Friday Favorites 54

Friday, March 31, 2023


Happy Friday! It's time for another Friday Favorites post! Catch up on previous posts here: Friday Favorites Archives

- This stack of ice-dyed towels get SO much use in our house. We use them for everything, and it's nice to have a healthy stack to pull from. I used cotton flour sack towels* for dyeing.

- Love this all black quilt by Chris Austin. Not something you see everyday!

- Inspired by this handmade outfit by Jane Richmond.

- Such a cheerful group of blocks by Tara Faughnan.


- I've been enjoying working through the Spring Bucket List from Pinch of Yum. I made the strawberry white chocolate cookies last week. They were tasty! I froze most of the dough balls for cookie emergencies!

- I was finally able to order my favorite brand of a favorite snack, these shiitake mushroom chips*. We discovered them at our local asian grocery store a few years ago but they carried them only briefly.

- I had a chance to check out the Marimekko x Ikea collaboration this week and picked up a few goodies! It's such a cute collection.


- The tulips I planted in crates this past fall are coming up! I'm so excited to have tulips to cut this spring. I fashioned a ridiculous cage to put around them, I'm determined to keep the squirrels/chipmunks off them.

- How cute are these little handmade bee cups for making sure our bee friends have access to water?


- One of Dusty's better naps recently. :)

Have a Great Weekend!

*Note: Any links marked with an asterisk in this post are affiliate links. This means if you click through and buy something, I make a small commission, at no extra cost to you.

2023 First Quarter Report

Wednesday, March 29, 2023


Happy Wednesday! Instead of doing monthly reports this year I've decided to mix it up and do quarterly reports! Now that March is almost over, it's time to look back on the first quarter of 2023. See past monthly reports here.


I made some adjustments that allowed me to finish the arcs for my double wedding ring quilt (finally!). Next I need to choose background and cornerstone fabrics, which is no small task! You'd think after all this time I'd know what I wanted, but a do not. I also need to make a small tester, because my curved piecing experience is very limited.


This month I picked up the Hinterland Dress pattern by Sew Liberated and last weekend I got my muslin cut and sewn. I'm not sure how much I'll wear it, as the fabric didn't drape the way I expected it to (I used a vintage sheet!). I still need to choose a fabric for my next one, we'll see if I have something on hand.


It still needs photographing, but I finished my all lawn indigo quilt! I sent it off for longarm quilting in early 2023 and got it bound this month. I'm excited to have another large all lawn quilt around for Summer so that Michael and I both have one we can use when it gets a bit warmer. I still love this voile one I made years ago: Little Folks Voile Summer Quilt. It's so lightweight and has the most amazing drape.


I started the year by finishing up my tea advent calendar, made with tiny lined drawstring bags! I had grand intentions to finish it in time to use last December, but that didn't quite happen. Regardless, I'm happy with how it turned out! And thankfully it's not holiday-themed so I can use it anytime I want. Read more about that project here: Rainbow Drawstring Bag Advent Calendar


I also made a Valentine's themed drawstring bag last month, with a fun heart appliqué detail. This was a fun experiment, and a good excuse to just play around with different techniques. Read more about that project here: What I'm Working on Right Now


My one scrappy project this quarter was making these two pincushions. I used leftover blocks and scraps.


I've been having fun doing some just for fun crafting this year. I have made a few things with a kit from Concrete Geometric (paired with this mold set from Michael's). So far I've made a couple of ring dishes and some lidded boxes.


I am finally using my stash of dried strawflowers to make a few wreaths. I have been growing strawflowers and saving my blooms for 4 years I think? Can't wait to grow more this year!


To keep myself accountable for my stash goals, I track my yardage for fabric and yarn. Read more about how I track here. Here is how I did in the first quarter of 2023:

First Quarter Fabric
Used up: 20.25 yard
Brought in: 0 yards
Net: -20.25 yards
Year to date: -20.25 yards

First Quarter Yarn
Used up: 0 yards
Brought in: 0 yards
Net: 0 yards
Year to date: 0 yards

Checking in with my crafty goals, here is how I'm doing in 2023 so far:
- Haven't purchased any fabric or yarn this year, so I'm meeting my stash goals at the moment.
- I finished all the arcs for my double wedding ring quilt!
- Finished one color work mitten.


