year old Canon with a newer version. Upon reading up on editing RAW photo files in preparation for the big Quilter’s Planner photo shoot, I also made the executive decision to begin a trial version of Photoshop and Lightroom just last night (or should I say, early this morning?). Combine all of those three things together, and that makes for a lot of late nights and fun photo experimentation. AND some really fun color palettes! All color palettes were created using Play Crafts’ Palette Builder 2.1 and my photographs.

Corresponding solids from left to right:
Kona Sky, Kona Silver, Kona Cloud, Bella Baby Blue, Bella Petal Pink, Kona Zucchini

Corresponding Aurifil thread from left to right:
2024 – White
2560 – Iris
2606 – Mist
2564 – Pale Lilac
2562 – Lilac
5015 – Gold Yellow

Since low volume fabrics are among my favorites, I decided to begin by searching for white. I enlisted the help of my big kids and we gathered all of the white and light grey flowers and treasures we could find around our yard and garden. Since I wanted to emphasize the white, we laid them out on a big white poster board. Through this whole search for white-rich color palettes, I’ve discovered that it is quite difficult to find a palette created from nature without the green, yellow, or pinks sneaking in. For the palette above, I ignored the green in creating the palette, even though, for me, the green jumps out at you in the photo.

Since I am getting the hang of a new camera, I wanted to experiment with the quality of light in different places, so before photographing in earnest, I took simple top-down photos in a few different locations: inside near a bright window, outside in direct bright sunlight, and outside in a shady spot. It’s amazing how simply moving the location of the photo subject changes the quality of the color so drastically. Here are my unedited photos in each location, to show you the differences:

Inside near a bright window = dancing shadows

Outside in direct bright sunlight = garishly bright with dark shadows

Outside in a shady spot without direct sun = gentle and flat, and with a little bit of lightening in a photo editor, it creates the bright photo with soft shadows that was used to create the color palette above.

I decided to try my favorite, macro photography, to see if I could isolate some fully white-spectrum photos. Lo, once again, this just proved that pink and yellow love to sneak into the whites! I also discovered that it is quite difficult to get true white to pull from a photograph. Greys and beige, yes. But white? No such luck.

Corresponding solids from left to right:
Kona Blue Bell, Kona Silver, Bella Saffron, Bella Longhorn, Kona Cheddar, Kona Limestone

Corresponding Aurifil thread from left to right:
5008 – Sugar Paper
2560 – Iris
2318 – Cachemire
2930 – Toast
6010 – Toast
2324 – Stone

I knew that the golden center of this flower would pull through just as strongly if not more so than the white, but how could I resist? Such a gorgeous bloom, and a soothing palette. In quilting, I love good contrast and a crisp aesthetic, which often is aided by using a low volume/white or dark/black background fabric. This palette is one that I could definitely see myself using, perhaps in a gender neutral baby quilt, or summery pillow. I probably would drop the Stone and pick up pure White, though, even though it didn’t push through in the actual photo.

Corresponding solids from left to right:
Bella Lt Blue, Kona Thistle, Kona Lupine, Kona Plum, Kona Cloud, Kona Sky

Corresponding Aurifil thread from left to right:
2612 – Arctic Sky
2510 – Lt Lilac
2566 – Wisteria
4030 – Plum
2560 – Iris
2710 – Lt Robins Egg

Ahh Thistle, Lupine, Plum; what gorgeous colors! This is a palette that appears in my creations often, although usually with some other colors joining ranks. Again, despite the attempt to find a fully white-grey palette, this was another no-go. Clearly, Mother Nature likes color, too! I still love the photos and resulting palettes, even if they don’t quite fulfill the request for low volume color palettes. I will keep hunting, and look forward to sharing my finds with you next week!

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Reminder!! The Christmas in July Pattern Bundle Sale ends today at 3pm EST!! It’s your last chance to get a fabulous deal on 23 versatile patterns from some of your favorite designers, including Meadowmist Designs, Quilting Jetgirl, Quiet Play, Blossom Heart Quilts, Live Love Sew, 13 Spools, and many more! At the end of the sale, this bundle of patterns will no longer be available, so get it while you can! As an added bonus, everyone who buys it HERE is entered to win a Quilter’s Planner 2017 Starter Kit. Creativity overload (in a totally great way!)! **The sale is now over!

