• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • 0 items

SewKatieDid

Because thread is the best glue

  • About
    • Quilting and Sewing Studio
    • Recommended Books & Tools
    • Upcoming & Past Workshops
  • Workshops & Open Studio
    • For Kids
  • Blog
  • Modern Quilts
    • Small Projects
  • Tutorials
  • Contact

Uncategorized

|| Nothin’ Frilly ||

March 17, 2021 By Katie

Closing in on a year of this bazaar journey I’ve found myself reflecting a lot about keeping a positive mindset and a little more emotional than I expected. It’s hard to believe a whole year has passed, but some of the seasonal chores that distracted me in the beginning and counted as small wins, the cobwebs and dirty windows, the weeding have come back full circle reminding that indeed it is true.

Sew Katie Did is currently the correct tense for me and I’m giving myself a free pass. I fell in the snow injuring my thumb. Turns out thumbs are important for sewing, but I did move things around on the design walls and finally am loving two quilts that have been up for two long.

Mentally it was good timing that The International Quilt Museum posted on the first day of Quiltcon Together a photo of my Psychedelic Baby quilt that is now part of their collection. A good reminder that even though I chose to not teach online this year in order to focus on my family, I’ve done good things. It’s a win;)

I loved that quilt so much I recreated it with some changes. This quilt was the seed that led to my favorite strip piecing workshop “Strip Tease.”

Looking back my optimism of the duration of the pandemic was a little off. My thought was for every day of it I’d make a house block. You can see how far I got with that.

Fussy cutting all those doorways was a great distraction and use of prints. I see a baby quilt in the future.

Winter distracted us briefly here in Seattle, but there are signs of spring. It was great to have the routine mixed up for a few days. Since the snow landed mostly over a weekend we were actually able to really enjoy it. It was pretty fun to see Boss’s love for it as he’d ‘snorkel’ around.

COVID has changed some things for me in a positive manner. I’d love to say that making more time for my love of cooking and baking is likely here to stay at its present rate. It has been my biggest distraction besides the Boss.

Regardless of working with a solo induction burner and a small convection oven I’ve had more time to enjoy the process because there simply was no rush. And on another note/win our kitchen plans are all drawn up and finalized!

I put affiliate links to all the books if you’d like to make something yourself.

The snow inspired me to break out my snowflake pans. The Vanilla Bean Book I’ve mentioned before is a keeper for the banana bread and brownies alone, but the almond picnic bread here was delish. I skipped out on the almond topper because of the pan and went with a browned butter ‘glaze’. The author has a cookie cookbook out now and if I wasn’t functioning with an oven that can only hold about 5 cookies total I’d be adding it to my collection.

The exception for cookies is shortbread in a pan or sometime soon a rosette. Martha Stewart’s recipe from her cookie book is one of those that the ingredients are always here.

I think I mentioned Flourless in my last post. In my opinion pudding and a ripe banana are a match made in heaven, so lately when we’re on the edge of committing to Nutella banana bread or not I’ve been going with the butterscotch pudding. I love that it doesn’t require egg yolks since I’m not a practical planner when it comes to the producing something with the whites.

It’s also time to try to clear last spring’s fruit from the freezer before it shows up again. This rhubarb snacking cake didn’t last long nor will the empty spot in the freezer. I’m new to Alana Chernila and her book The Homemade Kitchen, but have several recipes bookmarked after this impressive start.

My neighbor Henrietta Rollin’s eggs went into making these bacon and egg breakfast tarts from Chicken and Egg. This is one of those recipes that looks fancy but is super easy to pull off with frozen puff and whatever you have in the frig. We’re trying it next with pancetta and those left over sun dried tomatoes I’ve been trying to find a home for.

Mad Hungry has my favorite guac recipe. We probably make it once a week. I’ve found that cutting a round of Trader Joe’s waxed paper works well in place of plastic wrap for keeping it from browning, but it generally doesn’t last that long.

Nom Nom’s asparagus and eggs require a skillet and a broiler and about 6 minutes of my time, so when I start to see skinny asparagus in the market we whip this up with whatever leftovers we might have. I love the lettuce wraps too.

My family declared Martha Stewart’s mac and cheese from her America Food cookbook the best they’ve ever had. The crispy bread topping is key.

