My Blog

|| Small Wins ||

October 23, 2020 By Katie

Well the daily dose of sparkly bright exposure I like for photos is getting a little harder to come by. The days are getting shorter and those shadows longer, so snapping the right ones takes a little more planning. I find looking through photos an uplifting visual reminder that there is progress, I’m doing stuff daily, even if it doesn’t feel like much, and that I’m still curious about new things. I’ve got this.

So now, I’m going to photo bomb you;)

The theme of what I’m up to has remained constant though I have somewhat turned my back on the garden.

sew Katie did | Seattle Modern Quilting & Sewing Studio

I basted my Star Player quilt with one pin to spare while watching the hawks game a few weeks ago and am still working out some sample quilts for a pattern.

Adaptability to our new world continues. Remember my little Livudio? ‘Livudio’ was my family’s portmanteau for the living room/studio shared space in our little old house. Jefe’s in the studio/office full time, so I decided to try out the dinudio (dining room/studio). I’ll not be missing the dusting involved in the aftermath of quilting this.

I sewed up some masks for my favorite cashiers and a birthday girl.

I plan to get outside somehow to celebrate with the full blue moon. I’ve been reading and visualizing what Halloween will be like this year, but regardless, as I showed you in the last post the house is ready.

Since I have no excuse I’ve been walking almost daily. Mostly alone, but I’ve got Jefe and a few friends in the weekly rotation. We mask up, catch up and explore West Seattle. I love looking at what people do with their houses and gardens, especially the Halloween decor, which seems to be full throttle this year.

Saturday was a celebratory day. We took a long walk up to Highpoint so that we could drop our ballots.

I love the creativity of the signs we’ve been seeing and limited myself to just one.

We’ve got garage doors at the front, back and side of our garage that we can open up, so we moved the lawn furniture in for Sunday’s games to get out of the pouring rain. Who ever thought a Snuggly was a bad idea might be reconsidering.

I got myself a couple little heaters too.

Quilts are great, but nothing beats a Pendleton in cold weather, though there was talk of a sleeping bags 😉

It’s a mutual relationship, I fuss over my houseplants and they return the love to me with an abundance of blooms. I’m not sure about the mushroom and succulent sharing a pot, but it might be the best example of coexisting regardless of your differences that I’ve seen in 2020.

A week of democracy and apple pie, or maybe rhubarb and sweet potato sausage hand pies because that’s what you have in the freezer. 9pm didn’t make for good photos of the banana cream pie.

I’ve finally got a couple of things up on craigslist. My featherweight needs a local home, listing here. I bought it for retreats and always end up taking my huge Juki. It’s been serviced and rarely used, but will need to be oiled. It has a brand new locking case that looks like an original.

The antique sewing case was a hand me down that takes up space in the basement. ~~It also needs a home.~~ SOLD. I’ll be listing an industrial snap press and vintage powder coated turquoise machine too.

Looking like the rain should clear here for the weekend, so I’m going to try to psyche myself up for some gardening. Sounds like a good opportunity for some photos!

I’ve got this, you’ve got this, we’ve got this 😉

xoxo Katie

:: Reoriented Quilt ::

September 24, 2020 By Katie

It was on a whim, but we ran away to the Oregon coast at the end of August. For a whole weekend we were able to blank out 2020’s deluge of crap. Adding fires and the death of RBG to the mix dropped the year to one star for me. I feel this quote from Ironman sums up the break we all need, “Sorry, Earth is closed today.”

It’s all overwhelming and hard to process.

The good news, or the bad news depending how you look at it is none of us are unicorns. COVID has changed EVERYTHING FOR ALL OF US. I’m leaning hard on my friends and family, beyond grateful for what I have, and still embracing my mental health strategy of dealing by keeping on with celebrating the small wins.

Like binding a quilt that’s been around for years AND actually getting photos of it.

sew Katie did | Seattle Modern Quilting & Sewing Studio | Reoriented Quilt

So as to not waste all that precious van time for hand sewing, I made it a priority to add binding to two quilts before hitting the road. This in itself is a feat since the studio hasn’t held my attention in months.