Also, my giveaway for the Raindrop fat quarter bundle by Rashida Coleman-Hale for Cotton + Steel Fabrics, sponsored by Fat Quarter Shop ends tonight at 8pm! Comment on my post HERE to enter to win if you haven’t already!

Color Inspiration, Life

Color Inspiration Thursday {73}

July 7, 2016 kittywilkin 5 Comments

My garden is in a very temporary visual lull at the moment, with the first burst of blooms dying out and the next round not quite flowering yet, but I have a good stockpile of photographs from earlier this year for color inspiration posts in the meantime. This week features a few of my garden beauty favorites, with color palettes made using Play Crafts’ Palette Builder 2.1. I hope you find inspiration from the detailed intricacies provided by Mother Nature, by the color bursts and combinations found naturally all around us, or by the gorgeous matching quilting solids and Aurifil threads listed beneath each palette!

Corresponding solids from left to right:
Kona Dahlia, Kona Violet, Bella Berrylicious, Bella Boysenberry, Kona Thistle, Bella Prairie Green

Corresponding Aurifil thread from left to right:
2520 – Violet
5003 – Wine
2535 – Magenta
4030 – Plum
2510 – Lt Lilac
2850 – Med Juniper

Ahhhh! Peonies are long gone at this point in the year, but their full beauty lives on in these photographs (and my memory). I did not get dahlias in the ground in time this year; otherwise I would be eagerly awaiting their blooms to step into the vacant space left by the passing of the peonies. Time will tell which bloom will steal my heart next. It’s fun how more or less the same flowers bloom each year, since our garden is a perennial garden, yet it is always a surprise when a flower first begins to bloom.

Corresponding solids from left to right:
Bella Bunny Hill Blue, Bella Petal Pink, Bella Boysenberry, Kona Bordeaux, Kona Azalea, Kona Herb

Corresponding Aurifil thread from left to right:
2600 – Dove
2445 – Victorian Rose
4030 – Plum
1103 – Burgundy
2530 – Blossom Pink
5019 – Military Green

One of my favorite aspects of our garden is the wide variety of subspecies that are planted of each flower. There are least ten different species of Columbine, from daintily elegant to full and regal. You can see one of the other species featured in a past color inspiration post here. I don’t remember seeing this red species before this year, but it must have been there, hiding amidst the other copious blooms. I fully enjoyed it this year, and love the rich color palette that results.

In looking through my color inspiration posts, there is a definite trend toward pinks, maroons, orange/golds, greens, and earthy tones. I suppose that’s to be expected when the majority of the photos come from the garden around me. I was thinking it might be fun to have a color scavenger hunt, though, and specifically seek some of the colors more rarely found in nature. I’m taking suggestions for color themes–the harder the better (I love a challenge)! What color should I search for first? Blue? Purple? White? I’d love to hear your thoughts!

Color Inspiration, Life

Color Inspiration Thursday {71}

June 16, 2016 kittywilkin 7 Comments

Ahhhh, summer is here! The garden has been cranking full speed ahead, cycling through blooms as only nature can. This time of year is a strong reminder to appreciate the moment, since if you don’t stop to smell the flowers, before you know it they are gone and being quickly replaced by different ones! Today’s color inspiration palettes come from photos of some flowers in my garden, but with a slightly different perspective. You know how I love to get up close and personal; well today, I took it one step further. I played with the easy macro band my husband gifted to me for Christmas, and using my iPhone, took some seriously macro (super duper close!) photos of some familiar beauties. Color palettes are made using Play Crafts’ Palette Builder 2.1.