It hasn't been a very productive start to the year in terms of making to be honest. During these first few months of the year I have spent more time focusing on things in my life outside of sewing/knitting. That is probably how the rest of the year will be as well, and that's okay. Some years I've made tons of things and other years hav been slower. Just trying to give myself grace and not feel too guilty about that.

Happy Making!

Friday Favorites 53

Friday, March 17, 2023

Happy Friday! It's time for another Friday Favorites post! Catch up on previous posts here: Friday Favorites Archives

- Follow up from last week, I made the Lofthouse-Style Frosted Sugar Cookies by Serious Eats! They're tasty, soft, and have great flavor.

- I really love the contrast and colors in this pineapple quilt by Steffi Troy of Quiltwerke.

- I ordered the Hinterland Dress Pattern by Sew Liberated this week and I'm excited to try it out! Thinking of making a tester out of a vintage sheet.

- I want to try this float mounting technique shared by Emily Newman.


- Thrift find of the week was this New Era x Takashi Murakami hat that I found for $6, lucky for me I recognized the art right away. He collaborated with Lewis Hamilton last year, I loved his helmet design.

- If you're looking for a new water bottle, specifically one that keeps things cold, I've been loving this one*. It's been my go-to for 6+ months and it's pretty affordable!

- We've been watching the miniseries Station Eleven, and we've only got a couple episodes left. It's totally unlike anything we've watched before!

- This crochet pillow (with free pattern) caught my eye on Pinterest. So cute!

- Speaking of cats, this sticker* cracks me up!


- Dusty enjoys napping in her basket that's in front of a heating vent.

Have a Great Weekend!

*Note: Any links marked with an asterisk in this post are affiliate links. This means if you click through and buy something, I make a small commission, at no extra cost to you.

Triplicate Baby Quilt

Wednesday, March 15, 2023


Happy Wednesday! I have another recently finished baby quilt to share this week!


I made this quilt top back in 2015, as a sample for a class I taught at QuiltCon in February 2016. Feels like so long ago! It sat untouched until late last year, but I finally pulled it out and got it finished up. I'm really trying to finish up my works in progress, and this is one of the last quilt tops left that are related to my book. Feels good to get it completed!

The colors on this old photo are a little off, but I had to include it because of the violets you can see growing in the grass in the upper right corner! I took this at our Madison apartment, brings back good memories!


This quilt is made of blocks from the Triplicate Quilt, which is in the Patchwork chapter of the book. You can read more about that quilt here: Triplicate Quilt. I still have signed copies of my book available in my online shop, here: Patchwork Essentials: The Half-Square Triangle


This baby quilt uses 16 of these fun patchwork half-square triangle blocks. For the fabrics, I used only prints that I designed! All cool colored prints from my collections including Color Me Retro*, Dreamin' Vintage* and Geometric Bliss*. I'm tempted to make a warm colored version of this. Maybe one day!


I feel like a broken record whenever I talk about the actual quilting, I really don't have a lot variety in the quilting that I do. I went with wavy lines that I quilted with my walking foot. I did use a fun thread color though, a bright turquoise! It's not super visible in the photos, but is a nice pop of color in person.



The quilt is backed in one of my prints from Geometric Bliss and bound in my favorite print I designed from Dreamin' Vintage. I used one of my custom woven labels to finish it off.


Pattern: Triplicate Quilt from Patchwork Essentials: The Half-Square Triangle
Fabrics: Color Me Retro*, Dreamin' Vintage* and Geometric Bliss*

Happy Quilting!

*Note: Any links marked with an asterisk in this post are affiliate links. This means if you click through and buy something, I make a small commission, at no extra cost to you.