It’s nearly impossible to get a good photo of a stir fry, but if you were to add one paleo cookbook to your collection I can’t recommend Paleo Takeout more. I’ve gone on a good run with all the stir fries. I’ve never met a Kung Pao I didn’t like, but this book’s recipe is as close as it gets to my favorite from an Ann Arbor restaurant. I usually stick with regular tamari, cornstarch and serve over rice since we don’t have to go paleo.

My oxalis are some of the happiest houseplants, perhaps it is a March celebration. Happy Saint Patty’s.

Boss had a dermoid removed from his eye. He looks all cute here but it only took him a day to fully weaponize the plastic cone by cracking out a huge piece of it.

Our furniture, trim and knees thanked us when we replaced it with a softer one. Nothing like a clumsy, huge, vision impaired puppy. I’m so glad he’s healed and the cone is gone.

I forgot the mess that dogs create and finally pulled my older magic numbers quilt out so the newer quilts wouldn’t get ruined with the constant clawed stretching and muddy paws.

It took a few paint samples as always, but I found my new bedroom paint color, Benjamin Moore’s Aussie Surf.

I wanted something cozy and it was hard to beat the Pure Periwinkle we painted 9 years ago, but we (I) was ready for something new.

I’m loving it with the Daredevil of the hall and Jalapeno in the bath.

That’s kind of it peeps, nothing frilly here.

I’m embracing being outside in the garden again, it’s a welcome distraction. Walking in some sunshine with Boss and perhaps some soda bread is in my future. I hope you’re all hanging in there too;)

xoxo, Katie

Share this:

  • Facebook
  • Pinterest

Filed Under: Uncategorized

Happy ‘Balentines’

February 12, 2021 By Katie

sew Katie did | Seattle Quilting & Sewing Studio

‘Balentines Day’ has been absorbed into our family vernacular. Backstory is Roan couldn’t pronounce the letter ‘V’ when he was fresh to talking.

And its day is just around the corner. I’m not huge on the holiday, but this year celebrating anything seems appropriate.

sew Katie did | Seattle Quilting & Sewing Studio

And I am a big fan of the heart shape.

This shape is classic and I would guess never lost its appeal in some circles, but I believe my heart fascination is linked to my late 70s-80s childhood when it seemed to be everywhere. I had mugs, I had stickers, I had sparkly t-shirts. Its geometric shape merges in such a happy way with quilting and I love its adaptability with improv to create an irregular wonky shaped heart.

sew Katie did | Seattle Quilting & Sewing Studio

A storm last month knocked out our power in the middle of the night so we weren’t aware the basement’s sub pump wasn’t functioning. This facilitated the Christmas clean up that I’d stashed down there, but not put away. Since I was there I decided the Balentines decor should come up. It’s not our first rodeo with water in the basement so everything was up or in totes.

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

The mix and match of the pillows is getting a bit ridiculous, but using them as samples for workshops is always a good excuse to make more.

Sew Katie Did | Seattle Modern Quilting & Sewing Studio | Splintered Hearts Quilt Block
sew Katie did | Seattle Quilting & Sewing Studio

The half square triangle pillows merged with Christmas and are hanging on for Balentines.

sew Katie did | Seattle Quilting & Sewing Studio

Some of the Christmas stuck around too since their theme seems to jive.

sew Katie did | Seattle Quilting & Sewing Studio
sew Katie did | Seattle Quilting & Sewing Studio

So many pillows. We cracked up that we were a bit like that insurance commercial about old people being schooled before we all snuggled in on the couch and realized how comfy we were. Old people know stuff. It also made us realize that we can’t wait to kick off our shoes at someone else’s home and catch up sitting on THEIR couch.

sew Katie did | Seattle Quilting & Sewing Studio

Besides distracting myself with changing out pillows, I’ve been debating a new paint color for the bedroom. Pure Periwinkle has stood the test of time and two homes before we went neutral with Heavy Goose. I decided to go a new direction with a very green blue called Amazon Surf. I liked both colors with the red of the tansu chest and their tranquil feel, but if now isn’t a time for change then when?

sew Katie did | Seattle Quilting & Sewing Studio

The heart quilt is on the bed and some new ones with variation are in progress.

sew Katie did | Seattle Quilting & Sewing Studio

Besides the string quilt at the top of the post that I have a tutorial here, I created two other quilts with the heart shape that I use for class samples. I love my crushed hearts because, a) it’s purple and b) it’s got the best background of a mix of said purples.

sew Katie did | Seattle Quilting & Sewing Studio

Splintered Hearts is the other. It’s gotta be one of my favorite improv technique workshops to teach and even if you aren’t up for hearts the block lends itself to all sorts of design opportunities.

