Who doesn't love a girly Baby Shower, I mean Sprinkle!

Saturday I got to co-host a Sprinkle for my sister Mariah. Of course I had never heard of a Sprinkle before but found out it's for second time Moms, a sprinkle of gifts rather then a shower. 

  My co-hosts Bianca of Figgy Pudding and Carla of ven a comer are the creative team behind Urban Creatures. They put together this super cute diaper cake.

The little flowers will be new additions to Urban Creatures as brooches and hair clips.Bianca and Carla make beautiful necklaces, as some of my Guild members already know, but they are adding new products to their line soon. 
 We had a fun brunch starting with mimosas and finishing with gluten free carrot cupcakes with maple cream cheese frosting yumm. The favors were bracelets from Urban Creatures and coffee cup cozies by me.

Cozies in progress.

Unfortunately I missed the shower deadline for the baby quilt. I had it all ready to quilt but life stepped in and changed my plans. Sometimes important things come up that actually keep me out of the sewing studio. At least I know I could have finished it and my sister understands as well. 

The baby is due February 23rd! I am so excited to meet my new little Niece and I can't believe it will be so soon. I know my sister and her husband are ready!

Pétra ( Creative Mom)


p.s. I am almost to 100 posts!

My Creative Space....

Today was one of those days that seemed like two. I really think it was yesterday when I was frantically cleaning the house and then trying to get some sewing time in. Luckily I did get to sew some. I have been working on coffee cup sleeves as a party favor for my sisters "sprinkle". What is a "sprinkle" you say? It's a shower for a second baby. I am co hosting the party this weekend and finishing the quilt in time is not looking good. I had an issue with the backing and had to make a fix but tomorrow I will be quilting.

Coffee cup sleeves in different stages.

Check out more My Creative Space posts on Kootoyoo!

Pétra ( Creative Mom )

Quilt Update

 I made it down to the studio (in the basement) for a lot of sewing time this weekend. The goal is to have this quilt finished on Friday for my sisters shower on Saturday. Is that crazy? I have been keeping track of my sewing hours for this quilt because I get a lot of "How long does it take you to make a quilt?" and with my deadline this will give me a good idea for future projects. My ticker tape quilt took about 11 hours all together but that is such a different kind of quilting I am not sure about this one. I put together a few before and after shots of making the blocks.

The idea is to keep the center level with a wonky border.

This shows the white border sewn on.

Then keeping the center level trim white to 11"x14"

I have all of the blocks together now and put them up on the design wall. Have I mentioned how much I LOVE the design wall?! It's so great to see them all up there together.

This was a quick put them up on the wall so I need to tweak the arrangement a little. Who am I kidding I'll be moving them around all day tomorrow luckily I need to get them sewn together so that might curb my compulsion. Then it's onto getting it all sandwiched and basted. 

Pétra (Creative Mom)

Ticker Tape Pillowcases

I briefly mentioned the little gift bag substitutes I was making for my sons sleepover birthday party but I love them so much I had to share the final product. The idea came about as something to put items in for the goody bags but also a little pillowcase protection. After all we were staying in a hotel that kids frequent and had bunk beds in the rooms very similar to the hotel lice incident of 09 so I was having some flashbacks. 

I planned on using some extra flannel to make pillowcases but I ran out of time so it was off to Target. I ended up buying the ultra soft variety which were $7.99 for two and they are sooo soft. There were four boys and Lily so I chose white for her and light blue for the boys.
I had a lot of scraps for Lily's case but Avery was consulted on his design.He picked out the cute flannel with the trucks.To me it was so sweet because I had made a robe for him out of it 5 years ago and now he's 10.
Even though you have to keep the pillowcase out of the way while you are sewing they are really easy to make. Each one took about 20 minutes but I was being a little finicky about fabric choice. I decided not to pre-wash the cases so they would shrink up a little more and give more texture to the scrap fabric. I also initialed all the pillowcases so the boys could keep better track at the party and that really helped when we were trying to pack every thing up in the morning. Imagine swimming cake, candy, boys, and bunk beds and you know the place was pretty hectic.

It was a fun party but hopefully Lily can wait four more years until she is ten to want the same thing.

Pétra (Creative Mom)

My Creative Space....

It's early but my space today will be about my sons 10th birthday! My creativity will go towards lasagna (2 kinds) and a gluten free ice cream cake (a first for me). I will also be cleaning the house for the family to come over. I would love to squeeze in some time on my blocks for the baby quilt but it's unlikely. Oh and the Portland Modern Quilters meeting is tonight and most likely I'll miss it : (  My son Avery is my oldest and he is funny, smart, creative, and he is worth missing a meeting for!

Unfortunately we don't have any recent photos of him because they all involve his hand in front of his face. 


