Hopeful Homemaker

I just finished my fastest ever hand sewing project – and I can’t wait to start another.  It was fun, fast, and 100% hand sewn.   This Indigo Siddi mini project features indigo fabrics from India, a collaborative offering from two quilters, one in the US and one in India.

Last year my sister and I took an online class to learn how to make a Siddi quilt.  The process is relaxing and rewarding, and a great use for scraps.

One thing I learned is that the tight weave of most of my fabrics makes them harder to sew through comfortably, but fabrics from India are a little lighter and easier to stitch through.  In this Indigo Siddi mini project, most of the fabrics I used are from India, available in this gorgeous indigo bundle :

They are dreamy to sew through – soft and buttery and beautiful.  My stitches are uneven and need a lot of work, but the texture is still great.  I love running my hand over it.  It’s really fun that you can put all the layers together in a particular way, and have no need for quilting or binding when the top is done.

I let the indigo bundle dictate the color scheme and pulled other blue scraps to round it out.  I included a blue striped woven fabric for the back.

I’ve enjoyed this small quilt on my table all week, along with fresh cut peonies from my yard.  It’s a wonderful thing to fill our homes with things we made.

This crystal vase is a favorite of mine.  It was a wedding gift from an elderly lady who was kind to me in my teen-aged and young adult years.  Looking back, I really don’t know why, but she believed in me.  I love remembering her as I use her gift.

I see more of these Siddi projects in my future, because one was definitely not enough.  I’m eager to improve my stitches, use more scraps, and find useful purpose for them.  Plus, I still have some of those gorgeous fabrics from India that are begging to be used!

Happy Sewing!

Jennifer

Few things say “summer” like classic blue and white, and this Irish Chain quilt is a dreamy summer quilt.  Made entirely from voile and lawn, the fabric is buttery soft and cool.  I am so pleased with this quilt!

A couple of years ago I scored some voile on a clearance sale for under $5 a yard, and I bought all of it (you can read that story here) .  This classic Irish chain quilt was the perfect project for it.  Simple sewing in my favorite colors.

I actually finished this quilt more than a year ago, and wisely took photos of it at the beach house.  I knew I would treasure having photos of my quilts here; what I didn’t anticipate was how hard it would be to write about it later.  I know it’s just a place, just a house, but it was SO much more to us.  We have grieved not having it in the family anymore, and are still hurting.  I could write a book about everything that house meant to me.  It feels like we lost my grandpa twice.  But it’s time to get these photos in a place where I’ll see them more.


After all my indecision , I quilted this one on my Juki in a simple, straight line crosshatch pattern.  For the backing I used what was left of the blue lawn and paired it with a precious piece of Lizzy House lawn that I’d been saving.  I also used bamboo batting in this quilt, to keep it light and airy for summer use.  It’s soft and a little bit puffy feeling.  I love having it on my bed in the summer.

I also love these simple photos from a treasured visit to the dearest place.  Today they make me smile with gratitude for the gift of the beach, and for memories.  And quilts.  I’m grateful for quilts.

Happy Sewing!

-Jennifer

Introducing my latest scrap project:  a log cabin style quilt made entirely with bonus half square triangles.  Do you make these?  Maybe there are other names for them, but to me they’ve always been “bonus half square triangles” or “bonus HSTs”.  For years they’ve been collecting in a box.  I can’t tell you how happy this new project has made me!

Every time I make a flying geese or snowball quilt block, I sew two seam lines instead of one.  The first, I sew on the line for the pattern/block I’m making.  The second, I sew 1/2″ away from that line, into the fabric I’ll be cutting off.  Then I press it while closed, and trim off the excess.  Except when I trim, I’m trimming off a smaller half square triangle block instead of two scrap triangles.  This way they’re made as I sew, and then they go in the box – usually subdivided by project to keep like fabrics together.

For this project, I first started by putting a bunch of them together in a 16″ block, and then I gathered all the bonus half square triangles from one of my oldest projects and began.  I sewed like blocks together in a row, and then started wrapping them around my original block, log cabin style.  It’s really fun to see these original Cotton + Steel fabrics again.  While I would never have paired the fabrics in the center block with them, the surprising color patterns that emerged are delightful.

This project is improv.  That means no trimming blocks to square up, no measuring, no worrying.  Just sew them together and smile at what happens.  I’m embracing the cutoff pieces in the corners as part of the fun!

So far I’m sewing one full round each day, and I like that goal.  I’m sure it will become just one strip per day as the quilt gets larger.  I don’t know how big I will make it, or what scraps I’ll move to next when all the bonus HSTs from this one run out.  It’s the most relaxing, fun sewing I’ve done in a while!  And it’s great to have all those bonus half square triangles out of a box and into a project.  I wonder how many I can use?

I’ll be back soon with a progress report on this one.

Happy Sewing, Jennifer