sew Katie did | Seattle Quilting & Sewing Studio

And of course there’s been cooking and baking. We’ve been having a Marvel movie marathon here, so I’ve been somewhat watching with a mix of my usual nose in a stack of cookbooks. Here’s just a few of the books I pulled from this week. (all are affiliate links;)

I found myself with ready to expire half and half, whipping cream and ripe bananas, plus a craving for pudding. I made my usual chocolate from Desserts from the Famous Loveless Cafe and tried a new to me butterscotch that was amazing from Flourless. Both poured over slice bananas. Delicious.

sew Katie did | Seattle Quilting & Sewing Studio

Looking through The Secret Lives of Baked Goods: Sweet Stories & Recipes for America’s Favorite Desserts I realized we had everything for rice crispy treats. I place rice crispy treats on the same bar with s’mores, everyone needs at least one a year. I had a little decorating error that ended with cutting it all into little bars and giving away to the neighbors kids. Not sure why I was thinking anyone needs one large rice crispy anyway?

sew Katie did | Seattle Quilting & Sewing Studio

The first day of the honey bundt cake with honey frosting from The Vanilla Bean Baking Book: Recipes for Irresistible Everyday Favorites and Reinvented Classics didn’t wow me, but the texture and flavor intriguingly bloomed after a couple days. Recommended by a student, I haven’t made a single thing from this cookbook that hasn’t impressed me.

sew Katie did | Seattle Quilting & Sewing Studio

I love plain pound cake with a cuppa coffee or tea. I’ve talked about Casella’s A World of Baking book before. It’s not a glitzy book, but it’s my go to for classics. I still want to try the tomato soup cake.

It’s bad, but I’ve started not just making heart shaped things, but collecting them. This is a problem when you’re a thrifter;) It started last year with the IKEA heart lamps from Ebay.

sew Katie did | Seattle Quilting & Sewing Studio

The heart bowl was a thrift find. Actually, pretty much everything on this shelf was thrifted. If you’re a Lord of the Rings follower you’ll know what I’m talking about when the words, “My Precious” were uttered from my lips upon seeing that bowl on the store”s shelf. Same with the pink Catherholm.

I blame Crate and Barrel for making this cute heart trivet that I had to have. Anything to distract from looking at the state of my kitchen. We’re getting close with our design though.

AND I blame IKEA for tempting me with these cute little jars to fill with candy for all my GALentines. They were just too cute to pass up.

sew Katie did | Seattle Quilting & Sewing Studio

Boss is my BIG valentine this year, all 50 pounds of him.

sew Katie did | Seattle Quilting & Sewing Studio

Happy Balentines and cheers Peeps, xoxo Katie

and P.S.

Share this:

  • Facebook
  • Pinterest

Filed Under: Uncategorized

January 21, 2021 By Katie

Sew Katie Did | Seattle Modern Quilting & Sewing Studio

Well cheers.

We’ve kicked 2020 and a few other things down the road. I’m hopeful we are conjuring up a brighter new future.

This is where we focus on those small & big wins for our mental health.

Sew Katie Did | Seattle Modern Quilting & Sewing Studio

Small win #1: It’s taken me weeks to write this post, but by the second of January the Christmas decorations were hidden in the basement for a proper pack up on a rainy day…of which Seattle’s forecast hasn’t been lacking and more on that later. The timing of taking down the seasonal wood print coincided with a practical need, so it’s been repurposed.

Sew Katie Did | Seattle Modern Quilting & Sewing Studio

Small win #2: We’ve had an issue of the Boss Dog and the Roomba thinking the fireplace was an extension of the living room. So actually creating, not just dreaming of a decorative screen for our non-working fireplace was a win, especially since it’s a project that’s been on the list for years. We have plans of warming ourselves next to a modern free standing stove.

Sew Katie Did | Seattle Modern Quilting & Sewing Studio

It’s all too easy to look around and see everything that needs to be done, so I try to keep in mind what it looked like when we moved in. It’s a good reminder that progress has been made.

Sew Katie Did | Seattle Modern Quilting & Sewing Studio

I could not have cut it any closer with the amount of IKEA fabric I had for this project. Some plant curating will happen after Boss loses interest in attacking them.

Sew Katie Did | Seattle Modern Quilting & Sewing Studio

King size win number 3: I’ve finished up my magic number based king size Christmas quilt and plan on sleeping under it all winter regardless of it’s theme.