Pétra  (Creative Mom)

Sister Quilt Baby #2

It is so amazing to me that I am making my sister a baby quilt for her second child! One of the first quilts I made was for her first beautiful girl Cecilia who is now 21 months old. Ugh when I look at those photos hopefully I am doing a better job with lighting these days. 
After talking to my sis, who is due February 23, I decided to make the same quilt I made for CC again but with different fabrics. The rooms inspiration was this rug from PB teen.

For the fabric I finally found June Bug in Bright by Alexander Henry, Summertime by Barbara Jones, and June Bug Burst on Pink by Alexander Henry. It was hard to find such colorful fabrics with black that would work with the rug but they do.

The quilt I'll be making

The Lemongrass quilt was created by Laura Ducommun

I have cut and sewn together the strips in different widths.

Next I started sewing them around the center blocks. Here is

 an earlier tutorial on making the blocks.

I love how they're turning out and I love taking photos without standing on a chair!

Pétra (Creative Mom)

Design Wall Tutorial

We're back from Great Wolf Lodge and I am so tired! We did have a really fun birthday party for my son  and we had a blast at the water park. His birthday is really the 20th and he will be 10 so more on that next week. 


Today I wanted to get out a little tutorial about making your own design wall. I think the materials are pretty well known, you need a fabric that material will grab onto without the use of pins, something to attach it to, and a way to get it on the wall. I found a nice toothy 60" flannel at Fabric Depot but you can use batting or a flannel sheet. Instead of using a rod to hang it on the wall I wanted there to be more substance so I purchased a 4 by 8 foot sheet of styrofoam insulation. Now my car is big but not that big luckily there is a cutting area at Home Depot and I sawed it down to 4 by 2 and 4 by 6 pieces.

To attach the fabric to the board I used the method I learned in college for stretching a canvas. First I centered the flannel on the board and tacked it to the back with quilting pins one on each side. Next starting at the center of one end I pulled the fabric pretty tight and secured it using a staple gun. You precede in this manner all the way around starting in the middle and working your way to the corners. The trick is if each side is a lettered clockwise A,B,C,D  to staple the center on A then C then B then D so always stapling on the opposite end to keep the tension the same. I left about 4 to 5" between each staple.

Treat the corners similarly to binding tape making a nice neat corner fold. Using a staple gun I could only get through so many layers so I tacked the last bit down with a pin but you could use fabric glue.

While at Home Depot I had to figure out a way to attach this to the wall. I came up with this.

I used the ring hangers on the right to create a picture hanging situation. To secure the screws into the styrofoam I made a little pilot hole with the screw and then filled it with hot glue and stuck the screw back in.

 I then strung picture hanging wire across. 

You can just put a nail in the wall but I found the damage free hanging plate from 3M. This allows the panel to hang really flush to the wall and if I ever want to change the location I can easily remove the adhesive strips and move it.

Here it is all done. This is the 4' by 6' and I am going to make the 2' by 4' for keeping track of ideas.  I love it!!


Pétra (Creative Mom)

My Creative Space...

Although the creator of My Creative Space (Kootoyoo) is on hiatus I am ready to pick it up again. Today my space is still glowing with the addition of my new design wall and just yesterday my Christmas gift from my Sister and her Husband, an extension table for my sewing machine. I feel so professional now. 

Tutorial coming soon

Table by Dream World from Modern Domestic

After struggling with the fabric choices for my sisters baby quilt I ordered more fabric which is on it's way. In the meantime I have been making these fun pillowcases for my son's sleepover birthday party this weekend. The ticker tape pillow case! They have been so fun and came about as a way to house the party favors. The ulterior motive might just be a way to prevent lice after the Disney hotel lice fiasco of 2009. I didn't mention yet that the sleepover is at Great Wolf Lodge a huge water park resort with bunk beds in the room (just like the Disney hotel). Hopefully I'll finish them today and then on to the next quilt. 

Pétra (Creative Mom)

One Quilt, Two Quilt, Three Quilt, Orange Quilt?

It seems like so long since I have done a quilt post but there have been quilts brewing here too many in fact. 
Quilt One- Over the weekend I was co-piecing a quilt for the Portland Modern Quilters Guild for a gift we have planned. All I can show you is a little peek. I had never pieced anything like this so it was a fun challenge and I love the grey and chartreuse! 

Quilt Two- After receiving fabric in the mail Saturday, some lovely Wild Thyme I had to hunt down, I am ready to start the quilt for my sister's new baby due in February. Tonight I will start cutting and I will do a whole post about the quilt later in the week.

Quilt Three- I was not confidant about committing to this quilt but after some encouragement from Jen at Betty Crocker Ass I decided to make a quilt for the Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show. If you are from out of state you might not know this is the home of the famous Valori Wells of fabric fame. I love her new line of linen and I made a blanket out of this fabric for my daughter. Valori Wells and Jean Wells own a shop The Stitchin Post in Sisters Oregon. They asked the Portland Modern Quilters Guild to submit a group of quilts for the show and now I am officially submitting. I have been collecting some fabric for awhile with plans of making a quilt for myself, it's about time! I started sketching and it's all coming together.