Corresponding solids from left to right:
Kona Cerise, Kona Bright Pink, Kona Violet, Bella Amelia Green, Bella Amelia Purple, Kona Hibiscus

Corresponding Aurifil thread from left to right:
1100 – Red Plum
2450 – Rose
5003 – Wine
2882 – Lt Fern
1243 – Dusty Lavender
1240 – V Dk Eggplant

This first flower was featured in a color inspiration post last year, as part of a pink/purple color lay. It’s the one on the far left, the purple spray-like flowers. I believe it’s a Mountain Bluet (Centaurea montana). This year, I went straight to the heart of the flower, and I love the blurred depth of field and soft, rich color. This Mountain Bluet heart reminds me of improv quilting, gorgeously random yet cohesive.

Corresponding solids from left to right:
Kona Magenta, Bella Amelia Lavender, Bella Pewter, Bella Baby Pink, Bella Daffodil, Bella Longhorn

Corresponding Aurifil thread from left to right:
2520 – Violet
2524 – Grey Violet
2606 – Mist
2405 – Oyster
5001 – Ocher Yellow
2145 – Yellow Orange

Any guesses as to what flower this may be? I absolutely love the soft palette that resulted from this fuzzy view down the gullet of an iris (did you guess it?!). Just for scale, here’s a “regular” photo of the same flower:

Isn’t it amazing how simply moving insanely close to a flower changes the entire aesthetic!? I feel like I say it almost every time, but it’s a whole new, beautiful world in there!

A bit more about the Easy Macro band; it’s really simple to use and costs just over $10. I’m not an affiliate or anything, but it’s such a clever little tool, I thought I’d share more information. It looks like a big rubber band with a little round lens on it, and you simply stretch it over your phone, lining up the lens with the lens on the phone’s camera. One tip to getting great photos–get far closer than you think is possible, tap the screen to focus, then slooooooowly back the camera up until you find the focus you want. Take the picture! It’s really fun, and you certainly will be seeing more of these easy macro color palettes. I think the narrow perspective helps you focus more on the color than the subject, which is perfect for color palettes!

Do you prefer macro (super close up) photos, or more landscape/scene photos? I am definitely in the macro camp, but I know there’s a place for both styles of photography!

Enjoy your day, and happy sewing!

english paper piecing, Hand Stitching, Life

Slow Stitching for Summertime

June 7, 2016 kittywilkin 6 Comments

Ahh! Summer is upon us! My daughter has mere days left of school before summer break is officially here! That means all three kids home all day, every day, which in turn means time to take lots of day trip adventures! Summer also means lots more opportunity for slow stitching, and a need to have some hand stitching available at all times. We all know that the day I forget my handwork will be the day all three kids somehow fall asleep in the car on the way to some adventure!

My portable hand stitching kit this summer consists primarily of English Paper Piecing (EPP) hexies and some experimental embroidery-quilting projects.

After a lull in my Carolyn Friedlander modern hexies project progress, I’m ready to pick it up again and baste more hexies! While 2 1/2″ squares work just fine for EPP hexagons, I really enjoy the neatness that starting with a hexagon of fabric provides.

sizzix fabi die cutting hexagons for epp — Nine (9) charm squares lined up on top of the Sizzix 1 1/2″ hexagon die. Pass it through….

This is another time when the Sizzix die cutting machine comes in handy. It doesn’t take long to cut a whole bunch of fabric and cardstock hexagons for slow stitching on the go. I use the BigZ Hexagons with 1 1/2″ sides die to cut fabric and BigZ Hexagons with 1″ sides die to cut cardstock hexies and I’m ready to roll.

A lovely stack of fabric hexagons ready to baste. I need to cut a few more cardstock templates, but this will do for now!

I am also continuing to add embroidery quilting to my Rainbow Hex Star mini, as well planning a couple small embroidery quilting experimental projects. My goal is to find a way to get the back to look as neat as the front. Practice, right?

