Sarana Ave

For years I told myself (and everyone else) that I wasn’t a sewer. People always assumed I sewed and I was always quick to correct them, I didn’t want to be “that” girl (whoever that was). Well years went by and people change, usually in unexpected ways, and I found myself needing and actually WANTING to sew.

A few years have passed and lately I’ve been feeling the desire to paint. I kept telling myself I’m not a painter, I’m not an artist, my grandma was but she hadn’t passed her skills down to me. Growing up with creativity all around me, drawing, painting, sewing, carpentry, writing, gardening and baking must have rubbed off without my even knowing it. While I was busy living my life, the seeds that were passed down from generations before were busy taking root and waiting to sprout.

After returning from my weekend sewing trip to Vermont, I couldn’t stop thinking about painting the beautiful place we stayed in. The scenery was incredible, full of lush green and the most vivid colors. They moved me in a way that I haven’t been moved by a place in years, probably because we never go anywhere…But still! It was breathtaking! Days and a couple of weeks went by with this desire popping up and each time a little voice would ever so politely remind me that I am NOT an artist. But still something in me just had to try, perhaps it’s the teenage rebellion I’ve never quite outgrown, the desire to do it when I’m told I can’t or worse, I shouldn’t.

After ordering some supplies (and letting them sit on my counter for a few days) I decided I just had to try. I told myself, I may not be an artist, but let’s just see what’s inside. I reminded myself that for the first 29 years of my life I was not a sewer, I had no idea I would be sewing and actually pretty good at making quilts and things.

As I sat down, supplies all set out, I felt like a kid again. I used a pallet and brush that my grandma had given me for my 12th birthday and I could her the instructions she had tried to teach me back then. I worked from a few pictures I had and tried to keep things simple. A couple hours later, I was done. My oldest kept me company by painting along with me and it was a beautiful way to spend an afternoon.

I feel like I set that scene free that had been locked in my mind for weeks. Starting out with low expectations and just trying to have fun turned out great, I’m happy with my little art piece and I truly enjoyed myself. The portions are not to scale, the details are all wrong and I’m sure this little painted house holds no structural integrity, but who cares? I had fun! Maybe one day I’ll take an art class to work on more detailed projects, but for now it’s fun to just play around. I’m glad I gave myself permission to try something new. I might not be an artist, but I also don’t consider myself a quilter either. I am just Faith and I enjoy creativity in many forms. No need for labels or titles here.

So I’m curious, what have you been wanting to try? What’s that little voice inside (or perhaps outside) telling you that you can’t do, you shouldn’t try? Go for it! I encourage you to try! Because you never know what seeds of creativity have been growing inside of you while you’ve been busy with life, just waiting to sprout up. Take a deep breath and have fun!

With some dear creative friends in Goshen Vermont at Blueberry Hill Inn.

Have you seen the Liberty half square triangle quilt I made? I was trying to be so sneaky about it, only posting little glimpses on Instagram. First of all, it was a surprise gift for a sewing friend and second of all, I was making TWO of them! That’s right, two weeks before I left to go on my first sewing retreat I decided that two of my dear sewing friends needed to be spoiled and what better way to spoil sewing friends than with Liberty QUILTS!?

I set to work cutting and sewing like mad using a “four at a time” HST method. I absolutely loved this quick easy method of starting with one white 8 1/2 inch square and one Liberty 8 1/2 inch square, place right sides together, sewing all around the square with a 1/4 inch seam and then cutting a big X from corner to corner which leaves you with four beautiful 5 1/2 inch blocks to work with. Easy peasy!

There’s me, holding up one of my quilts at the most beautiful spot in Vermont. All the gorgeous pictures were taken by my lovely friends Cheri, Jenni and Michael Anne since my phone died right as we went to take pictures.

Once all my blocks were cut and ready to go, I had a little freak out about colors and placement of blocks. Color order is not my thing, rainbows don’t come naturally to me, but something about all those colors and prints together just called for a bit of order. So I tried it and I am so happy I did! Now, I am still no pro and I didn’t want to go over board with a strict color grid but I think that subtle wave of rainbow was just what these quilts needed. After laying out the first set of quilt blocks, I decided to make the second quilt identical, so I handed my boys the second stack of blocks and told them to match the prints, they had a blast!