Quilt four- The Modern Quilters Guild announced their new challenge Project Modern 2. When I heard about the 1st challenge it was too late for me to enter but I am excited about this one which is monochromatic. Orange might be my color but I reserve the right to change my mind maybe it will be neutrals or greens.


There are some deadlines to be met for these so I have to get moving. The most important being my new little Niece who is due February 23rd and I am co-hosting the shower for on the 29th. 


Pétra


p.s. I made my design wall today!

Book Club

I don't think it's come up that I love love love books. I read every night for too long and end up staying up way too late. Every 4 to 6 weeks I attend a book club. I have been a member now for a little more then two years and the group itself (Trish correct me if I am wrong) has been together for 11 or 12! I really feel like I weaseled my way in and it is one of the best things I ever did. I met a friend of a friend at the gym and we started talking about books. One day she mentioned a new book she was starting to read for her book club, that my friend was also a member of, and I immediately said "I've been looking for a book club can I join yours?" or something along those lines. Thankfully the answer was yes and I was lucky enough to join this amazing group.The thing I love about the group is the women. They all do different things we have teachers, business women, kids, no kids, it's just a very interesting group of women I never would have met. We also have the best balance of catching up, drinking wine, eating, and wonderful discussions about books.
I would like to start sharing our monthly picks with you all and maybe a follow up post if anyone is interested. Each month the host of the group picks our next book to read. This results in a great variety of books from Twilight (yes I am a big fan!) to Hot, Flat, and Crowded. This month our pick is by Mindy and we are reading Just Kids by Patti Smith. It is a memoir about the relationship and then friendship between Patti Smith who became a rock star and Robert Mapplethorpe who became a famous and controversial Artist.

I can't wait to start this one.

Pétra

Fabric Frenzy

I love me a good fabric post and have been meaning to do one of my own so here it is. I have been on a little fabric buying binge lately because I have so many quilts/projects on the horizon. It's very exciting!

Haul It from Michael Miller, Mingle from Robert Kaufman, and My Happy Garden from Cloud9 Fabrics. These are the beginnings of a quilt for my son. Love the colors!

Pretty Please Pinwheall Stripe from Westminster, It's a Hoot by MoMo. Two of my favorites right now Wild Thyme from P&B Textiles and I had to buy all they had left of basicgrey/eva from Moda (the pink wood grain). These are main contenders for the next quilt I am starting for my Niece due in February.

At the top and the green clockwise Summertime by Barbara Jones, Sugar Pop by Liz Scott, and Wild Thyme from P&B Textiles.These are also options for my Nieces quilt. 

For next Christmas Sparkle All the Way and Groove from R.K.
and Tiny Trees from Michael Miller.

For Valentines day Kiss Me from R. K.
and another R. K. to make something with the kids.

I can't tell you how excited I am to get started but I am imposing a mandatory studio clean up first and then......

The New Year

I have been trying to figure out a post for the new year but it has been challenging. Last years post was so easy. I think this is because my creative world has been changing. At the beginning of 2010 I was at a loss for what to do with my drawing and painting and I now have ideas bubbling over. My 5 quilts that originally started this blog have long gone by. Now I have found a whole community of quilters and bloggers with exciting and inspiring work of their own but I am still finding my place there. The exciting part of this is I still want to be in the studio sewing all of the time and I am not sure where this will take me in 2011.

My husband gave me a blogging book for Christmas and a URL of my own with promises to be my web lackey, just a little bit of pressure! I have misgivings about making big changes to the simple little blog I have going here but was already feeling like the title of my blog should change. As my husband says I definitely have my creativity. The URL that he came up with is Sew, Paint, Create very nice but also already another blogspot blog. I can change the title of my blog to Quilts to Painting which is my instinct or choose a new title altogether. Will it affect my blog to change the title?? I figure the New Year would be the time to make this change but I am nervous about it. What do you think?  

 I do have a few New Years resolutions

• Do more creative things with my children, I have only scratched the surface with my two creative wonders!
• Put up a design wall, no more laying blocks on the floor and standing on chairs to take pictures!
• Organize Organize Organize, while my studio gets that attention on a regular bases our office and photos are a mess.
• Get more involved in Flickr, I feel like it's a piece of the puzzle I am missing. 
• Design more of my own quilts!

I went back and reviewed my year in quilts and I finished 7! 

1. The Ladybug Quilt
2. Fly Away Home Quilt
3. Providence Montessori Auction Quilt
4. Blowing Bubbles Quilt
5. All Lined Up Quilt
6. Intersection Quilt 
7. Ticker Tape Quilt 

I noticed when looking back in these posts I mentioned way back in March that I should change the title of my blog so I guess it's about time.  


For my group of followers and visitors thank you for reading and I hope your New Year is full of Joy and Adventure!


Pétra