Slow stitching on the go is not the only slow stitching I’m looking forward to this summer! I’m also officially registered for the Slow Stitching Retreat hosted by Sam at A Gathering of Stitches this August. I can’t wait to slow down and sew with Sam, Chawne Kimber, and Alison Glass. I’m doubly excited since I will also be leading yoga on the retreat! Just imagine… slowing down, breathing deeply, stretching out, learning from amazingly talented and inspirational quilters, and slowly stitching in the sun, rocking on the rocking chairs out on the porch in the calm, cool woods of Maine. You can read about my experience dropping in on a day of this retreat last summer HERE. I am very much looking forward to spending the full four days rejuvenating my soul with some slow stitching in inspired creative company. Are you coming!? I sure hope so!

What are your summer stitching plans?

Life, Quilting

All in a Year: 12 Months

June 6, 2016 kittywilkin 22 Comments

And just like that, all of the blocks for Finn’s milestone quilt are finished and my baby is officially one year old. They say “babies don’t keep” but somehow it feels like the past year flew by especially quickly. I won’t even try to pretend I won’t miss this project dearly now that it’s mostly finished. I do still need to piece the top and quilt it, so no worries–you haven’t seen the last of Finn and his quilt!

Within the past week, Finn has fully mastered walking and now prefers it over crawling. He joyfully walks circles around the house, his wobbly steps getting stronger and smoother by the day. This joy of walking certainly made this photo shoot the most difficult yet! I got one, only one, photograph of Finn relatively near his final quilt block, and while it’s not as clear as I’d like, it’s staying.

Twelve months is 12 months, and not even mommy’s most sincere and pleading attempts will keep a newfound walker from walk, walk, walking! Just as a reminder, here is Finn with his very first milestone quilt block, 11 long months ago:

Isn’t it absolutely mind-blowing how much babies grow and learn in such a short time!? Life is an amazing thing.

My big kids brought home a couple of balloons from their cousin’s first birthday this weekend (we had a full family birthday weekend with both Finn and cousin Reagan born 26 hours apart), and they have become the favorite toy for all three kids. (Safety note: Yes, I know that balloons are not technically safe for babies, so I will reassure you here that I only allow Finn to play with the balloon when I am directly supervising him!) I figured giving Finn something fun to hold was my best bet at having him stand still for even a moment.

Even still, Finn would rather walk around than stand still, despite my best efforts. C’est al vie. Such is life with a brand new walker!

Add an eager almost-four-year old big brother helper, and the majority of my photos looked like this:

or, more accurately, like this:

This is part of what I have loved about this project, though. It has given me an opportunity to sit down, reflect, and write about life in the current moment. By documenting each month of my baby’s life, I’m also documenting our life as a family. With our busy lives, how often do we take a moment to write about our day? I have loved that this project has given me the motivation to write, reflect, and document the joyful milestones in Finn’s first year.

Finn continues to have a sweet and joyful disposition, complete with his newfound ability to express frustration and flop himself face down, crying, on the floor. Overall, though, he is a happy boy and a super helper. He loves to help me unload the dishwasher, taking out each utensil and holding it up for me (as long as I’m quick enough to take it within a second or two). When he does that, I always say “Thank you!” and now it sounds like he says, “Thank you!” right back. This morning while I was getting dressed, he joyfully opened my dresser drawer and started taking out folded clothes, tossing them on the floor one at a time and saying “thank you” after each one! Oh, the innocence of babes!

Finn has helped take these blocks off the wall for the very last time. Next up is squaring up the blocks and sewing the quilt top together. I’m going to give myself a month in which to do it, since it feels like an attainable goal. Setting realistic goals is still something I’m continuously working on, and something this project has helped with greatly. As much as I may have itched at times to make extra blocks, or up the ante to two blocks per month, I’m SO glad that I stuck with my original plan of one block per month, since deadlines have a funny way of sneaking up on me. Sure, it took an entire year, but all of the blocks for Finn’s quilt have been made! A finished quilt is just around the corner.

For those of you new to this project, you can see the full quilt layout plan, HERE in the 3 month post. The blocks are all completely finished now, and just as planned! You can see the full progression of Finn and his quilt’s growth HERE or by clicking the “Milestone Quilt” tab at the top of my blog. Thank you for joining me on this journey! I’m not considering the journey over just yet, since I will check in with quilt finishing progress, too, with Finn’s help of course!

