Monthly Archives: August 2011

Monster Work in Progress

Posted on August 28, 2011 by Alyson| 2 Comments

Another To-Do list project: Monster Baby Quilt! No, not an extra large baby quilt, a baby quilt with monsters! I bought these monster “patches” from Jennifer of the Cotton Monster at Crafty Bastards last year. I originally intended to make a new quilt for Caleb, but I can barely get that boy to sleep under a sheet these days, let alone a quilt. I have about a bazillion friends who are pregnant or who have had babies recently, so Monster Baby Quilts just made sense…especially since Crafty Bastards is coming up again soon (October 1st) and I can’t bring myself to shop if I haven’t used what I bought last year! (OK, that’s a lie, I absolutely COULD bring myself to shop, but it wouldn’t be very “responsible” or “adult” of me. *natch*)

The blocks have been randomly pieced around each monster patch – there will be enough for 2 baby quilts when I’m done. This kind of piecing goes quickly until the end when you start measuring & trimming. For me, it also produces a lot of waste, there are lots of little edges that need to be trimmed and they pile up. Still, I love the look.

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Posted in Quilt, WIP

Tagged baby, block print, blue, cotton, Cotton Monster, Crafty Bastards, green, monster, patch, Quilt, Quilting, white

Chartreuse & Co

Posted on August 25, 2011 by Alyson| 2 Comments

Unintentional Copycat Chartreuse & Co is a magical place.

Tucked away, about 3 miles off 270, just before you get to Frederick, MD, there is an older Victorian style farm house. On the property, there is a barn. Actually, there’s three barns. And inside of those barns…oh, the treasures! They are stuffed from the floor to the rafters with the most amazing collection of vintage items you have ever seen. Things from your childhood, things from your mother’s childhood, things from your grandmother’s childhood; displayed, used, repurposed; everything unique.

I can’t even begin to express how much a love this place. The prices are amazing, the pieces are fantastic, and the people are so friendly. Each month, I wait for that third weekend, plotting what I want, hoping they still have that thing that I saw last month and didn’t grab, excited to see what is in store this time around.

Every person I have brought with me to Chartreuse has fallen in love. Everyone discovers the joy of the hunt and the thrill of the find in this place. I never ever leave empty-handed and every month, I wait to go back for more. There’s inspiration in every corner.

If you find yourself in Frederick, MD on the third weekend of any month, LOOK THEM UP. You won’t be sorry.

You can see more pictures from Chartreuse in my flickr set.

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Posted in Inspiration

Wordless Wednesday: Creative Prompts

Posted on August 24, 2011 by Alyson| 2 Comments

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Posted in Wordless

Like Father, Like Son

Posted on August 23, 2011 by Alyson| 1 Comment

I wanted to make a tie for Caleb for the wedding and then I thought to myself, why not make one for Bill as well? I’ve had this nifty Alexander Henry dragon print lying around for ages, and I thought it would make a nice tie. I like the scalloped design in the background.

I already reviewed the Burda Osman Tie pattern I used for Bill’s tie in my post Holiday Gifts: Necktie. I went ahead and left out the tie interfacing/interlining as I did in the last version, again this was quilter’s cotton, though not as heavy as the pirate ship cotton from the last post. Bill commented that he really liked the way the tie tapered a little in the middle, it made tying it easy and made a nice looking knot. All in all, the tie took me about an hour to make. Easy Peesy Lemon Squeezy.

Caleb’s tie was even simpler. For his, I used the Ottobre Designs Boys Tie Pattern. Once again, take the time to copy it out nicely onto pattern paper – you’ll thank yourself later. Note that Ottobre Designs does NOT include seam allowances, you will have to add your own (don’t forget!), depending on what you’re most comfortable with. I added just a quarter inch, standard quilting seam allowance. The toughest part of this pattern is turning the whole tie tube inside out after you’re done sewing. I don’t know why I have such a hard time turning tubes. I have any manner of tools to help me with this task and they never seem to work right. I always end up picking the tube out with a pin! At any rate, that is really, really the toughest part. I promise. If you have a little boy, I encourage you to make this tie! The tail end sticks out because Caleb kept “adjusting” it. In truth, I think he liked it that way. The tail is a little short to put inside a keeper, I might lengthen the pattern next time so the tie will be long enough for a keeper.

Burda Osman Tie Pattern: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ out of 5. Easy, free and yeilds professional results.

Ottobre Designs Boys Tie Pattern: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ out of 5. So easy and free as well, but it needs to be a couple inches longer.

Isn’t he a cutie pie? Yes, I’m biased.

PS. Yet another To-Do-list project down!

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Posted in Clothes, Pattern, Review

Tagged accesssories, Alexander Henry, boy, Burda, burdastyle.com, clothing, cotton, dragon, fabric, free, marriage, menswear, Osman tie, Ottobre Designs, Sewing, tie, wedding

Wedding crafts

Posted on August 22, 2011 by Alyson| Leave a comment

My friend, Valerie, got married this weekend on the beautiful grounds of the Oatlands Plantation in Leesburg, VA. Helping her devise items for the wedding was quite a treat. This was one of our “concoctions” so to speak.

We found this amazing vintage washstand at Chartreuse & Co, a monthly vintage tag sale up in Fredrick, MD. There’ll be a post on that soon too. Inside the upper bowl are little bottles of bubbles, and in the bottom, flowers floating in water. The side pockets were designed to hold the programs using all materials I had on hand – linen from my old kitchen curtains, some embroidered linen upholstery samples that worked with the colors and floral designs on the invitations and brown grosgrain ribbon. Pretty, no?

Wash stand - bubbles, flowers & programs