Reoriented is one of those quilts I might have looked at in the early days of the word ‘modern’ being put in front of everything, including quilting, and thought someone pretty quickly got sick of making blocks and just decided to fill the rest with ‘negative space,’ but I’ve gotta say I actually like it.

I ran out of the shot cotton I was using to surround the blocks and expanded and filled in with a yarn dyed Essex linen. I like the effect it created through all that negative space.

The blocks are a smaller version of how I teach my improvisational strip piecing workshop. My mom taught me how to do my binding corners a bit differently and if you’re interested I have a little tutorial on that here.

I can’t help but think that during our time in Manzanita things seemed kind of… well… normal. Reflecting on this photo from the perspective of a quilt maker reminds me that I love how quilts can place us in certain time/events of our lives.

I’m still pulling fabric for quilt backs from stash. Even though I’ve been bulldozing through stash for them for years it doesn’t seem to be creating a hole or dent.

This quilt got an all over of vertical straight lines.

I finally bought a raised lap hoop. I haven’t gotten beyond placing the quilt in it and I’m not sure I’m so impressed with it for the cost. I’ll let ya know. I also have no idea what design I’ll be quilting yet;)

And actually a quilt finish really is a BIG win;)

We have a saying we use in our house from rafting days, “Take part in your own rescue.” Please, if you need help reach out to your people, talk to yourself like you would talk to those you love, celebrate your small wins, wear your mask (over your nose please), and check your voter’s registration here 🙂 In some states you only have two more weeks to make sure you’re registered, so today’s the day.

xoxo Katie

:: Wee Raindrops Quilt ::

September 9, 2020 By Katie

Though I never met a boot I didn’t like, I’m not somebody that craves fall. When people point out a wink of it at the end of August I jokingly tell them to shut up. September seems like this sweet spot in between, but things can really go either way in Seattle.

sew Katie did | Seattle Modern Quilting and Sewing Studio | Wee Raindrop Quilt

Turning my attention back to the studio/office/school room and mentally embracing the grey and rain is something I’ve begun planning for by taking inventory of some hand sewing I’d like to do.

The Wee Raindrops quilt resurfaced. It was quilted and bound over 8 years ago, just missing its appliqué raindrops that had lived in my imagination long enough. Seemed an appropriate quilt to slowly start my adaptation.

It has a new home waiting for its person and the cooler weather to arrive. Perfect timing for all that lovely flannel on the back and binding.

One of the first quilty skills my mom taught me was how she creates appliqués making templates and that same technique is how I created the raindrops.

I started by freehand drawing and cutting the raindrop shape on a cereal box in a few sizes (or find the shape and print from the internet) An emery board for nails should smooth out any edginess to the curve.

Pick a scrap.

I go for one that’s at least a 1/4″ larger than my template.

Trace the template onto the wrong side of the scrap and trim a 1/4ish” from the line.

Starting at the bottom of the curve stitch just outside the drawn line with short stitches leaving a tail of thread at the beginning and end.

Pull the two tails to shape the fabric tightly around the template. At the raindrop’s point I sometimes clip a little of the extra bulk out or just fold one side over the other. Get your iron hot and if you have some starch give it a spray front and back.

Press and let cool. Once cooled I carefully pull the template out and place it face down on the ironing board to give it a final press from the front or clean up any issues.

From here I choose their placement and ladder stitched (invisible stitch, slip stitch, blind stitch) them down. Youtube has a worm hole of videos on this.

My thinking was that any free-motion quilting that wasn’t perfect could be covered up with an appliquéd raindrop and if they all fell off the quilt would still be structurally sound. It could be the perfect I-Spy or cute with some hand quilting stitches added around or on the appliqués.

It’s so happy and reminds me that rain is good;)

None of the appliqués are perfect and I was gifted a reminder that few things are, even in nature with one of my sunflowers this week. Yup;)

Ok, maybe tortes are perfect;), especially with a pile of billowy whipped cream;)

Plums from my alley are the star player right now. One of my favorite recipes is a plum torte with a third of the flour replaced by cornmeal.

Homegrown summer tomatoes and corn are also perfect.

I’ve gathered up three more unfinished projects that need either binding, mending, some appliqué and/or hand quilting and added them to the pile by the couch.

