Taxday2011. A little coupon code for the shop: 10% off today only, good on all fabrics, regular price and sale! If you missed this one, check back for future coupons!

Nevermind that I have about a gazillion other things to get done, I was feeling inspired to sew some blocks for the quilts for quake survivors fundraiser.  I decided to tackle my formidable stash of solids for some ultra-mod picture frame log cabin blocks.  These four are my favorites thus far, but I still have a stack of 2" strips and 3" squares, so I'm sure there will be more blocks to come.

Now, don't try this at home. Unless of course you like the adrenaline rush that comes from say walking down the stairs with a bowl of egss balanced on your head, because I'm guessing that's kinda what it was like. I laid out scraps of solids on my cutting mat in a 3x3 grid and aligning my ruler with the grid lines, cut through the whole row at once! And then oh so carefully without daring to breathe, lifted up the ruler, moved it over and did it again, and again and again, rotated the mat and repeated.  Phew.
Yes, maybe I could've stacked them together in a few individual piles, but I'm not very skilled at cutting through more than just a few layers at a time (most were double if not triple layered already).  And this was just so much more exciting!

It's taken me longer that I had hoped to get around to this post, but I suppose that's normal for me. (Except for shipping, I ship fabric out lickity split!)  If you've been at all paying attention, you've most likely noticed a new link on the side bar, and my news isn't really new anymore, but here goes:

First off, name change.  This has been in the works for awhile now, and once my business registration came up for renewal last month I made the change official.  Hopefully this one sticks.   It's simple, which is a good sign.  I'm still working on the graphics...  I guess I should probably put on a bird on it somewhere.  I do live in Portland after all, and everything looks better with a bird on it, or so I hear!

Secondly, with all this weird uncomfortable social networking stuff going on over at etsy, I felt it was time to branch out and try my hand at a stand-alone storefront.  Also a work-in-progress, but I currently have about 100 fabrics listed and will be adding more over the next month.  The big, no I mean HUGE advantage for customers is that I can offer multiple yards in half yard increments on the spot, with inventory info visible on the product page.  So cool! I'll also be able to fully customize the look and interface. (Once I learn a little html, that is. )  I'll maintain a presence on etsy for the time being - mostly with fat quarter and yard bundles - as a safety net, but I'm pretty excited.   

LOOK! I can sew. Part 2.
half square triangles.
I realize it’s not a completed project, but it is sewing nonetheless. The fabric is from a charm pack of the upcoming Modern Workshop collection from Oliver + S (due in April), and paired with a white Bella solid. Beautiful bright colors and a good balance of large and small scale prints.
They were made using the full square method shown here. Basically, stack your two squares RST and sew ¼ inch around all sides. Cut in half diagonally, keep fabric in place, and cut again on the opposite diagonal. Press open and VOILA! Four half square triangles. Much easier in my opinion than marking the diagonal and sewing to either side, or (gasp!) cutting first on the diagonal and sewing on the bias. Especially great because I can use my quarter inch guide foot which means as close to perfect seams as I could ever hope to get. I also used my rotating cutting mat, which makes cutting the diagonals a breeze. I would lay three to four squares out at once, cut one direction, rotate the mat, cut the other direction. In the video, it shows sewing one complete square at a time, but I made mine by chain piecing, sewing one seam of the whole batch, then the next, and so on.  (Can you tell that I'm all about stream-lining the process?)


Now that they’re done, I just need to figure out what to do with them! So many options…

Which one is your favorite?

The stack. 
 I like beautiful books as much as the next person, and if they're about architecture or quilting, even better! This is the stack that's been frequenting my bedside table lately, for that last minute inspiration before I drift off to sleep. The book on top is my latest acquisition -  Quilting Line + Color by Yoshiko Jinzenji.  AMAZING!  I pre-ordered it a few months back from Amazon based on the title and cover alone, and was not disappointed. Very fresh, and all that white!  It reminds me of a quote from one of my favorite books, Landscape Painted with Tea by Milorad Pavic: 
".... because it matters what kind of emptyness is left behind by people and things." 

Big changes are coming.  I tell ya.  BIG changes.  Just wait.  (but don't hold your breath)

Finn. He doesn't care so much. He's too dang cute to care. and he's also a cat.

Improv owl zip. This is the first of what may or may not be more posts in a “Look! I can sew!” series. For those of you (including myself) that were beginning to wonder if I really know how to sew, or if it was all just a ruse to support my fabric habit.... YES! I do know how to sew.
This little zip was one of several I made for the PAHM in Bellingham; and the only one not to find a new home. I may or may not list it in the shop this next week. Ah, so decisive of me, eh? These zips are fun to make and a great way to use up scraps but can be rather time-consuming if you’re like me and fuss over the fabric selections. Too bad I can’t just sew blind-folded!
I fussy-cut the owls and then added to them in an impov log cabin style, until they measured a bit over 9”, trimmed to square, and completed the zip as normal.
Maybe next time, I’ll take some in process pics. Maybe. But I wouldn’t hold my breath if I were you.