eat, sleep, poop, giggle! The cutest quilt ever

I found this pattern on Craftsy by Sam Hunter from Hunter's Design Studio.  It was love at first sight, I had to make it for my little nephew, it's the cutest quilt ever!

The letters are constructed by paper piecing.  If you haven't tried it before, you should!  It creates very precise pieces without exact measuring and cutting.  All you need to do is follow the lines on the pattern.

Here's an example of a pattern for paper piecing.  Each section is numbered in the order in which they  will be sewed and labeled with the fabric that goes in that section.  Perforate each line between the sections by "sewing" down each line with no thread in your machine.  This makes the paper easier to rip out when you're finished.

Fold over the pattern along the line between sections 1 and 2.  Place a piece fabric underneath with enough area to have about ½" extra around section 1.  Trim to ¼" along the paper fold, as seen below.

Unfold the paper and place on your sewing machine.  You can put a pin through the paper and fabric layers to make sure they don't move.  Sew right along the line, take it slow so you can be precise!  Repeat with each section until complete.

Once you're done trim the outside edges of the fabric to edge of the pattern.  Then carefully peel away the paper pattern along the perforated lines.  This step is much easier if you did a good job perforating the pattern at the beginning!

That's it, you've completed paper piecing!  If still sounds confusing check out Craftsy Block of the Month 2012 class with Amy Gibson.  It's a free class and covers many basic quilting techniques.  Skip to October to see the class on paper piecing.

Here's a picture of the final product, isn't it the cutest quilt ever!

I also like to put a personal touch on my quilts.  I made a little label "MADE BY KATIE" in matching colors and put it on the back.  Now my nephew will always know his blanket was made with love by his Aunty!

 

I had to make the backing fun and what better to use then monsters, yay!

Adventures in Korea, Part I

I recently moved to Korea for my job and would like to share some of my adventures so far.  I'm here for a short assignment, only one year, so I'm trying to do as much exploring as possible!

My current residence is near the city of Daegu, the third largest city in Korea.  It has a great shopping area and a fantastic market with loads of fabric to chose from!  Seomun Market is just around the corner from the Seomun Market subway stop on the green line in Daegu.

Korea is very mountainous and it's not different in the town where I live.  There are several hiking trails that have great views and are particularly pretty when the cherry blossoms are out!

Of course no visit to Korea is without a trip to Seoul, the capital of Korea.  There's so much going on there, I've only had a small taste of it in the couple of days I've spent passing through!  Navigating the Seoul Subway system was a bit of challenge, it has like 17 lines and each stop has numerous exits, it takes a bit of getting used to!

Not too far from Soeul is Peoyongtek, the city that will hosting the 2018 winter Olympics.  I had a chance to go snowboarding at Pheonix Park which will be hosting some of the events!

I also went snowboarding at another resort, Welli Helli, with some of my friends.  It was a great way to enjoy the Korean winter!  It was also my first experience with Korean hotels, sleeping on floor!

With the warmer weather in Spring I've done a few more outdoor activities.  I visited Jindo Island where twice a year the sea parts, like Moses and the Red Sea, and you can walk out to the next island.  There was a big festival and we got up at 4 in the morning to see the sea part and then the weather was so bad the sea didn't quite part all the way, what a bummer!

The last part of Korea I've been to is Busan which is on the southeast corner of Korea.  Busan is a big port city and is very diverse.  The view along the sea cliffs hiking trails is gorgeous, the water is so clear and blue!

Busan is also home to a HUGE fish market where you can find just about any kind of seafood you would ever want.

And of course I've been riding my bike a lot here in Korea.  There's a series of trails that transverse the country, the possibilities for riding are endless!  You can track your progress on there trails with these awesome little passports you can get at tourist stops along the trails, it's a great momento.

The trails run along the rivers throughout the country so they're nice and (mostly) flat.  Exploring Korea by bike has definitely been a highlight so far!



That's it for my first installment of my Adventures in Korea, check back later for more updates!

KCWC Spring 2014 plans

It's time for kids clothes week challenge again! KCWC 2013 last Fall is what got me blogging, so I could share my (somewhat amateurish) creations. Here's my round up of patterns and free tutorials I aim to complete for Kids Clothes Week Challenege 2014. You can join in KCWC April right here!

Keep in mind, I am sewing for an almost 2 year old girl and 6 week old boy (those two might be to blame if I don't accomplish my KCWC Spring 2014 goals, but they're worth it!)

1. Just Hatched leggings, a FREE pattern and tutorial from Made by Rae

 

The Sally dress from Very Shannon- things to love about it- no closures (i.e. Zippers or buttons) and it has nice big pockets, which my daughter LOVES. This pattern and the Junebug are what convinced to bu y the Sew Fab 2013 bundle!

A beautiful Sally Dress from Littlest Pretty Things

Sadie Grace Nightgown by Seamingly Smitten- perfect for those hot summer days, if in a lightweight fabric. Here's my previous attempt.

