SewKatieDid

Because thread is the best glue

design wall

:: Small Bits ::

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Well Hello there, it’s been awhile;)

I keep meaning to get here, but it’s been a busy few weeks.  My website is ready for launch once my logo gets its facelift and I’m in full motion researching a replacement for my broken camera.

I spent time in the studio last week with students AND solo.  A good week all and all.  I figured a broken camera shouldn’t stop me from sharing a few works in process and a finish, so here’s some of my recent IG photos.

split personality nine-patch

I taught my Split Personality Quilt Block in January and since the workshop requires a load of step outs to show the process, why not make a quilt?  My Tossed Hearts turned out amazing!  I can’t wait to get some full shots posted.

Students continually come in and tempt me with all the newest fabrics coming out, but I’m still trying hard to sew as much as possible from stash.  This challenge has proven itself beneficial to my process and finished work.  The background gained a load of texture and shapes with all that piecing that I never would have had with one fabric.  Going bold with the color really highlighted the large hearts.  Chambray and a few other solids, likely Kona and Micheal Miller were eaten up.

Straight line quilting a half inch apart worked in some additional directional texture and helped with the hearts cascading effect.  I messed up on some quilting lines where a few of the hearts are actually aligned and decided to just run with it and added more irregular quilting lines instead of taking them out.

Hard to believe my original plan was to go with an off-white background.   The evolutionary process of this quilt’s improv design going from A to Z was pleasurable.

SEW KATIE DID|Binding

Before I bound it I added a narrow folded-edge binding.  It needed a frame.  The actual binding is very similar to the background solids color but with a wink of print.

SEW KATIE DID|Nine Patch Improvisational Flowers

Nine-Patch Flowers/Improvisational Curves will be April/May’s featured workshop.  I’ve had this block idea in my head for awhile to teach improvisational curves.

 I was basting it in the living room when Jefe walked by.  His only comment was, “That’s one green quilt.”  True and that green is eliminated from my stash as well.  I had to do some creative piecing to get some last background blocks constructed and that green on green ‘ghost flower’ down there was one of the effects.

sewkatiedid:9-patch flowers:impro curves

Some blue, crimson and green thread going on here for quilting.  Just enough to keep it soft.  The binding is a fabric that isn’t in the quilt, but worked.

psychedelic baby variation 3

Totally switching color gears here, my friends are expecting their first baby and have decided to play the not know gender game.  This was certainly a good challenge for me.  Suggested was gray and white and try as I might that wasn’t going to happen, but this did.

SEW KATIE DID|Psychedelic Baby Variation

I basted it on Saturday.  Unlike every other quilt (except the straight line part) I actually know how I’ll quilt it.

SEW KATIE DID:Medallioned Magic Numbers

I’ve always got something that I’m itching to get up on the wall. These Scrappy Stellars that I started as part of my Medallioned Magic Numbers series were calling. Two additional techniques to make some rounds have been ‘decided’ on.

Split Personality Solids

And since the hearts just make me happy I put those up too, but I’ll likely have to pocket them until retreat in May.

Hope all is well in your quilty world Peeps:)

Happy Week.

::Finding Your Groove::

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My tidying obsession has refocused itself from the garden (which I’m pretending doesn’t exist now) to finishing up old projects.  We had a little cold rainy spell in Seattle and it quickly threw sewing back in full swing.  The studio and website continue to evolve and I’ve been scheduling Open Studios and classes a bit here and there before I start traveling for the teaching season.

SEW KATIE DID/In process

See those photos in the photo?

For me projects rarely start at Point A and end at Point B, they evolve and can be hard to keep a handle on when things get moved around.  My friend Sharon shared a tip with me that I’ve embraced and would like to pass on.

Groovebook is a company that allows you to create nifty little photo books monthly by uploading directly from your phone via their app.  You simply download 100 photos and they print and ship for $2.99.  It even has perforated pages so you can tear them out and post them up.  Just don’t forget to do it, they’re banking on all those that forget for the cost;)  You can cancel at anytime.

SEW KATIE DID:Double Trouble Starts

I stick these ‘in process’ photos up on my wall or in a zip lock if the project has to come down.  It’s often intriguing to see the transformation that occurs from the start to finish of a project.

