Let’s Make It Happen

This was one of those weekends when I feel like I got a lot accomplished e.g. cleaning the bathroom and ridding it of all the expired goods in the medicine cabinet, filling two more bags of donation clothing, and adding stock to Zoeken. But there’s so much more I’d like to do…alas… Monday looms.

I got down to work on my latest quilt this weekend. Little two-and-a-half inch squares piled neatly everywhere are slowly turning into 9-patches.

All being tagged and organized

so they follow ‘the plan’.

It’s pretty ambitious, I know. And there’s a timeline I’m going to try to hit…so I might actually use my project management skills and DO a real timeline to ‘baseline’ my weekly tasks. See? Being a Project Manager in real life can come in very handy!

Anyway, I was thinking about why these were the first colours I came up with for this quilt. It was something that just seemed right. I was inexplicably drawn to the combination of reds, oranges, blues, turquoise and purples. Then, today I took a photo of my West German (and some Italian) pottery collection and realized where some of my inspiration just might be coming from…

My favourite vases are the blue and red ones. Whenever I find one, I get a rush of excitement. So it seems somewhat logical that I’d subconsciously pick similar fabric colours.

I also took this photo of the tiny wooden boxes that sometimes hide behind the vase collection. They generally sit in the sideboard tempting anyone and everyone who sees them to pick them up. And if you’re lucky enough to hold one in your hand, you’ll smile with wonder every time.

Jared Tarbell made these. He uses a laser cutter and probably a lot of magic. The precision is astounding. Which leads to my point that, holy smokes, I’m kind of nervous about sewing twelve hundred 2.5 x 2.5 inch squares into a perfect grid. But it must be done…or attempted, at the very least. Because there’s a deadline looming!

As my Mother would say, “Let’s make it happen!”

The Stash and The Dude

Somebody suggested that I take photos of my fabric stash. So I’ve started to take a few and I’ll post them all to Flickr but here’s a small sampling…

Bluish Reds and Aquas…

Orangey-Reds and Turquoise…

Pinks, oranges and greens…

Purples and Mauves…

Greys…

Pea greens…and a pink…

Nautical blues and oranges…

So many fabrics, so little time!

On another note, I snuck up on The Dude the other night while he was sleeping. Although rare, I do still love quiet moments alone with him. He’ll be 10 years old this Spring. He used to get all the attention until Declan came along. Now, most of the time, we take him for granted. He follows me everywhere. He can be very smelly. He’s hyper when we have visitors. He begs at every meal and he barks to go outside only to want immediately back in again. But he smiles when he’s happy. He wiggles when I come in the door every night. He gives a paw when he wants a cuddle. He’s been with me through thick and thin and all he’s ever given me is his love… he’s still my baby. He’s The Dude…

2011 Resolutions and Goals

Well, time to commit to a few things for 2011. I’m not going to publish my business goals but here’s what I’m thinking about for Personal and Craft goals…

1. Pick at least one home renovation project and actually do it.
2. Shrink the stash! Only buy fabric specifically required for projects.
3. Buy only handmade or vintage gifts…especially from Etsy.
4. Take more photos! Improve skills by taking a Carty workshop.
5. Lose 10 Lbs and make my butt look better.
6. Have more family dinners at the dinner table.
7. Eat better food, more often.
8. Get organized and tidy up more often.

CRAFTS:
1. Make at least 4 quilts (any size!).
2. Make a set of quilted pillowcases.
3. Finish sewing Nani Iro dress I started last summer.
4. Sew an Amy Butler birdie sling bag.
5. Finish baby sweater I started 5 years ago.

So there you have it. Wish me luck!

It’s Not Me, It’s You. Farewell 2010!

I really got into quilting this year. I find it fun and challenging – I find the math very difficult sometimes but I love what the math makes, once I’ve figured it out. This year I completed four quilts, including my first queen size one. That was a special one – it got me through a tough time personally and it was the most rewarding because I drafted it all myself. I finished it in time to give it to my sister and brother-in-law for Christmas…

I also did a fun quilt from Lizzy House’s ‘Castle Peeps’ fabric for my son, Declan. It’s such great fabric, I couldn’t resist…

And I finished off the double wedding ring quilt for my Dad’s 65th birthday that I’d started in Johanna Masko’s class at The Workroom…

And now that I’m growing a major stash (haha!), it goes without saying that I’ll be doing a lot more quilting in 2011. I’ve already found inspiration and purchased all the fabrics for the first one. WhenIWas19 is even building me a quilt-drafting app for it. So I’ll be starting off the New Year with my most ambitious quilt yet – for a lovely friend who, I think, will really appreciate all the love, work and loud music that goes into making it.