I’ve been able to subtly listen in on the remote learning that’s happening here while writing this and I’m hoping to add/delete the pile to keep busy and present if I’m needed. Yesterday it was a little sad on my walk to see kids through windows sitting alone at tables in front of computers, but I’ve been pretty impressed with the emotional support Roan’s teachers have been providing the students.

I hope you’re all etching out some sewing time or other good for you things too.

xoxo, Katie

:: Win Win ::

August 25, 2020 By Katie

Hey there;)

In my attempt to stay upbeat, I’m celebrating the small successes/wins in accomplishing literally anything.

Here’s why, I read that the word “anxiety” was trending on Twitter and it made me realize people in my small world were using the word more themselves in text and conversation. We were all feeling fatigued and unproductive. These are normal feelings when your world’s turned up-side-down, but I wondered if it was time to step away from the news a bit, and focus on small projects to mentally cope and gain some feeling of control in all this crazy.

Falling under the category of “if I only have time, I would do this” was to organize/or delete 7200+ photos into albums. I started it one morning rather impromptu, and it held my focus here and there through out the day. It was a small win, but filtering through the photos of our house reminded me that it’s so easy to forget all the big wins already made on its progress.

So this blog post isn’t the usual patchwork that you all signed up for and since design inspiration is something that circles through most of my obsessions I thought I’d share some of the house developments to celebrate the small and big wins.

We knew this house was “The One” when its listing popped up late on a Friday night. We were the first in Saturday morning and to place an offer. After 9 months of looking we knew it was a star player. We saw past the carpet and bars on the windows to see the house was well loved and had good bones.

Bye bye to sparkle paint and flowered carpet. Off with the 80s prom dress curtains and the Renoir Parisian cafe border wall paper. Yes, that actually ~~exists~~ existed.

We knew once we took up the carpet that there wasn’t any wood flooring at the front of the living room. We’re guessing this was once the porch and the old couple had absorbed it to make the living room larger. There was zero insulation down there as well.

There were different stains through out so having them match really gave the house more cohesion.

The previous owner, “Old Man Joe” as we call him had a wood shop in the basement. In my opinion, this is a horrible idea, but a testament to how much his wife loved him, for sawdust magically appears there, no matter how much I’ve vacuumed.

He made wood EVERYTHING for the house including the fireplace mantel. See those tiles? I’m sure there’s a story behind those and we still have a matching bathroom sink that has to go. A signature design for sure.

Since the brick was sanded in spots we decided to just paint it all. I’d like to restretch the wood print in the second photo to fit the opening, but that might be a small project that never sees a win.

The fireplace isn’t up to code and maybe on the list to come down next summer. The brickwork inside and out needs help, and we don’t exhaust an oil furnace through the chimney anymore. Once it’s gone and the new hearth set back we’ll gain space, light, and a better walkway flow to the adjacent little room. I’ve got all sorts of free-standing fireplace dreams on my pinboard.

The dining room windows I have to admit grew on me, especially once the bars were gone.

The mustard tint was dated, they were single paned, but the morning light through them was cheery and they opened. Plus there was a ledge for plants.

It was hard to decide, but we went with a lined obscured glass on all the east side windows in the living and little room. Our neighbors on that side are so close that the privacy is welcome. Someday we’ll finish patching the drywall surround.

The grid front window isn’t missed.

I love the front windows. We’re a total fishbowl from the street, so though I enjoy waving to people I know and don’t know from my couch we’re messing with the idea of panels and plants for privacy instead of a solid fence.

Here’s a little more realistic photo of what it all looks like in the morning and after I’ve moved the cookbooks out. At some point we want a front door with windows and be gone security gate.

There’s that pass through next to the fireplace to what was likely in the past a third bedroom. We call it the little room, Claudia’s or Chris’s room. There’s a small couch with storage that can be made into a bed.

Again with the wood, carpet and bars.

When we took the closet doors off to do the floors we discovered that the backs were modge podged with old posters and magazines, including the World’s Fair when it was in Seattle. There was an unconvincing conversation about them being art pieces in the living room, but I thought they should be hung and displayed where they belonged. Looks like I can count that under ‘win.’