This picture came out fuzzy (we were getting attacked by bugs!) but I needed documented proof that there actually were two quilts, finished in two weeks or else you might not believe me!

A bonus to the “four at a time” HST method is that the fabrics are cut on the bias which gives them a bit of stretch and ends up with perfectly matched points and minimal effort! Seriously, my points never all line up this well! I used a solid white cotton from Joann’s and a solid white flat sheet for the backing which made the quilts SO soft. I went with Aurifil 50 weight minimal quilting down every other row since I was short on time (and working with a machine that doesn’t like to play nice during quilting) and I loved the outcome, they have more of a soft and fluffy comforter feel to them making it the ideal snuggle blanket.

Here is my friend Jenni and I, we should have gotten one with Cheri too but picture taking was just not at the top of my priority list (unlike, talking, eating, sewing and just enjoying our time together!). I should note here that these two girls have spoiled me rotten with hand made gifts over the past two years, shared generously with me their fabrics and notions and are truly dear friends (even if solely over text). I truly hope they love and use their quilts and wear them thin from use. After all, quilts are made to be used and loved!

I just love the reflection of the quilt in the pond! Like a watercolor painting.

People are always telling me that they have Liberty fabric but don’t know what to do with it, or they don’t know how to sew with it, or my personal favorite: they are saving it for something “really special” (as if everything we makers make isn’t already special enough!). If this is you, I would just like to encourage you to give it a try! I started sewing with Liberty when I was a very new sewer, so clearly if I could do it then, you can do it now! Liberty pairs so nicely with solid cottons, linen or even denim. I like to add it in whenever I can, mixing it right in with all my other quilting cottons! Just give it a try, I know you will love it!

I have curated a special “Faith” bundle with some of my favorite Liberty prints, available from Duckadilly Fabrics in fat 16ths, fat 8ths and fat quarters which you can find HERE. It’s the perfect collection to add to your Liberty stash or the perfect bundle to get your Liberty stash started, either way I know you will love working with this striking, silky fabric!

For your chance to WIN a Faith’s fat 8th bundle, head over to my Instagram post, follow both myself, Duckadilly and tag a friend or two in the comments. Winner will be selected at random on Monday.

Thank you so much for stopping by, I truly hope you leave here feeling inspired to try your own sewing projects… And maybe even a little Liberty 😉

Special thanks to Lesley form Duckadilly Fabrics for sponsoring the giveaway and for always having a fabulous Liberty selection and the best customer service.

Hi friends! I have a quick little tutorial I want to share with you for adding a lace trim edge to your quilting. It’s so simple, but I had trouble figuring out which way to fold mine to get nice corners so I figured maybe someone else would appreciate pictures too.

Today I’ve made a simple nine patch mug rug, I have my binding and trim all ready and clips holding it in place for starting. My favorite binding method is from Jera Brandvig of Quilting in the Rain which can be found in her book Quilt As You Go Made Modern. Her method takes all the math work out of closing up your binding strip and has turned the dreaded last step of the process into a breeze. I machine sew all my binding mostly because I am just too lazy to hand bind but I also feel that my binding will hold up better over time having been machine stitched (After all, its gotta hold up under the wear and tear of my three boys!).

Sew your lace and binding on at the same time, stopping when you get a few inches from the corner. With your quilt still in place under the sewing needle, move the binding to the side so you have room to make a neat corner with the lace. Leaving a little slack in your lace, lay flat along the bottom edge and push out to the corner.

Finger press your corner and play with it until you have a neat angled corner. Use a clip to hold into place while you sew your binding to the corner as you would normally. Repeat with all four corners and close off your binding.

Once you have attached the lace and binding, fold the binding to the back side and clip into place. I stitch in the ditch on the front side of my quilts just along the edge of the binding, making sure to catch the back of the binding as I go. If you miss a spot, just go over it again when you are done and it wont be noticeable.