Classic footed PJ's from Peek-a-Boo Patterns

Reversible wrap tee from Craftiness is Not Optional for Birch Fabrics. FREE pattern for sizes 12/24 months, 2/3 T and 4/5 T. I will probably make the 12/24 month size for my almost 2 year old skinny Minnie!

I better get sewing, wish me luck!

~Julie (aka Booger!)

 

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Twin Weekend & Adventures at MSQC- Missouri Star Quilt Company!

Guess what?? My sister and I had a TWIN weekend recently...well in the fall. And what do twins do when they get together? They sew of course. Katie already mentioned one of the products of our sewing marathon- the Hokie quilt, partially finished. See the beginnings of her CraZy pieced Hokie quilt here.

wanna make your own crazy pieced/improv quilt? Check out this Craftsy class Katie watched (affiliate link).

 

I'd say we sewed for at least 10 hours! It's nice to have a rotary cutting assistant, so you can just chain piece away....I also didn't have a knee high cutie begging for attention all the time (thanks for watching the baby back home, sweetie!). Katie continued with her Hokie quilt, and together we almost finished the Christmas Table runner for our parents.

In order to SEW lots, you need tons of fabric, right? The airport closest to Katie is St Louis, MO, BUT we had a grand scheme.

Where in the world could we find so much fabric??

Katie and I met in Kansas City, and from there we headed out on a 60 minute drive to the very small town of Hamilton, MO. Our destination- the famed Missouri Star Quilt Company, aka MSQC!

Here, at the Missouri Star Quilt Company!

We had planned out what projects we still needed "supplies" for, and we were ready to spend a few hours in the store looking around and fabric shopping- what better way to spend a Saturday?

So much fabric, so little time!

Observe the chevrons in ALL THE COLORS (and sizes too!). Impressive, eh? (yes, we have Canadian roots!)

'Trying' a long arm quilt

Browsing the amazing quilts on display, most of which are made from precut fabrics. Jenny Doan, the face of MSQC, has many video tutorials demonstrating how to make most of the quilts displayed in the store. We've made the Christmas tree table runner, and we aspire to make one of the precut quilts!

MONSTERS!!

sorry, random folks- we were just trying to get a shot of the pretty quilts!

 

Turndash and zig zag quilts

 

Coloring the rainbow

 

We met one of the co-owners!

one of 6 (7? alot, whatever it is!) Doan children, this dude co-owns the place. Thanks for letting us bug you!

Jenny was out of town that day, but we were happy to meet some other awesome people at MSQC. All the employees were super nice! One of the Doan sisters even helped us figure out the amount of fabric we would need for our quilt dimensions (more on that quilt later...). However, we did get to see the studio where all of Jenny's tutorials are filmed-

My Name is Julie and I Like to Sew! But my sister is really the better quilter, check out her awesome sampler!

If you do want to "meet" Jenny, check out this feature NBC Nightly news aired recently.

A skirt- for a tree, or a human....? You decide.

I rifled through many of the quilts (with permission, of course!).

Neon Dresden Plate awesome-ness (Dresden Plates are those circle thingys)

Rocket Boy quilt!

I think I embarrassed my sister- I pulled out most of the quilts, and couldn't put them back! They were HEAVY!

 

itty bitty charm pack skirt- hoping to make one for my 2 year old cutie

 

Some pretty Christmas projects- It's never too early to start preparing for Christmas 2014!

 

 

Katie liked browsing the quilts, too!

Sorry, I know that's alot of pictures of Yours Truly, I just loved all the quilts I saw! I will try to link to the tutorials that correspond with the quilts when I have time (MSQC peeps, wanna help me out??)
As for our spoils, we bought some charm packs, jelly rolls, fabric by the yard, oh just too much to list! We will post the projects we make, though :)

Missouri Star Quilt Company is definitely worth the trip out to little Hamilton, Missouri (which is a charming little town!), and their online store is so quick- Katie gave me a MSQC gift certificate for Christmas, and I am so looking forward to using it. Just gotta finish some other UFO's first! (UFO=Unfinished Objects, for the uninitiated!). They also have awesome Daily Deals- sign up for their emails!

Me with all our spoils!

 

Katie heading to MSQC's shipping department (aka the old store front) to pick up an item.

MSQC also has long arm quilting services!

This used to be a library, but now it houses MSQC's long arm quilt machines! (the chevron curtains should be a giveaway...). We picked up batting here.

 

Thanks for reading about our TWIN weekend at MSQC Review- you're a trooper for reading all this way! Come back soon! I have some unblogged items I've been meaning to post (funny how having a 2 year old and three week old limits your free time.... but oh so worth it!)

 

P.S. This will be our last TWIN weekend for awhile- Katie's moved overseas for a year....BUT perhaps we could reunite at MSQC and use their awesome retreat center next year...? We'd love it if MSQC hosted something akin to Camp Stitchalot or Sew South that two little twins could sign up for!

 

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