My small win for the weekend was getting my cookbook collection into its new and expanded home. I think this storage will be temporary, but I’m excited to organize them in one place. The artwork and some houseplant rearranging will likely be the next win.

When we received the keys to the house we hosted a ‘post it party’ which basically meant we provided a keg, post it notes and sharpies and requested people post their ideas for what we should do to areas of the house. If you’d like to see the post about that it’s here. I highly recommend doing this if you find yourself with a fixer, it was really fun and we wouldn’t have thought of some of the perspectives.

Like these for above the mantel.

And for the walls.

We’re likely to welcome you to our 10 year remodel still in progress 40 years from now, but we’ve enjoyed the process and creative outlet, especially as a focus now. We’re so grateful.

I guess I’m mentally preparing myself and my family for the long hail in this current state and I want our home to be a visually/functional/happy place to help make that easier., especially with remote learning happening here soon.

Whether it’s sewing, cooking, gardening… I hope you’re all finding an outlet and focus for energy that’s beneficial to your mental health.

Keep it up. xo Katie

p.s. I made you lemon sour cream pie;)

:: Much to do about Nothing ::

August 7, 2020 By Katie

It’s been amazing out, so once I finished quilting my spiderweb last week I abandoned the studio again except for some clean up.

The light was so nice coming in the other morning that I thought I’d snap some photos of what I’ve been working on in rotation to share.

Several individuals have emailed me with interest about making their own Magic Number/ Star Quilt, so I thought I’d start working on a simple pdf pattern. It was hard to decide what color way to go with so I just started two at one time.

I last posted 5 quilt tops that need quilting, only to walk into the studio and realize I forgot this one on the design wall. I could probably count on one hand the number of quilts I’ve made from a pattern, but I was smitten enough with Modern Handcraft’s rendition of the Merry Gifts quilt by Sherri Falls from her book Holiday Wishes (affiliate link) that I intended to make my own someday. On a whim I decided the day had come and started pulling my solids from stash.

I don’t know why it always works for me this way, but there always seems to be limited quantities of the colors I want and no color card match, so lots of digging in scraps and Frankenstitching happened to pull together a few of the blocks.

Since I delightfully finished quilting Tangled Webs I guess I’m sticking to that number 5 of unquilted tops. I am dwelling over a faced binding for it and have another one in the hand binding stage, so I’ve got time to think it over. I split the 8 sections up and quilting them with “v”s. I really thought it was going to start buckling as the the “v”s got smaller, but reversing directions kept things in place.

My big push to piece Merry Gifts was to free up the larger design wall for a bunch of hearts I’ve got made, but no space for. I’ve doubled down on those as well, making one set with a mix of super white background so that I can play around with an additional improv stitch and flip triangle heart in the negative space and another set using Value to create the light and dark hearts. It’s been fun to try to get the colors tight.

The houses were an idea I had at the beginning of the healthy at home orders. Thinking goes that I would make one a day through out quarantine. As you can see things dragged on longer than my interest, but I’ve been finishing one here and there for a baby quilt and will pull some black into it for some breathing room. You can find the free pattern here (I might have one hand full now) and there is a peek-a-boo template to help fussy cut the doors. Digging through stash for that is the best part;)

That’s it peeps. If I can get some help with holding up some quilts here soon I’ll have some finishes to share next time.

xoxo, Katie

:: Quilting the Stack ::

July 27, 2020 By Katie

I’m officially burned-out on gardening, the kitchen was torn apart limiting the cooking (thank god), and I couldn’t face cleaning the basement. Just like the week before, I found myself spending most of last week in the studio. The summer light, windows open, and every wall full of inspiration has been good for my mood and spirit. All of us need a padded room, especially now.

So that my students have space I usually limit myself to one of the studio’s design walls, but being that I’m solo I’m taking over. An opportunity to focus on piecing the ridiculous amount of long forgotten quilt tops (and maybe start a few new ones;).

Since we weren’t going to be road tripping anytime soon I saw no need in getting to the binding for a hand-quilting project. I was stopping at the piecing or basting phase. Of course this also gives me time to overthink the quilting design;)

But I came to realize we’ve been spending a great deal of time in our back yard ~~socially~~ physically distancing with a few friends and family so my thought process shifted back to hand binding as another opportunity to get some work in on these visits and keep my hands busy.