Sew Katie Did | Seattle Modern Quilting & Sewing Studio

With a puppy around couch time for hand sewing is regulated into smaller increments, and the studio is out of bounds entirely. So my daily small win was to get through one long strand of thread for sewing down binding. Perfect for my short attention span.

Sew Katie Did | Seattle Modern Quilting & Sewing Studio

Small win #4: If you live in Seattle or close by I’ve listed two machines and a industrial snap press on Craigslist.

Sew Katie Did | Seattle Modern Quilting & Sewing Studio

My Elgin by Brother. It works great and is so pretty. I always had dreams of displaying and using it somehow, but there just isn’t room. If you are a collector of machines your heart will throb for this beauty.

Sew Katie Did | Seattle Modern Quilting & Sewing Studio

My Kam industrial snap press. If you’re into making bags or diaper covers this is your jam.

Sew Katie Did | Seattle Modern Quilting & Sewing Studio

I’m letting go of my Featherweight. It has a new custom box, was serviced but not really used, so will need some oiling.

Small Win #5: So much cooking I could easily turn this into a food blog. Boss has made being in the studio a little more challenging, but the kitchen is full of the possibility that a treat might get dropped and regardless we gotta eat.

Sew Katie Did | Seattle Modern Quilting & Sewing Studio

Winter = comfort food and I’m finding it hard to get off my Lucinda Scala Quinn kick. Her recipes speak to my Midwesterner comfort food/ Irish/German roots.

Sew Katie Did | Seattle Modern Quilting & Sewing Studio

The kick started with pot pies from her Mad Hungry Feeding Men &
Boys
cookbook (affiliate link). I’ve made both the chicken and the spinach feta with a cream cheese crust with amazing success. I sure Ford would be proud with me stocking the freezer in an industrial mass production manner.

Sew Katie Did | Seattle Modern Quilting & Sewing Studio

The tamale pie, sesame chicken, mac and cheese from her Mad Hungry Cravings, and the shepard’s pie from Mad Hungry Family are in the full menu rotation now as well.

Sew Katie Did | Seattle Modern Quilting & Sewing Studio

My other new obsession is a cauliflower recipe I came across in the New York Times. Bonus is I generally have the pancetta, olives and parmesan stocked. I wasn’t completely in love with it until I topped it with an egg and sautéed chard = perfection.

Sew Katie Did | Seattle Modern Quilting & Sewing Studio

I’ve mentioned Casella’s book, A World of Baking before when sharing the sour cream lemon pie from it. Twenty some years ago in Mexico, before heading out on our weekly shopping trip to the nearest large mercado in Zihuatanejo I would look through this lone book for inspiration. The pound cake was a simple pick for its accessible ingredients and compatibility with the local mangoes and a pile of whip cream. I still make it to this day and eat it straight up or with some seasonal fruit.

Sew Katie Did | Seattle Modern Quilting & Sewing Studio

I’m not sure what’s up with the individual food servings I’ve been into, perhaps dreams of entertaining with a cocktail party, but there sure are a lot of good recipes packaged this way. I’m looking forward to trying the cheddar tapenade rolls in The Messy Baker (affiliate link), but I started with these delicious chicken, corn and cilantro empanadas. They didn’t last through to the next day.

Let’s end with Big Win #6: Female Vice President=Boss Lady.

Well done America, now go celebrate your wins.

Share this:

  • Facebook
  • Pinterest

https://www.sewkatiedid.com/2021/01/21/17164/

Filed Under: Uncategorized

:: Dialed In Quilt ::

November 20, 2020 By Katie

sew Katie did | Seattle Modern Sewing & Quilting Studio | Spinning Webs Quilt

You know fall has arrived in Seattle when you more than occasionally face plant into spider webs. Considering its seasonal theme, I thought it time appropriate to finish up this quilt. I think it was going on its 6th year unquilted.

Obviously, I missed the seasonal window for posting it;)

How to quilt it was the problem, I just couldn’t decide. I thought about starting in the middle, echoing the octagons/spiderweb shape with angled straight lines, but that would be a lot of turning and I’m a lazy quilter. If I can run my quilting off the edge I do.

sew Katie did | Seattle Modern Sewing & Quilting Studio | Spinning Webs Quilt

Finally getting some lines of quilting in was like shooting a current through it. It just made it come to life. Without a seam to readjust, I wasn’t completely sure how the measuring of the “V’ing” lines would turn out. It’s pretty easy to have the quilting get pretty wonk by the time you get to the outside edge when using this design.