I’ll end this post with a few peeks from Finn’s first birthday party. He had such a great time!

finn 1 year old birthday milestone quilt — Cheerful boy + good light = sweet shot!

Here’s to many more years of growth, joy, and family fun!

I’m linking up with Design Wall Monday, and Sew Cute Tuesday tomorrow.

Color Inspiration, Life

Color Inspiration Thursday {70}

May 26, 2016 kittywilkin 2 Comments

**Note: I wrote this post four (4) weeks ago and between other scheduled tutorials and family sickness, it has yet to be posted. I’m finally scheduling it to post so that it goes up no matter what goes down on the homestead. Spring is in full swing here in Maine, now, so just pretend it is a month ago while reading this!**

Warm, sunny, peeks-at-summer days are popping up here and there, intermingled with some below freezing nights and a bout of snow a couple of days ago. Ahh, spring in Maine! We were able to escape on one last grand adventure as a family of three before my big kids returned from their vacation two weeks ago, and today’s color inspiration comes from our adventures at Popham Beach in Phippsburg, Maine. It’s a bit of a drive away at just over 2 hours, but somehow the stars aligned and Finn slept the entire drive down, making our day joyful and smooth. And such, “beaching it” is the theme of the week; color palettes were created using Play Crafts’ Palette Builder 2.1.

Corresponding solids from left to right:
Kona Pewter, Bella Bunny Hill Blue, Bella Prairie Green, Bella Pistachio, Kona Parchment, Bella Etchings Charcoal

Corresponding Aurifil thread from left to right:
2606 – Mist
2560 – Iris
5010 – Beige
5016 – Olive Green
2326 – Sand
1140 – Bark

As soon as we began along the path to the beach, I was drawn to the sea grasses that grew along the dunes. Such perfect little spikes of green popping up through the fine sand, it’s amazing to think that they alone hold the shifting sands in place during the strongest storms. Yet another reminder of Mother Nature’s simple complexity. The soft greens of the grasses and beige tones of the sand give a quiet feel to this palette.

This grass-covered dune was gorgeous as a whole, too, and I was happy to see a nice solid fence and signage clearly explaining the importance of looking without touching (or walking).

Corresponding solids from left to right:
Bella Peacoat, Kona Pewter, Kona Medium Grey, Bella Nautical Blue, Kona Spice, Kona Latte

Corresponding Aurifil thread from left to right:
2785 – V Dk Navy
2605 – Grey
1126 – Blue Grey
1310 – Med Blue Grey
4012 – Copper Brown
5010 – Beige

Great color combinations can be found in the most unexpected of places, like this old, rusty lobster trap that was washed up on the beach and almost entirely covered by sand. I am wishing I took a photo of this from further away, since you might not notice the intricacies of texture and color unless you take a closer look. Lovely rust! I actually have a quilt in the wayyyy beginning phases of planning using a rusty color palette like this. It might become a reality in a year or two!

Here are a couple more photos from our expedition, just for fun:

Here’s to another color inspiration post next week, featuring some of the gorgeous spring flowers that are finally filling our gardens! Enjoy your week!

Life

Digging Out & May is for Makers Update

May 16, 2016 kittywilkin 17 Comments

Remember that full plate I have for the month of May? Well it has all been pushed way back to the back-burner since my last post, as a nasty stomach bug made its way through our family like a tidal wave. My daughter and I got it first, 48 hours later my youngest two children got it, and as a nasty sneak attack after we all thought we were in the clear, 72 hours later, my husband got it. All creating, sewing, blogging time has been fully replaced by sickness, recovery, tending sick beloveds, and cleaning/laundry catch up. My husband is still recovering today, and the deep cleaning continues. Needless to say, I don’t have much to show!

Since May is flying by, though, and I wanted to check in, I thought now would be a perfect time to share the patterns I’ve been purchasing for the May is for Makers initiative started by Lindsey at LR Stitched.