So I thought I’d show you the stack.

Two contenders for quilting and binding are quilts I finished at a 2019 retreat with my Camp Run Amuck group. My first ‘world turned upside down’ finish was their triplet sister quilt here. All made with the same improvisational strip-piecing technique.

I love both of these way more than the first in the series. Their quilting will be an easy straight line grid of some sort.

After quilting my king size Hearts Value Quilt, I said I’d never do it again, but I’ve talked myself into quilting my Magic Numbers Star quilt myself. That one will get vertical lines.

Then there’s this problem child, I’m sick of trying to figure out what I need to change, so I’m just going to quilt it. I’m pretty sure it’s going to be the perfect picnic quilt, the kind you feel are smiling at you when you pull them from the car:)

What else?… awful timing with the warm weather, but I seem to have mastered Hot and Sour Soup. To get some practice Roan drives me around in circles in parking lots, to which we joke is an analogy for our current lives. All but one of my indoor plants have new soil, the kitchen has a new subfloor and walls again, I’ve gotten back into an exercise routine and 100% remote learning was announced…

I’m trying real hard to fight Anna Kendrick’s sentiment, “I guess I’ll never be able to lie to myself again about all the shit I would do if I just had the time,” but also trying to be grateful that for once all I have is time, there’s no hurry.

I hope to show you some progress next week on the stack. Take care Peeps.

xoxo Katie

:: Leftovers ::

July 9, 2020 By Katie

It seems ridiculous to me that it’s July 9th and I’m freezing, all wrapped up in a quilt on my couch;)

I guess we got spoiled in May.

But snuggling up in a quilt isn’t all bad, so I thought I’d use this lounging moment as an opportunity to share some projects I’ve posted on Instagram, but have yet to make it here.

My Mom use to tell me jokingly that her favorite part of quilt making was buying the fabrics. I can’t argue with that fun, but second best for me is always picking the color way. It’s super hard for me to limit my palette and/or not throw a print in, so even this one felt minimalistic.

The color way was inspired by this creative lady’s quilt. I added a little texture to the mix via a yarn-dye fabric in gray.

sew katie did |Seattle Modern Sewing & Quilting Studio | Side-Hustle Quilt

Obviously, I needed more pillows AND I had leftovers from the my Side Hustle Quilt above.

The backing is the softest fabric IKEA ever sold. I wish I had more.

Quilted it out in these easy Vs.

I want to make everything out of this color way.

Good thing I have like a gazillion blocks leftover from making that first quilt.

They’ve been up on the design wall in a couple layouts and then folded up and put away for another day.

I’ve got quite a pile of unfinished tops now, so more focus should probably be applied to quilting, but with zero road trips planned I’m not really feeling the pressure to have quilts in binding stage.

After I talk myself out from under this quilt and off the couch this afternoon’s project is going to be Frankenbatting large batting scraps together to make a new ironing station for this lovely.

I almost talked myself into the ease of ordering a piece of batting large enough to cover it with the 3 layers it needs, but I’ve got so many large pieces of batting leftover from quilts it seemed frivolous. It will take some time to measure and give them some straight edges, but then I can simply butt those pieces together and connect them with a zig zag stitch to get the sizes I need. I could use one less tote of something in the basement anyway.

I’ll have to remember to snap a photo of its peek-a-boo drawers full of scraps I sorted by color. Its usefulness for organization makes me so happy.

Since we don’t have enough projects started, we demolished the kitchen after the dishwasher started leaking and the rest of everything had exhausted itself. My original station might go back to being a cookbook shelf as it would be a functional mobile unit to shuffle around.

So I guess I’m also crossing my fingers for better grilling weather.

Having some faith in our future here, the Denver Metro Modern Quilt Guild and I are going to hang out in 2021 for a workshop, they join the Kenai Peninsula Quilting Guild and the Beach Cities Quilters Guild on the calendar. I love that we’re looking to the future of being in person again even if it seems far off.

