I started a doll quilt today

I got the pieces cut out this afternoon:



Yes, those are my freakish toes at the bottom. :)

I'm following a tutorial/sew along at the site Sew Mama Sew. It seems pretty easy so far. I've done a small bit of quilting in my life - made a log cabin square and machine quilted it in middle school - I still have it, and use it as a hot pad. My mother was in a quilting circle when I was in middle and high school, so I've done a bit of hand quilting on other people's quilts. This is my first solo quilting project.

I cut the squares all from fabric left from other projects, except for the fairy and the women - I cut into fresh fat quarters for those :)

I should really be working on the Blythe Runway Challenge, but hey, procrastination is fun ;) And I've been wanting to do a small quilting project for awhile.

My fabric stash

I just started following the blog Sew Mama Sew (there's a doll quilt tutorial there I'm soooo starting tomorrow). Today they had a survey, and there's a nice little fat quarter prize involved, so what the hey! :) Plus it will get me actually writing something substantial here.

* What do you usually sew?
Doll clothing (for Blythe dolls mostly), miscellaneous small projects, ren faire garb

* When you shop for fabric, what size cuts do you usually buy? (i.e. If you see something beautiful, but you don’t have a use for it right away, how much do you buy?)
If I really like it, a half yard. If I LOOOOOVE it, a yard. I make small stuff, don't need more than that! If it comes in fat quarters, I buy one if I like it, 2 if I looooove it.

* Do you buy on impulse or do you go out looking for something you need?
A mix - mostly, I impulse buy, but sometimes I have a theme for a swap that sends me out on a mission.

* Are you a pre-washer? If you are, do you wash your fabric before you need it, or only when you’re ready to use it?
I'm a pre-washer. I don't want dye staining my dollies, or anyone else's dolls.

* Do you iron it?
Yes, though not always immediately. I try to do it as soon as it comes out of the dryer.

* How do you sort it? (color, print size, collection, etc.)
Theoretically by color. In practice... not so much organization :)

* Do you have any special folding techniques?
I generally try to fold them to about the same size as fat quarter bundles tend to be folded to.

* How do you store your fabric?
Some of it is in the cubes shown here:


The rest is in the closet on a sweater shelf thing that hangs from the closet pole.

* What tips do you have for building up a well-rounded stash?
Have a mother who has been stashing fabric since before you were born. Raid her stash frequently.

* When do you say enough is enough?
When you start feeling uncomfortable and guilty. :D

* What are some of your favorite stash-busting projects?
Empire waist dolly dresses!

* Do you have a current favorite print in your stash? Let’s see it!


I have two yards. I love it so much I can't decide what to make it into.

* What’s your definition of the perfect stash?
Neat, well organized, so that when I'm ready to work I can just grab it and start working.

World's Smallest Postal Service

Found via Nut and Bee:

The World’s Smallest Postal Service (WSPS) will send a tiny, tiny letter for you. The miniature wax seal is unbearably cute.

Nut and Bee themselves have some pretty cute stuff - I need to order more buttons from them :)

Read Coraline

Browse Inside this book Get this for your site

I found this linked from somewhere yesterday, and spend this morning and early afternoon reading it. It's a neat story, I can't wait to see the movie.

Illustration Friday - "Flawed"

I can't decided if he's flawed but still loved, or was thrown away because he was flawed by someone who he thought would love him forever. Either way makes a good story, doesn't it?

I've been doing Illustration Friday since the first of the year, but this is the first I've posted. I hand drew this in my sketchbook, scanned it, and colored it in Photoshop. I'm rubbish at colorising in PS :) Next time, I'll just use colored pencils and scan it!

I linked to it on Flickr from IF, rather than here. Maybe next time.