I kicked off the month by buying the Rebel Quilt pattern by Libs Elliott. Ever since my husband first started “following” my quilting and getting more into the quilting world, Libs Elliott has been his favorite designer. I can’t even tell you how many times he has tagged me on Instagram on a post (that I had already liked, by the way) just to make sure I saw the awesomeness. Since I have yet to make a quilt for him, we decided that the Rebel Quilt would be perfect. He selected a color palette of red, black, grey, white, and a bit of turquoise (yay!), and I’m itching to get started. This is going to be SO much fun to see come together! All in good time, of course.

The second week I bought the Terrazzo Quilt pattern by Lee Heinrich of Freshly Pieced. This is one of those quilts I loved the moment I saw it, but have not yet had the right opportunity to make one. Recently Fat Quarter Shop asked if I would want to make a quilt using both of their Alison Glass Sun Prints bundles and blog about it if they sent me the fabric, and this quilt pattern popped to mind. Yes and yes!! I plan to create this quilt in the coming months; an all time favorite pattern with my all time favorite fabrics–I’m in love already and I haven’t even cut the first piece!

For the third week, I’m sharing a pattern I bought *just* before May began, but I’m counting it anyway. Stitchy Pie is a sweet needle organizer pattern recently released by Lucy at Charm About You. I had just been thinking about how I needed some system for keeping all of my hand stitching needles organized and in one place (it’s never fun when I can’t find my self-threading needles and it’s thread burying time), and this pattern popped up in my Instagram feed. I plan to make mine…. wait, can you guess?…. out of an Alison Glass Art Theory panel! I will never tire of Alison Glass fabric projects! I don’t know when the time will present itself, but when it does, I’m excited to make this handy little project.

I have not yet decided what patterns I’ll be purchasing for the last two weeks of May. Do you have any suggestions? Any innovative projects that you find yourself returning to again and again? I’m soooo close to crossing into the black hole (so it feels) of garment sewing, and I want to begin with a simple cotton tank. Do any of you garment sewists have suggestions? Thank you in advance, and I hope you’ve been having fun with May is for Makers, too!

Back to cleaning up and possibly sewing for just a tiny bit, since Finn is napping. Here’s to good health, sunny skies, and speedy and efficient catch-up!

Life, Quilting

The Final Stretch: 11 Months

May 6, 2016 kittywilkin 17 Comments

I’ve been here every day, experiencing every moment, yet still it’s hard to believe my baby is nearly a year old. Finn is walking more and more, beginning to talk a bit (he clear as day said “yes” when I asked him if he wanted more milk last night, and “mama” is a regular), he’s learned how to tell me when he doesn’t like something, and his wonder of the world around him only grows. I know that he has a lot more growing and developing to do, but his milestone quilt is nearly finished. I had to laugh to myself a bit a few weeks ago when Finn threw his first fit. You know the kind, where he gets his hands on something he really shouldn’t have (in this case, a pony bead that he surely would try to eat), you take it away, trying to distract him with something else, but still he whines, arches his back and makes it known that he is NOT happy. My first thought was, “Awww cute! Finn learned how to throw a fit!” True tale sign he’s my third child. While it’s still a bit cute when he throws a fit, I’m sure it will get old long before he outgrows it. But still, he’s such a blessing. Looking at these photos, you’d never think he’d be capable of throwing a fit. Now that walking and moving is old hat for Finn, this photo shoot was quite a feat. Just about as soon as I set him down standing, he’d start to walk toward me. Adorably cute, yes, but jolting movement doesn’t bode well for clear photos. Still I managed to get a few good ones, and of course I’ll be sharing them here. This month, we had some friends over during his photo shoot (which actually happened this morning!), so his friend Ronin joined him for the photos. Ronin is a few months younger than Finn, but it was fun to see them interact. Here I was asking and signing to Finn, “Where’s your friend?” I’m trying to sign all the time to Finn and it’s slowly starting to show. He finally signed “more” while eating eggs the other morning, and I think is beginning to sign “milk” and perhaps “all done”. He seems much more interested in verbal communication, and it sounds to me like he says: mama, milk, more, Maddie, Max, water, yes, and perhaps a few more. The development of a human brain blows my mind. Once again, the highlight of the day was ripping the blocks off the wall. Here Ronin looks on as Finn takes the first block down, and turns to check with Emily (Ronin’s mom) to make sure it’s ok.

finn milestone quilt 11 months — How happy do they look!?