Take Care Peeps. xo Katie

:: Brighter Skies Quilt ::

May 24, 2020 By Katie

I know, this photo has nothing to do with quilting and I’m not even wrapped in a quilt, but truth be told, there has been very little sewing. During all of this crazy Seattle has been delivered a gift of mild weather. I’ve taken advantage of it by spending the majority of my time outside.

sew Katie did | Seattle Modern Quilting & Sewing Studio | Brighter Skies Quilt

Any studio time has been purely spent in mask making production mode with the exception of a two week binge in the beginning of shelter in place. I shared my Coin Quilt probably a month ago now and Brighter Skies I finished right after.

Elizabeth Hartman’s Sparkle Punch caught my attention several years ago, and like most new starts I got a wild hair one day and just started pulling from stash for each star as I went along.

The improv stitch and flip triangle technique is one Jacquie and I covered in our Quilting Modern book and I’ve applied it to all sorts of designs over the years.

It didn’t need anything special with the quilting and I have a box of Metler spools in white so that was its finish. Of course I picked a fabric that I had very little left of for the binding AND I wanted the stripes to be adjacent to the edge, so there’s probably way too much piecing involved, but I love it.

A few stars that didn’t fit in the front of the quilt created their own constellation at the back. What a great go-to baby quilt design.

If you’re looking to start something from stash this would be a great way to use up scraps and the background blocks a good exercise in practicing color value.

I’m often conflicted on a regular day of showing my personal life on social media, especially now when so many aren’t experiencing all the gardening, baking and cooking, or sitting by a fire, but these hobbies are kindred spirits to sewing for me and I’m grateful for their distractions and the happiness they bring me right now.

Though Seattle is where I’ve grown roots, my hometown in Michigan is experiencing another catastrophe on top of all this. People need help, please make sure to reach out to your friends, family and neighbors. I’ve been asking those I’ve made masks for to please donate to any food bank. We can all help in small ways and it adds up.

I’m not sure why or what all of you are doing in your spare computer time, but the bots and spammers that leave comments here seem to think quilters are super interested in Viagra, gambling and sports t-shirts, so I’ve disabled comments on my site. If you need to get ahold of me for any reason go ahead and use the contact form on my site and I’ll get back to you.

I’m hoping to make it to finishing a back for this Magic Number version of the stars tomorrow since it’s looking like rain. Crossing fingers for motivation;)

xoxo Katie

P.S. and please please please wear your mask.

:: Pony Up Quilt | Design Potential ::

May 3, 2020 By Katie

In our current state it’s rather dreamy to think about packing up and going on a sewing retreat, but that’s where this quilt started and where my mind was as I finished it here one sunny morning.

This will be the first year in many my little tribe won’t go sew, eat, drink and walk the beach so it seemed the most appropriate pull from the growing pile of UFOs.

Because I sew faster in my head than in real life, I tend to have an unrealistic vision of what I can complete in four days + days of retreat, same goes for the cooking.

A no boundaries approach would lead to the entire studio being loaded, so I tend to look for something double or triple duty in tools and material. Under those guidelines there’s no technique full of more potential than improvisational strip piecing. Half hatched ideas using that technique made the cut this past trip.

I enjoy teaching what I call an Improv Coin Quilt as my beginning improv class and wanted to take my teaching samples to make another example quilt for layout options.

In my workshops there always tends to be student or two that have taken a beginning quilting class with a more traditional scope. All those important skills like precise cutting and matching points have been covered, but what I love the most is how they just light up when they come to discover that quilting doesn’t always have to be that way.

You’d never guess from it’s simplicity how much I messed with the layout.

As far as the quilting I went with straight lines which is a divergence from the quilting design I used on my first quilt sample for this class back in 2011.

I’m a lazy quilter and like to run off the edge of my quilts. My process wasn’t any different for this one, starting with quilting a quarter inch from the seams to tack them down and working in lines here and there until it seemed visually pleasing;).

I tease at my trunk shows that I bought all of the Anna Maria Horner flannel out there so no one else can have it and I’m still using it for my quilt backs. I love the weight and drape.

I went with faced binding, a first for me. The jury is still out on whether I like it or not. I can see its appeal on an art quilt or wall hanging, but I make utilitarian quilts and I think the cuteness factor of a baby quilt would have held better had it had a binding.

