A day with EH

As any casual follower of this blog knows, I am a huge Elizabeth Hartman fan. Hers was one of the first sewing blogs I ever started following, and her first book, The Practical Guide to Patchwork, basically taught me how to quilt. I've made many of her patterns (bags and quilts alike), and I love her aesthetic and teaching style. I got to take a class with her at QuiltCon in February, but that didn't make me any less excited when I found out she was coming to visit the STLMQG. The big day finally arrived this past Saturday. I'd signed up to take her Fancy Fox and Hazel Hedgehog Pillow workshop (she also taught her Patchwork City workshop on Sunday, but that's the class I took at QC), so I pulled some fun solids from my stash to get ready.

As expected, the class was fantastic. I've made the fox quilt a few times already (see here and here), but Hazel was new to me, and Elizabeth always has the best tips, even for things I thought I already knew well. She's patient, encouraging, and super helpful, and she's not shy about giving compliments when she really likes something.

That evening, she did a trunk show presentation, which was really enjoyable. She shared a lot about her personal life and sewing journey, which she doesn't really do much of on her blog, so it was nice to "meet" more of the person behind the persona. Her quilts, of course, were beautiful, and she shared all of the quilts from Patchwork City, the quilts in her animal series, and a few more. 

After the show, I hurried home to pay the babysitter and get back to work, wanting to finish my blocks. I got all three put together into my mini quilt top (I decided to do a mini for my sewing wall instead of the pillow) on Sunday, and I'm hoping to finish the rest this week. I love these little animals!

It was another great encounter for this super fan!

Lucky Strikes quilt: A finish!

Sorry for the relative lack of sewing posts over the past few weeks, but all my time and energy was going into a secret project. Thankfully, I can finally reveal my finished Lucky Strikes quilt!

The quilt was a wedding gift for my little sister, a champion bowler, so Kim Kight's Lucky Strikes fabric collection and quilt pattern were the perfect fit.

I chose to focus on some of the brighter colors in the collection (avoiding the more 70s-inspired colors) and supplemented with some of the new Sprinkle fabrics from Cotton + Steel (in Kimberly Blue and Petal). I love the low-volume scorecard print, which forms the background of most of the quilt top. I brought in more coordinating fabrics from my stash for the single striped "lane" and the quilt back.

As usual, I debated for a long time on how to quilt this one. I originally wanted to try some free-motion quilting again, but after practicing my intended design for a while, it just wasn't looking the way I wanted, and since I was short on time, I decided to go a more comfortable route. Using the strike Xs as my inspiration, I went with a randomly spaced diagonal crosshatch pattern. The lines range from two to five inches apart, and I quilted it in white thread using my walking foot.

I machine bound the quilt using my normal method (attach the binding to the front of the quilt first, wrap it around to the back and secure it with clips, then stitch in the ditch next to the binding on the front, which will catch the binding on the back). I made sure to include one of my labels, too. The binding is Dear Stella Confetti Dots in Baltic.

Because the quilt was so last minute, I didn't get a chance to take pictures until we got to Dallas for the wedding (which also explains why the quilt is so wrinkled in these shots, oops). My sister lives right by the lake, so I wanted to try to get some shots there, but we couldn't ever time the lighting just right, and the wind was not on our side. It did make for some funny outtakes, though.

The most time consuming part of the quilt was cutting, starching, and appliquing all those circles, which seemed to take forever (though I did finally manage to finish watching Wolf Hall while I did it, so there's that). The starch was definitely key to getting round circles that would stay in place, so I'm happy to have discovered a new technique. My sister was thrilled with the quilt, so I guess all those circles were worth it. :)

One deluxe pincushion

After returning from our Labor Day travels, I wanted a quick one-night project of something I didn't have to think about too much, so I turned to the Deluxe Pincushion from the wonderful book Sew Organized for the Busy Girl by Heidi Staples of Fabric Mutt.

It came together so easily and turned out so cute. The original pattern uses 9 small squares for the patchwork, but I wanted to use a few more Rhoda Ruth mini charms left over from the mini I made a while back, so I pieced together four mini charms and then cut them down to the finished size in the pattern.

They're surrounded in some Essex Yarn Dyed in Steel. For the inside of the pocket, I used a favorite print from Anna Maria Horner's True Colors collection (Sealing Wax in Amethyst), and I used a fun hexie print for the main body, but I can't seem to find the name of it.

 

I did a little crosshatch quilting on the outside pocket to finish it off. The instructions were very well written, and it all went together quite smoothly. I love that she has you topstitch the entire outside perimeter, which meant I didn't have to handstitch the opening closed. The only change I'd make next time would be to quilt just the outside of the pocket and the batting before attaching it to the inside pocket fabric (instead of quilting all three layers), which I think would make for a cleaner finish. It would also be a good opportunity for a little quilt-as-you-go scrappiness.

Life not so lately: Austin mini break

During our trip to Texas in July, we took a few days out for a little adults-only mini break. B stayed with his grandmother in Dallas, while Matt and I headed south to Austin with my sister and brother-in-law. If our pictures are any indication, we spent most of our time eating, which is probably about right, and it started on the way there, when we stopped in West for some kolaches.

And then some awesome Tex Mex as soon as we arrived in Austin.

We spent two wonderful afternoons relaxing at Barton Springs. The water was so amazingly cold. It had been a long time since I could just lay around and read, and it felt great. The weather was also remarkably mild for Texas in July, which made things so much more pleasant.

One lovely morning, we strolled through the Umlauf Sculpture Garden, which is a really lovely gem in the city. Beautiful grounds and some truly delightful sculptures.

Embracing our inner Texan. Howdy, y'all.

See, more food!

It was a really great few days of zero responsibility, good eats and drinks, and wonderful family. Austin for the win.