As you can see, I’ve trimmed the lace so it overlaps a little. You could whip stitch the two ends together to give it extra hold as well. You can also see a closeup of my closed off binding. I know some people prefer a seamless look but for me it was so stressful doing the math and trying to get any uneven bumps out that I’ll take this little overlap pocket look and save myself the stress. For me, quilting is about enjoying the process and pouring love into something that will be a treasured gift.

Sweet little mug rug ready for a hot cup of tea. Fabrics and lace are La Conner by Jera Brandvig for Lecien Fabrics. I added simple hand quilting using Brillo from Aurifil which has a golden shimmer to it and goes nicely with the bits of metallic in these fabrics. This is a line you need to see in person to get the full beauty of those sparkles. (Insert heart eyes emoji here).

I hope this little tutorial was helpful, feel free to let me know if you have any questions.

Hi everyone! Welcome to my stop along the Made for Baby Blog Tour! I am so excited to be a part of this incredible line up of talented makers. I met Ayda not that long ago through Instagram and let me just say, it was love at first sight! Her makes are so fresh and her posts are beautifully designed, I look forward to them each week. They are my go to “happy place” for when I need inspiration, and to top it off she is just the sweetest!

With a beautiful blog and Instagram feed, I had very high hopes for her first book, especially with Tuva Publishing and their track record of gorgeous sewing books. I was absolutely thrilled when I opened Made for Baby Cute Sewn Gifts and saw such beautiful pages! So many fresh new ideas and sweet little makes, perfect for quick baby gifts.

Not only are the sweetest patterns in here, but it’s also the perfect book to pour over with a cup of tea and just look at all the beautiful pictures and tiny design details. Inspiration for any maker. I have looked through this book several times already and have read over the instructions of most the patterns. Do you do that too? Like a cook reading over a cookbook (which I’ve also been known to do). A good book is a good book and can be read over and over again.

My first project was the adorable Peter Pan Collar. It only took me 30 minutes from start to finish and, I believe would steal the show at any baby shower (which let’s face it, is what we all secretly want to do!). It is reversible and can be gently tied on to dress up any casual baby clothing.

No newborn ensemble would be complete without a pair of mittens! These Liberty of London ones in soft gray Capel and coral lining are the perfect balance of girly yet classic.

Crochet ribbon bows and tiny hand stitching accents are enough to make me want another baby! Well, ALMOST enough 😉

Once again, the mittens took me less than an hour to make and I think it’s safe to say they would be an instant keepsake for any new baby. Wouldn’t a pale blue version be sweet for a baby boy too? As mom of three boys I’m always thinking of boy versions. Can’t let all the pretty thing go to the girls 😉

Ayda has very detailed instructions for each step of her patterns along with pictures and drawings making this book a perfect choice for newer makers as well as more experienced ones. And let’s be honest, it’s just plain eye candy too!

Since there are so many sweet makes in this book, I had to try another. Seriously, this is a book I could easily make everything in it! I’ve done it before with another wonderful Tuva book (which you can see the results of here) and I might not be able to stop myself this time either! I may have a problem, a very fun problem!

The Cute Fabric Boxes made for a wonderful weekend sewing project. I chose to go with the ever classic Liberty and Linen fabric combo bring a bit of sophistication to these little organizer boxes.

It’s all in the details and this soft pink Aurifil thread on the corners of the tray is the icing on top of an already beautifully sweet cake.

And since I have no baby girls in my house, I’ve decided these boxes are just right for my sewing space! I didn’t think I needed any more organization for sewing supplies, but this was super handy having next to my sewing machine yesterday. There are many projects in Made for Baby that can also be Made for Mama, or Grandma or Sewing Friend. Ayda’s book is available from Amazon and I believe is worth its weight in gold. A wonderful resource for sweet sewn gifts as well as to go along with your Saturday morning cup of tea or coffee or whatever you fancy drinking while you look at pretty pages.

Be sure to follow along on all the tour stops listed below and enter for your chance to win a copy of Made for Baby Cute Sewn Gifts over at Cafenohut.

I am so glad you stopped by today, make yourself at home and feel free to look around.

As always, I hope you leave here feeling inspired to make something yourself.