I was super thrilled, it was no hassle at all.

sew Katie did | Seattle Modern Sewing & Quilting Studio | Spinning Webs Quilt

I’m not a fan of the feel of a faced binding, but quilt needed one. I wish I would have had more of the yarn dyed Essex from the front. It would have framed the backing fabric a bit better, but we’re working with what we have here.

sew Katie did | Seattle Modern Sewing & Quilting Studio | Spinning Webs Quilt

I’ll definitely be offering this block as an improv workshop starting in the studio when the world returns to right side up. It already has its person, they just haven’t been created yet.

I planned on getting a post of this quilt up by Halloween and can’t remember if the weather was good, so I was outside gardening, or if it was bad, so I was cooking and baking, I’ll use both as an excuse.

When you see these photos you’d think all I do is bake, but trust me, I share with my neighbors.

For Halloween and Day of the Dead I made pies and improv paper cut some stencils to decorate them.

sew Katie did | Seattle Modern Sewing & Quilting Studio | Spinning Webs Quilt

The pumpkin was just ok. From can, pre-made crust, mixed with a physics lesson reminder that powdered sugar melts into anything with moisture. Way better presentation on a flourless chocolate cake.

I hadn’t made a cream pie in about 20 years, so in March I decided it was time. Banana cream is my favorite, though I’ll take a chocolate or a coconut with zero complaint. I’ve tried all the variations my cookbooks have to offer, but I faze back to the recipe in Martha Stewart’s Baking Handbook. Cocoa powder works great for these stencil designs and of course what is better with bananas than chocolate?

With a round of over-ripe bananas I tried the NYT’s Nutella Banana bread. I think I’ve found my forever banana bread recipe. I’d just make it next time with chocolate chips and avoid the palm oil ingredient in Nutella.

I also found my forever recipe for oatmeal fudge bars. There was a box mix we loved as kids called Fudge Jumbles. This recipe is probably better than my 13 year-old brain remembers.

I’m usually reminded it’s time to bake of batch of almond kiss cookies when I see the kisses all wrapped in their holiday outfits. I don’t see many cookies in my near future since our kitchen is still in glamping stage. I’m baking about 5 at a time in a little convection oven , but If I’m going to make a cookie I make these.

Of course I’ve made a bunch of savory food, it’s just not as exciting to photograph. I have perfected my hot and sour soup and chicken pho during all this craziness.

I still have blooms happening in the yard though I’m largely in ignore stage now.

My cosmos from seed were really late to bloom and have been hanging strong ever since.

The snails love to eat the tips of these.

Last Friday the weather report for the unforeseen future looked solid for zero time socializing outside, so we took advantage of the last night, pack up some blankets, made some walk-tails and headed over to our friends for happy hour and a fire.

Roan and I finally wore Jefe down and we adopted this sweet little mutt to mix things up and keep us on the up and up. We now have a Jefe and a Boss in the house.

He’s already got his own quilt.

Lastly, Clark County Quilters is holding their annual quilt festival online starting today, so go check them out. I had planned on joining them as the featured quilter this year. I always enjoy the teaching, but was looking forward to a walk and talk of my quilts. I thought it sounded like a fun approach that I hadn’t done before. They will still be displaying quilts virtually and I’m guessing with all of us spending more time at home it should be quite a show.

I’ve got some tips on how I quilt a king size quilt on my domestic next time. I hope you’re finding joy in the things that keep you busy too;)

Share this:

  • Facebook
  • Pinterest

Filed Under: finished quilts, Finished Quilts, modern quilt, Modern Quilts, My Blog, Uncategorized

|| 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.

sew Katie did | Seattle Modern Quilting & Sewing Studio

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.

sew Katie did | Seattle Modern Quilting & Sewing Studio

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.

sew Katie did | Seattle Modern Quilting & Sewing Studio

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.

sew Katie did | Seattle Modern Quilting & Sewing Studio

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

sew Katie did | Seattle Modern Quilting & Sewing Studio

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

sew Katie did | Seattle Modern Quilting & Sewing Studio

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.

sew Katie did | Seattle Modern Quilting & Sewing Studio

I got myself a couple little heaters too.

sew Katie did | Seattle Modern Quilting & Sewing Studio

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

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

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.

