Under Construction

My injection quilt

When Erin's photos arrived in my in box I was so surprised by how her quilt looked so different from my sample.

I love that about this little project. I sent her the same three dye colors (blue, chartreuse and orange) but I didn't specify which she should use. She chose to use all three (although sparingly with the orange). I didn't use the orange at all. And I must have used a lot less dye as I have way more white space.

This quilt was just a sample so it's not quilted (other than that experimental circle you can see). The batting kind of fell apart in the wash so I actually cut it apart to keep the fabric. I was in the process of cutting it apart when I realized I had never photographed it. Hence the bad snapshots.

Stay tuned to see what I'm making with the fabric. I do have a plan cause I really love it.

Injection quilt--finished!

Erin won the Injection Quilt and after some delay I sent it off last week. Fortunately Erin has experience dyeing fabric so she wasn't intimidated by all the stuff. Here's what she received:

This is the process shot.

And the result!

Fun, right?  Thanks so much, Erin, for participating!

Want to win a quilt as part of It Takes Two?

So I have relearned a lesson about Typepad. When I create drafts all at once and post them later they post in the order they were drafted not posted. So buried a few posts down was a giveaway that you may have missed. If you want to enter the drawing, you must leave a comment on the Injection post (not this post). With apologies for potentially lowering the chances for kind and observant readers Monique and Erin who have already left a comment.

You don't have to have purchased Craftsanity to enter the drawing so go leave a comment if you're interested. If not, no worries, I'm sure Monique and Erin will be happy! The deadline is August 6 whenever I go to bed. Good luck!

CraftSanity Magazine (my project is in there!)

Anyone out there fans of Jennifer Ackerman-Haywood's long running podcast, CraftSanity? It's definitely my favorite of the craft podcasts I've found. And while I"m bummed she isn't producing many shows these days the good news is she's putting her creative energy into another amazing project, CraftSanity Magazine.

I've been following Jennifer's journey from podcasting to publishing via her blog and really admire her hard work and commitment to the craft/DIY/handmade community. She's awesome.

So you can bet I am THRILLED to have a project in the latest issue of CraftSanity Magazine.

My copy came a few weeks ago and it was so exciting to open it and see my byline. I love the title she gave my project, "Just Add Water."

The article came about because earlier this year some friends and I were discussing our dreams and goals for 2013 and I wrote down, "get a craft project published in a magazine."

A few weeks later Jennifer mentioned on her blog she was looking for another article for her next issue and I took a leap and submitted the first quilt from my It Takes Two project. Jennifer was interested and away we went. I drafted the article and sent photos. She tried the project, added more photos, edited and voila, there I am in print.

So now I must admit I have followed CraftSanity for ages but had not yet invested in the magazine. Jennifer is into knit and crochet (I am not) and. let's be honest, a self published magazine without any advertising to speak of is a pricey investment. But Jennifer really packs in a ton of content and offers a digital addition for a great deal. This issue features printmaking which I am super interested in learning more about and has several other projects. The magazine is priced like a cheap book but the amount content actually exceeds many books. Here's how to buy it.

And here's my article. In print! Yay! Thanks so much, Jennifer!

 

Injection

While I am on vacation I am sitting by the lake stitching away on the next It Takes Two Quilt. Want to win it? All eligibility info info is in this post.

For this quilt all you need is a washing machine.

Up for the adventure? Leave a comment and let me know your ideal summer vacation. Or just say "pick me!" And be sure your email address is in the comment. Contest closed--winner was....Erin!

Good luck!

PS this quilt drawing is also open to CraftSanity readers (there's info about how to enter in my article in CraftSanity). If you happen to buy CraftSanity and read this post you can enter twice :)

In the works

Biscuit and I tested the new quilt in the It Takes Two Series. I think it's gonna work.

The next quilt will be given away via Craftsanity Magazine. Did I mention that the Picture Windows project is in the next issue of Craftsanity? It is and I couldn't be more excited. I just saw the proof of the pages tonight and can't wait to see the issue in person. If you want to be in the drawing for the next It Takes Two quilt buy Craftsanity (print or downloadable) for instructions to enter. It should be out in the next few weeks. Hooray!