Once I gave them the go ahead, it was a quilt block grabbing, tasting, throwing free-for-all. Ronin especially enjoyed the tactile-oral quality control job. Such adorable kids.

As you may have noticed in some of the photos above, I recently found potential backings for Finn’s milestone quilt. While doing a bit of quilt shop hopping during Maine’s April quilt shop hop, I spotted two prints that stuck with me at Mainely Sewing. After walking through the shop, I found myself coming back to these two.

They are by Stof Fabrics, which is a fabric company unfamiliar to me before now. The fabric feels sturdy and smooth, and based in Denmark, I anticipate high quality. After much deliberation, I bought a couple yards of each print, just in case. I haven’t seen them elsewhere, so I thought it was a wise purchase.

To be honest, the print that looks like birch trees was the one I thought I’d use for the backing, until seeing them hanging next to the quilt. Looking at the photo above, I’m leaning strongly toward the print on the left. I love the pops of gold in both of them, since some of the fabrics I used in the quilt blocks for the front have gold details, and the square geometric pattern reflects the log cabin structure. I can see this quilt coming together, and it’s such a fun sight!

I deliberated over which photo of Finn to use for his 11 month block photo, since this one of him carefully standing is pretty adorable, but I ultimately chose the one with him leaning over, peeking out into the kitchen where Emily and Max were talking.

This photo seems relevant to his stage of life right now–wanting to get into the mix, discover everything, and communicate and run with the big kids. He’s getting awfully tall, too! One more month before he’s a one-year-old! I’ll check in again next month to share the celebration.

For those of you new to this project, you can see the full quilt layout plan, HERE in the 3 month post. You can see the full progression of Finn and his quilt’s growth so far HERE or by clicking the “Milestone Quilt” tab at the top of my blog. Thank you for joining me on this journey!

Community, Life, Quilting

May is for Makers

May 1, 2016 kittywilkin 5 Comments

I don’t often post two blog posts in a day, but this topic warrants a double since it’s an idea that really hits home. I’m joining in on a month-long campaign started by Lindsey over at LR Stitched, and I encourage you to consider doing so as well. It’s called May is for Makers and it’s all about supporting indie designers (like me).

Lindsey’s reflection and description is great, so I suggest you visit her blog to read the details here. Basically, her pledge for May is:

For the month of May, I am committing to support a different pattern maker each week…

I will purchase 5 patterns over the course of the 5 weeks and with each purchase I make, I will tell a pattern maker that their work matters. My purchase will tell them that I am grateful for the time, effort and passion they put into their brand. Validation.

Lindsey reflects on how “…the balance between what we expect for free and what we are willing to purchase is way out of whack.” This made me stop and reflect for a minute, since while I’m a “starving artist” myself, trying to find a foothold in this industry so that I can help contribute to my family’s bottom line, I don’t always jump at buying patterns. Sure, I support my peers through friendship, collaboration, and sometimes commiseration, but as I know all too well, every penny helps. Selling patterns is often one of the few sources of actual monetary income for independent designers. So I’m pledging this month to buy one less special treat during an errands day, and instead will buy a pattern from a fellow designer each week.

I will share my pattern purchases on social media using #mayisformakers, and will give recaps here. I can’t promise a blog post every week, since I have an overflowing plate with many tutorials coming your way in May, but I will definitely write an update post or two sharing the patterns I’ve added to my library.

I am looking forward to being part of the wave of love sent to the makers of our community, since I know well how much time, artistry, and love goes into making, creating, designing, and of course sharing it all! If you would like to join in, go ahead over to Lindsey’s post, grab the button for your blog, and support away!

Many thanks to all of you for your continued support, both through pattern purchases, blog comments and kind words, and spreading the inspiration!