Sew Katie Did

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.

sew Katie Did | Seattle Modern Quilting & Sewing Studio

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.

sew Katie Did | Seattle Modern Quilting & Sewing Studio

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

Share this:

  • Facebook
  • Pinterest

Filed Under: Uncategorized

:: 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.

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

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.

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

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.

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

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.

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

This quilt got an all over of vertical straight lines.

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

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;)

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

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

Share this:

  • Facebook
  • Pinterest

Filed Under: Finished Quilts, modern quilt, Modern Quilting, Modern Quilts, Uncategorized

:: 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;)

Share this:

  • Facebook
  • Pinterest

Filed Under: Uncategorized

:: 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.

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

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.

sew Katie did | Seattle Modern Quilting & Sewing Studio

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.

sew Katie did | Seattle Modern Quilting & Sewing Studio

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.

sew Katie did | Seattle Modern Quilting & Sewing Studio

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

Share this:

  • Facebook
  • Pinterest

Filed Under: quilt design wall, Uncategorized

:: 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

Share this:

  • Facebook
  • Pinterest

Filed Under: Uncategorized

:: 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.

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

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.

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

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.

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

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.

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

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.

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

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.

Share this:

  • Facebook
  • Pinterest

Filed Under: Finished Quilts, Modern Quilts, Uncategorized

|| 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

Share this:

  • Facebook
  • Pinterest

Filed Under: Uncategorized

:: 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;)

Share this:

  • Facebook
  • Pinterest

Filed Under: Uncategorized

Next Page »

Primary Sidebar

Subscribe to this blog

Featured Tutorials

|| Nothin’ Frilly ||

Happy ‘Balentines’

:: Dialed In Quilt ::

|| Small Wins ||

Instagram

I got to sewing the centers of my Stellars late ye I got to sewing the centers of my Stellars late yesterday and was a little tickled this morning to see that the sun pouring through the windows and hitting my star paper lantern created a perfect matching shadow. #magicnumbersquilt #stellarsquiltblock
Seeing as it’s April it seemed time to change ou Seeing as it’s April it seemed time to change out the Valentine’s pillows. I’d forgotten about these and need to get a fresh batch of photos since their colors are spot on for my new bedroom color. #improvquilting #neverenoughpillows #sewkatiedidworkshops
Happy national puppy day. Boss @ 6 months is 100% Happy national puppy day. Boss @ 6 months is 100% puppy and the most handsome mischievous boy. We ❤️da Boss!
Happy national Pi day. My family loves pie as brea Happy national Pi day. My family loves pie as breakfast, snack or dessert. Looking back it might be national pie year for us. In this year I’ve baked cream pies, fruit pies, savory pies, and round and crescent shaped hand pies. Whatever type of pie it rarely lasts the day.
I’m jumping ahead to #23 in #igquiltfest2021 to I’m jumping ahead to #23 in #igquiltfest2021 to “quilts in the wild” since the sun was streaming in this morning. With the state of affairs this year our escape to the wild has been one of voyeurism via tv and part of my morning routine is folding up all the quilts and fluffing the pillows to set the couch right for the evening. Wild will have to wait, but hopefully not much longer.
I’m starting my #igquiltfest with #6 solids. My I’m starting my #igquiltfest with #6 solids. My Psychedelic Baby quilt wasn’t the first quilt I’d made with solids, but it is my first to join the International Quilt Museum’s collection.  #smallwins #internationalquiltmuseum
Load More... Follow on Instagram

Recent Pins

A Chic Yet Functional Built-in Laundry You'll Love
An Elegantly Renovated Bungalow Using SemihandmadeCandy Mountains - Wise Craft Handmade. A remake of the Indigo quilt from Blair Stocker's book Wise Craft Quilts
Follow Me on Pinterest More Pins

Quilt Blog Goodness

Cheryl Arkison

Completely Cauchy

Factotum of Arts

Film in the Fridge

Mama Loves Quilts

Poppyprint

Quilt-It

Red Pepper Quilts

S.D. Evans Quilts

Sleepy Owl Studio

s.o.t.a.k Handmade

Stitched In Color

Stitch in Dye

Tallgrass Prairie Studio

The Little Red Hen

The Quilting Edge

The Silly BooDilly

Teaginny Designs

Veni Vidi Vicky

Wisecraft Handmade

Wooden Spoon Quilts

 

 

 

Footer

Connect with Katie

because thread is
the best glue

Customer Care

Hosting in Your Community
Cancellation Policy
Privacy Policy
Usage Policy

Copyright © 2021 Katie Pedersen · Log in