You’ll be seeing more of this fabric combo and improv strip piecing in the two other quilt tops I finished at the retreat last May. They all match my box pouch. I love the color way and the pony fabric.

I’m calling Pony Up my second quilt finish of 2020.

I haven’t been in the studio much since the initial order to physically distance ourselves with the exceptions of finishing these two quilts and have just let that be. Jefe has etched out a corner of the studio for an office and our dining room table is now a school.

For me, gardening and cooking are sewing’s kindred spirits and with the weather playing so nicely my garden has been where my head space seems best. I got back to my running routine this past week after more than a few weeks of pure laziness. I’m amazed not only with how quickly things grow and bloom this time of year in Seattle, but also how quickly the muscles atrophy;)

We have rain this weekend so a little studio clean up happened yesterday with hopes of making it in there today.

Hope you are all well. xoxo

xoxo

|| Heart Shaped ||

February 10, 2020 By Katie

When I look at all the things I’ve created, it’s pretty obvious I like heart shaped blocks mixed with a little improvisational technique.

I’ve been putting my heart shaped projects up on Instagram, but thought it might be fun to share here too.

sew katie did | Seattle Modern Quilting & Sewing Studio | BIG Tossed Hearts Quilt

The Crusted Heart pillow and the BIG Tossed Hearts quilt above are two of my favorites. These crazy pieced blocks are a little addictive to make. I combine them with half square triangles and an improv triangle to come up with their shape.

I know most of you are probably running out of fabric, but if you aren’t cut a square from all your yardage and make a Value Quilt. I’ve got a new layout in my head for my Value Quilt workshop that creates light and dark hearts. That will have to wait until retreat, but I’ve got my squares all cut.

I think it’s safe to say that strip piecing is my go-to technique. My friend Sandie at Sleepy Owl Studio and I put together the tutorial for the Heart Strings quilt a few years ago.

I’ve made this Fractured Heart quilt twice over now, and of course matching pillows. They’re all made with blocks created in the workshop Double-Trouble. I’ve gotten way more comfortable teaching the heart shape thanks to students requesting it as a specific workshop.

sew katie did | Seattle Modern Quilting & Sewing Studio | Splintered Hearts

sew katie did | Seattle Modern Quilting & Sewing Studio | Have a Heart Quilt

The colors in these pillows work so awesome with some of my other non heart ones. That could be a whole blog post in itself.

This one’s a work in progress. I’ve taken it apart twice and am still not thrilled so it’s marinating somewhere.

I know the heart shape isn’t for everyone, so we can dream up other designs in Crushed It and Double Trouble. Both workshops are on the studio’s March schedule along with a couple Modern Quilting 101 workshops. My Coin Quilt workshop teaches beginner improv piecing and design, while Improvisational Triangles angles a bit more towards building technical skills like cutting and precise piecing with an improv technique thrown in. I can’t help myself that way;)

As always, if you see something on the workshops page that you’d like to schedule just contact me and we’ll schedule.

Since it’s entirely possible I might now make it here until April I thought I’d share what 2020-21 is shaping up to look like. Maybe you’ll be in the neighborhood;)

xoxo

:: Upcoming Events for 2020 ::

February 20-23rd 2020| Austin, TX | Quiltcon

February 25th 2020 | Puyallup, WA | Comforter Quilt Guild | Lecture

April 9th, 10th and 11th 2020 | Vancouver, WA | Clark County Quilt Guild | Featured Artist, Quilt Walks and Workshops

May 11th 2020 | Northwest Quilters | Portland, OR | Lecture and Workshops

June 2nd 2020 | Omaha, Nebraska | Omaha Modern Quilt Guild | Workshop and Lecture

:: Upcoming Events for 2021 ::

January 13th-17th | Craft Napa | More information to come

June 4th and 5th | Soldotna, AK | Kenai Peninsula Quilting Guild | Lecture and Workshops

August 12th-14th 2021 | Mission Viejo, CA |Beach Cities Quilters Guild | Lecture and Workshops

xoxo

:: Finishing It Up ::

January 20, 2020 By Katie

sew katie did | Seattle Modern Quilting and Sewing Studio | Psychedelic Baby Quilt Block — Yes, as you can see, I like a straight line.