SEW KATIE DID/Split Personality quilt

SEW KATIE DID/Seeing Stars

It’s also helpful for those fabric combos you want to keep in mind or the screen shots I take here and there from Instagram when I’m inspired by someone else’s work.

I won’t rave about the quality, but for this type of thing it’s perfectly matched with the price.  If you’re interested I’d even Google it to see if there’s a coupon on your first book.

Happy Thursday Peeps!

::Somewhat Circular Hex::

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sewkatiedid/somewhat circular hexagon quilt

Regardless of my best intentions posting anything here gets pushed to the back.

I have a new season of lectures and workshops coming up and am always hoping to finish up at least one more sample for design options.  I love this practice as it allows me to reacquaint myself with a technique. Often I’ll gain perspective to share with my students that I didn’t originally think of.  Design wall time is invaluable to my process and a main focus of my workshops.  Leftovers from the original project are generally my go to, but more often than not, one project’s scraps merge into another project.

But it’s that desire for a finish that keeps me from here.  What I need to get over is always wishing to post that finished project.  Especially since I sew way faster in my head than real life.

So I think my intention for blogging this year is to focus on process AND post about it.

Marketing workshops is at the forefront of posting too and I wanna say I’m lucky that my classes fill as if late, but I also have to give myself credit that I’ve been working hard to figure out what people are inspired by, it’s not an accident.

sew katie did/somewhat circular hex

But if there’s a spot I like to make sure that I’m working on a sample. And that’s just what happened with this hex quilt.

There’s some quilting that needs to come out here and there, but I’m pretty happy with it. The trend and my love for dense quilting however isn’t fitting for the utilitarian use of baby quilts in my opinion, cardboard comes to mind, but we’ll see how it washes out.  I probably could have helped it out by selecting a type of batting that would be more supple instead of just grabbing a scrap that fit.

sewkatiedid/throwing stars

My To the Point workshop is full, but I’m working on a sample from the hex scraps for it.  They’re wee and currently being quilted.  Hoping for that finish today along with hanging sleeves/labels for Quiltcon quilts and squaring or at least picking out binding for the hex.

Thanks for reading, I’ve obviously got things to do;)

::Go the Distance::

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I’ve had a lot of inquiries lately about my design walls via Instagram and Pinterest.

I would consider design walls one of the most important tools in my studio.

Distance and vertical perspective are important to design.

sewkatiedid/double-trouble block

Colors and prints don’t just come together for me, they make me work for it.  I’m not a sketcher, so I have to cut, pin and/or fold fabrics and put them up vertically to gain some visual perspective on their interaction with one another.  I can’t say whether this design process saves me time, but being at the wall with my stash is the part of the design process I enjoy the most.

sewkatiedid/psychedelic baby

 There have been a few incarnations with design walls as my needs (and quilts) have grown.  Before our move, I had distance from my design wall because my family put up with the space being more studio than living room.  If you can get 8 feet or more that’s ideal (there are other tools like peep holes that can help give distance too).

sewkatiedid/design wall

The fabric I use is a grey flannel sheet.  I purchase flannel sheets from Garnet Hill so I don’t have to piece (sign up for their emails, they always have sales or free shipping).  I like how whites and neutrals pop off it.

sewkatiedid/design wall

It’s fully mounted to the wall.  Full details about it are here.

sewkatiedid/design wall

There were baby steps made before this permanent solution.  The design walls I started with and that I encourage students to purchase are pre-made design walls or picnic table cloths that can easily be rolled up and tucked away and because having only one project going at a time is simply absurd I have two layered.  To the top of one wall I sewed doubled-over ribbon.  This allows me to roll and secure it when not in use.  The vinyl backing will help keep everything stay put, pretty much where you placed it.

sewkatiedid/design wall

 If you want to read more about a roll up design wall I’ve posted about that here.

A few years ago when Jacquie and I were teaching together we joke about not marrying what was on your design wall, someone commented that you are only sleeping together and we all had a good laugh.  But seriously, move stuff around, you never know what you might end up with and you’ll know it’s right when you see it.

Live them.  You won’t be disappointed.