Category Archives: sewing

The Huck Finn Cap

We interrupt the vacation chronicles with a very important post about a hat.  Yes, I made a hat…

huck finn cap

It’s a cute hat, is it not?  When my friend Meg (Montessorian, pregnant with her second child, blogger and pattern designer extraordinaire) asked if I’d test a pattern for her I jumped at the chance.  With a cover like this, who wouldn’t want to make one?

huck finn cap

I originally wanted to make 4 hats, one for each of my boys.  Could you imagine how irresistibly cute those pictures would have been– the four cutest boys that ever lived in cute caps?   But the testing period ended up being the week before we left for New Hampshire, so I had to settle for one.  Logan was the recipient.  He’s my dresser upper accessorizer, and the middle child, so I thought he would most appreciate it.

impromptu poetry reading

I put it all together in an evening while the kids watched Old Yeller (they just finished reading the book).  When I gave it to Logan in the morning he immediately donned it, pulled a Shel Silverstien book off the shelf, and performed an impromptu poetry reading for our listening pleasure.

the back

The pattern is designed to fit sizes 6 months- 10 yrs. and was pretty simple to sew up.  It’s got a comfy elasticized back and is fully lined.

inside

So, if you’ve got a little head or two that needs covering this fall head on over to the Sew Liberated pattern shop and get your hands on the Huck Finn Cap pattern!

with all the wrinkles

rolled and tied

I’ve had this quilt finished and rolled up under my drafting table all summer.  I have a friend at church whose oldest daughter just got MARRIED, and this daughter of hers is a photography major and likes artsy things, so I felt like I needed to make her something for a wedding gift rather than head to Target and buy something.  I ordered the fabric in time for the big day, got it all pieced too late, but in time for a visit this spring.  Unfortunately my free motion quilting wasn’t going quite as planned, so I missed that window to give it to her as well.  Finally this past weekend she was here again and I hurriedly unrolled it to take some photos before whisking it over to her.  Here it is, wrinkles and all.

modern meadow quilt

I ordered a fat quarter pack of Joel Dewberry’s Modern Meadow line (not the colorway in the link, though).  I took 8 of the fat quarters and cut them into big 17 inch  squares and made 2 rows of big blocks in the center of the quilt.

with all the wrinkles

Then I added big solid stripes of some Moda Bella Solid and Cross weave on the top and bottom and called it a quilt top.

the back

For the back I took scraps of the fat quarters to make a narrow stripe and used some more Moda Crossweave, all the same color this time, to complete it.  I really like the simplicity of it because it shows off the loveliness of the fabric so well– and it was fairly instant gratification.  I added ties to one edge so that it can be rolled and tied and taken on picnics for years and years to come.

back close up

I quilted it in my signature swirls, but had a hard time getting my machine to cooperate this time around.  I was just using the foot my machine came with and my tension was crazy and my thread would break every time I changed directions.   It made me want to swear.  I didn’t swear, of course, but I really wanted to.  Then I tried RaeLyn’s spring loaded foot and was able to buzz through the whole thing in an afternoon at her house.  I spent about 4 hours on 12 inches of the quilt before our sewing date and then did the whole rest of it in an afternoon between the hours of 1 and 4– with lots of chatting and eating and kid chasing mixed in.  (RaeLyn– We really need to get together again.  Soon!)

the modern meadow quilt

So, anyway, here’s the quilt that’s been hiding all summer.  I have fat quarters cut to make another, just need to get some more solid fabrics to go with them.  And I think I’ll keep the next one.

stacked

It’s been a while since I made a crafty post, so I thought I’d show you what I’ve been working on.

pile of cushions

I’ve got a stack of cushions.  Can you guess what they’re for?

the printed one

gocco dog on a new shirt

When I made this little batch of shirts for Hunter, Logan was insistent that he knew exactly what needed to be printed on this one, so I did what I could to make his vision a reality.  We got out my dusty gocco printer and the fabric inks, and just like that we were done.  It was one of those projects that made me wonder why I don’t do it more often– it was so quick and painless and made my Logan so happy and proud.

wearing it

one for logie

It is a rare thing to have something so potentially messy go so smoothly, but it sure is a happy day when things work out.  I think with a big brood of small people the more spontaneous projects are the ones that end the best.  For me, at least, when i plan and prepare I have way too much invested in the outcome to be adequately relaxed, patient and kind about the process.  Does this ring true for anyone else?  I need to somehow find a happy medium between the spontaneous and the planned so that there can be more happy collaboration between the kids and I.  How do you guys plan happy creative projects with your kids?