From the lack of blog posts on the subject you'd be forgiven for thinking I'd abandoned this project entirely but that is not the case! I have ideas brewing and supplies purchased. I just need to sew and get quilts out the door. Stay tuned for another project for blog readers once I get back from vacation.

Cut away

This is how the top of the Gray, Mustard and Peacock Quilt looked right before I put it in a box and shipped it to Susan in Seattle last month. She got right back to me with snapshots and I've been remiss in not posting the results sooner.

Cool, right? I love how she chose to cut some and not others. Thanks so much for playing along, Susan! And the dog is a cutie too :)

This is the back. I realized at the last minute I didn't have a piece of fabric for the back so pulled out the fat quarters. It works.

::

I'm trying to get back in some good grooves over here. School for Biscuit. School for Mr. H. Sleeping for Oscar (ya, right) Running for me. Routines for everyone. After a summer of vacations it's all taking some adjustment. But it's all good.

Gray, mustard, peacock

I haven't forgotten about it takes two. I just haven't been home much. And when I have been home I've been reading, not sewing.

Meanwhile the first quilt I started for it takes two was languishing, partially done, while others were already out the door and completed.

So two weeks ago a friend and I set up a little system of accountability. We gave oursevles deadlines for personal projects and lo and behold the quilt is done. Didn't turn out quite how I wanted but isn't that the nature of experimentation?

Now it's ready to mail to you.

The quilt colors are inspired by this dress from Project Runway and the completed quilt is a baby size (about 45x45"). The piece is machine quilted with hand stitched binding. All it needs is you!

A winner will be chosen from the comments and the winner will finish the quilt and then keep it.

By leaving a comment you agree that you:

• have a sense of adventure and desire to play along
• live in the U.S. so shipping is cheap(er) or you're willing to chip in to pay for shipping
• will follow the instructions provided to complete the quilt within one week of receipt (give or take)
• will share photos with Melissa (the photos are key otherwise this just isn't any fun at all--I have no idea what this is going to look like and really want to see it completed!)

Special requirements for this project:

To finish this quilt, the winner will need a pair of sharp fabric/sewing scissors. That's it!

Ready to go? Leave a comment on this post and make sure it includes your email address. Comments will be open for only a few days (closing at 6 pm on Thursday). I'll email the winner Thursday night and will need your address ASAP to ship the quilt Friday before I leave on yet another trip ;) Comments closed, Susan won!

In the comments I'd love to hear your current favorite color combo. I really can't get over the gray, mustard and peacock. Or you can just say, "pick me!"

Winner

The winner of the drawing for the Irresistable quilt was.....KrisFun! Navy Blue it is! Email me KrisFun--your email bounced! Thanks to everyone who entered and I loved reading your favorite colors. Lisa's was my absolute favorite with a link to a website and some numbers (what was that? CMYK?)

Can't wait to see how it works for KrisFun.

::

Here's my baby looking very skeptical about boating. It was a beautiful evening on the lake.

Irresistable

I think it's time for another It Takes Two quilt project! I finished the sample of this "Irresistable" quilt the other day and I'm pretty excited about it.

The details of this project can be found here.

To enter you need to:

• have a washing machine (front loaders are fine)
• be willing to PHOTOGRAPH your finished quilt and EMAIL me photos within one week of receiving the quilt. (of course you can also post your results on your blog/flickr/whatever)

This quilt will be smallish--probably a wallhanging size. I'm still making as it as it will be partially made to order for the winner.

Contest over. Winner is: KrisFun!

All readers in the United States are encouraged to enter to win this quilt by leaving a comment below. Your comment must include your favorite color. Be specific! Not "blue" but "powder blue" or "navy blue" or "teal blue." I'll draw the winner this Friday night, May 18 so enter by 6 pm.

Good luck and thanks for playing along!