After finishing my king size Value Heart Quilt with straight lines, I said I’d never do it again, but I’m thinking my newest sample quilt for my Magic Numbers workshop is going to get the same treatment. I just loved the look so much. Never say never eh?

It was suppose to be a reasonable size for fitting in a suitcase for travel teaching, but I just couldn’t stop, and face it, if you have a Valentine’s Day quilt, then you obviously need a Christmas quilt;)

Other people are thinking of finishing quilts up for the new year, so I’ve added 3 dates for my Straight Line Quilting Workshop, Walk the Line. All have one slot left.

sew katie did | seattle modern quilting and sewing studio | straight line quilting workshop — When I was developing this workshop I didn’t want everyone to just walk away with a bunch of practice panels, but to also learn some additional sewing techniques and feel the joy of making something utilitarian. My friend Christina has this great nesting bucket pattern that makes a perfect canvas for our stitches.

On another note, travel has started for the year with a great kick off at Craft Napa. I feel like I don’t need to eat for a few weeks since I grazed my way through the region. A student in one of my workshops stated that if you’re eating bad food in Napa you’re doing something wrong and she certainly was right. I’ll be returning next year.

Besides workshops in my Seattle studio, here’s the line up so far for 2020. You can see into 2021 here.

February 20-23rd 2020| Austin, TX | Quiltcon
February 25th 2020 | Puyallup, WA | Comforter Quilt Guild | Lecture
April 9th, 10th and 11th 2020 | Vancouver, WA | Clark County Quilt Guild | Featured Artist, Quilt Walks and Workshops
May 11th 2020 | Northwest Quilters | Portland, OR | Lecture and Workshops
June 2nd 2020 | Omaha, Nebraska | Omaha Modern Quilt Guild | Workshop and Lecture

Hope your new year has had a great kick off. I’m intending to make it to this little space more often;)

Droppin’ the ball, but it keeps rollin’

October 9, 2019 By Katie

I know I’ve dropped the ball on my blog posting lately and there’s a long list of excuses that I’d rather not bore you with, but I do want to share where I’ll be teaching nationally in the upcoming year.

:: Upcoming Events for 2019 ::

October 15th | Mukitleo, WA | Mukilteo Lighthouse Quilters | Lecture

October 27th- 29th 2019: Chicago, IL | Prairie Star Quilters Guild | Lectures and Workshop

:: Upcoming Events for 2020 ::

January 16th-17th 2020 | Craft Napa | More information to come

February 20-23rd 2020| Austin, TX | Quiltcon

February 25th 2020 | Puyallup, WA | Comforter Quilt Guild | Lecture

April 9th, 10th and 11th 2020 | Vancouver, WA | Clark County Quilt Guild | Featured Artist, Quilt Walks and Workshops

May 11th 2020 | Northwest Quilters | Portland, OR | Lecture and Workshops

June 2nd 2020 | Omaha, Nebraska | Omaha Modern Quilt Guild | Workshop and Lecture

:: Upcoming Events for 2021 ::

June 4th and 5th | Soldotna, AK | Kenai Peninsula Quilting Guild | Lecture and Workshops

August 12th-14th 2021 | Mission Viejo, CA |Beach Cities Quilters Guild | Lecture and Workshops

I launched a new quilting workshop called Modern Quilting 101, but have some of the standards listed before the holiday. If you’re thinking of jump starting on your gifts, now’s the time for classes and open studios. Open studios are a good time for napkins, bags and invisible zipper pillows or to finish up projects in a social atmosphere. I’ll help ya;)

I’ve got the zip pouches, box pouches and straight line quilting workshops up. I find the buckets we make with our straight line quilting samples perfect for hostess gifts like napkins or cookies.

Well hopefully that isn’t it for blogging for me this year. Talk soon Peeps;)

|| Small Wins ||

:: Reoriented Quilt ::

:: Wee Raindrops Quilt ::

:: Win Win ::

:: Much to do about Nothing ::

:: Quilting the Stack ::

:: Leftovers ::

:: Brighter Skies Quilt ::

:: Pony Up Quilt | Design Potential ::

|| Heart Shaped ||

:: Finishing It Up ::

Droppin’ the ball, but it keeps rollin’

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