Also this year, Little Denim collaborated with Movies in Haiku to design and create Haiku Pillowcases. These are doing really well in the Little Denim Etsy shop and I’m excited to expand the line next year to include even more movies in even more colourways. We’ll see where I take the kids’ clothing portion of the business…I’m honestly not sure.

Finally, I started up my Etsy vintage shop, Zoeken. Which is a Dutch word for ‘Search’. I liked the idea of using a Dutch word since my Mom is from Holland. And the whole business of selling old things takes after my Dad who is an antiques dealer. I think selling vintage is really where my heart is when it comes to having a business. I grew up around antiques and going to auction barns and yard sales. It’s a personal passion. So I’m really hoping to spend more time and effort on Zoeken in 2011…

And that’s about it. Frankly, on a personal level, 2010 outdid itself as the most challenging year of my life thus far. But I dealt with it and showed it who’s boss by making some pretty amazing things, doing some fantastic collaborations with my husband, starting up the business I’ve always wanted and kicking ass as (apparently) “the best Mom ever”. Overall, this was a good year for finishing what I started.

Happy New Year to all two of you who read my blog!

XO -Libs

The Berkshires Quilt

Okay…8 months since my last post. Lame. Sorry. A lot of…well…shit has gone down in my life. But things are looking up and I will do this more often…anyway…

Luckily, my little sister never reads my blog. (Pretty sure only one person does.) This means I can post some photos of the quilt I’m working on for her and her husband. It’s a Christmas-slash-Housewarming gift since they’ve just bought a little place in The Berkshires. One of the few places I’d consider living if I had to be in the U.S.

The top is custom designed by me and is all Kona cotton in Poisedon except for the one Michael Miller script fabric.

The bottom is custom also but very influenced by the amazing quilt backs that Red Pepper Quilts does.

Apologies for the horrible photos – I was so into just getting it sandwiched that I didn’t have the proper camera with me. Good news is that the quilting is done. Also good news is that I now know I can juuuust fit a queen size quilt on the floor of my living room for sandwiching. And queen size fits into my machine, no problem.

Anyway, just the binding left to cut and sew. So I’ll post more photos when it’s 100% finished. Less than two weeks until Christmas. Get at it!

May 10, At It Again

I’m sewing tiny hexagons. Randomly. I have no idea what I’ll do with it yet. It’s the random order and process that I find so calming – since most of my life and projects involve a lot of order.

I haven’t had much time to work on the black/white/grey and blue log cabin quilt. It’s now lower priority than the double-wedding ring quilt I’m about to learn how to make at The Workroom which will be for my Dad for his 65th. Not typically the fabrics I’d use but I do love them for their traditional quality.

Lately, it’s been freezing cold here. Bad enough that it snowed the other day while I was in Lindsay. The poor tulips were just drooping and covered in snow. Lucky they’re tough.

I want this kind of day back again…

That is all. Get into it!

May One, Lots of Fun

Trying my hand at english paper piecing. I can see how this could be addictive. Such a great way to use up fabric scraps. I have no idea yet what I’ll make with all of them but I guess I have a while to figure that out!

Eggs and Fibs and Happy Libs

Although I had the entire Easter weekend to myself, I woke up on Sunday morning feeling pretty lonely. Turned out my best friend was driving to Lindsay for the day so I hitched a ride to surprise my family. It was great to get home, even for a few hours. There’s nothing more comforting. And the day was beautiful.

My sister made these fantastic easter eggs with food colouring and thread:

While doing an easter egg hunt with Declan in the back yard, I couldn’t resist hiding a few on this. It’s a funny little ‘house’ my Mom bought from someone last year. I always tell Declan there’s a little elf who lives inside so you have to be really quiet. Oh sure, it’s a fib. Or is it?

And here’s a sample of some of the work I actually managed to get done. I really do love these new Little Denim dresses. I can definitely sense an evolution in the style of Little Denim:

Dress Mess

So I’ve got the entire Easter weekend to myself. The boys have gone to Ottawa and I’m determined to just sew, sew and sew some more. Several things I’ve noticed: 1) It’s exceptionally quiet without anyone else here which means I talk a lot to the dog. 2) It’s very difficult to focus on just sewing when one could also easily do some major Spring cleaning. Oh well, the cleaning can wait!

Here’s a pic of me in one of my two work areas. This area is the room formerly known as ‘dining room’.

Featured in this picture are some of the tools I can’t live without: Janome Sewist 525S sewing machine, Heritage tailor’s shears, Philips cordless iron, various crafting rulers and, of course, my Moleskin notebook.

Also in this pic is one of our pieces by our good friend Joshua Davis. Because it’s imperative to surround yourself with people and things that inspire you.

Happy Spring!

Ah, Spring…when everything is fresh and new. I’ve finally taken Little Denim to the next level and designed some items that really reflect what I’m all about. Modern, simple and a little punk rock.