Springtime Stitch projects

With spring’s creeping up on us (it’s almost March? Seriously?), the Spring 2012 issue of Stitch has crept onto newsstands. Meanwhile, my Hexagon Pouf Ottoman, made for the Alfresco feature, remains firmly indoors despite its hardy skin of outdoor canvas. It’s not that it’s too cold to venture out (this is California, after all); it’s more that I haven’t quite got my bum in gear to clear the garden of the weeds and other assorted debris of winter, so the backyard isn’t the loveliest of places to sit, nor to photograph project samples.

I liked the idea of making a fabric footstool that was a little less bloblike than what I was seeing in shops, so I pulled the structural inspiration from the hexagon print. The quilter in me naturally inclined to piecing the top from triangles of striped fabric, while the shaping is probably my first foray into darts—all the dressmaking books that’ve crossed my work desk taught me something after all.

The other pattern of mine you’ll find in the spring Stitch is for this pair of Bird Collage Tea Towels, made with fused broderie perse and some free-motion embroidered details. You may have to zoom in to get a good look, but I was pleasantly surprised at the branch’s bark-like texture, made by just sewing back and forth. I used a finer thread in the bobbin that was a bit lighter than the top threads, and the occasional dots of bobbin thread add some extra color depth too. Now I’m wondering how it would look with a brown variegated thread…hmm…

Both of these projects are quick and fun, and as usual there’s a lot of other great stuff in the magazine too (I want to make the placemats on the cover!). Check it out.

Sometimes it’s nice to just stitch from a kit

No design to plan, no supplies to track down (except matching Persian yarn when my chain stitch is tighter than the kit apparently intended…grrr).

Are you loving the blue gingham wallpaper from our kitchen? Yeah, me neither. Distracting from the mingitude with gaudy seventies fruit currently beats stripping the paper. Though I should perhaps save “gaudy” for this lurid little number from another vintage kit:

Love at first pork?

Peacocks on Parade giveaway winner

Congratulations to Kim West of A Peach in Stitches—Kim, you should have got an e-mail with a code to get your pattern. Thanks to all who entered and shared their thoughts on PDF patterns. There’s clearly a lot of potential in digital pattern publishing, but also some challenges.

Kim’s comment brings up an excellent point about using PDF patterns:

I like them, but if I could get an app to be able to annotate them, I would probably like them better. I like to write notes on my patterns to let me know where I left off, clarify directions, etc.

I use PDF-XChange Viewer, a free Adobe alternative, for annotating PDFs on my PC all the time—but there’s no version for portable devices. It seems like a no-brainer that there’d be apps out there to mark up PDFs on tablets, but I’m yet to find a good one for Android at least. Certainly nothing as easy as scribbling a few notes in the margin of a printed pattern. Maybe some day…

Thanks again to those who entered—stay tuned for some more giveaways in the coming weeks.

Peacocks on Parade available now! (with giveaway)

If you’ve popped over to my website recently, you may have noticed that Peacocks on Parade is now available as an e-pattern. (The printed version is also available to stores.) Since this is the first pattern I’ve released since the Other so kindly gifted me with an Android tablet, it’s got me thinking about downloadable PDF patterns a bit differently than before.

In some ways, quilt patterns were made for e-reading. I mean, the standard pattern format—5½×8½" sheets from folded letter paper—is a pretty good size for viewing on a 7–10" tablet or e-ink screen. It can be a pain to scroll around full 8½×11" pages on a display that size, but the half page can fit fully on screen and still be legible (depending on the setup of the file and the device configuration, of course). Then you can bring your e-reader to the sewing room to follow the instructions, zoom in on illustrations, etc., and all you have to print are the templates or pattern sheets. Any links in the PDF (I link to tutorials for basic things like binding) are instantly accessible.

But not everybody has an e-reader or tablet (and I’d be the last snake to lead Eve to an Apple). Those half-letter pages are easy enough to print 2 to a page in most PDF software, which gives you essentially the same format you’d get from one of my printed patterns.

There’s been a discussion recently on the Quilt Pattern Designers e-mail list regarding the pricing of PDF patterns—should they be the same as printed versions because you’re paying for the design, or should the lessened manufacturing and inventory costs lead to a lower price? I’ve always thought it’s only fair for digital products to cost less than their physical counterparts (think MP3s vs. CDs), but there were strong feelings the other way too. Inspired by Sister Diane’s candid discussion of pricing and financial viability in the online crafting world (like in this post, including the comments), I’d like to get your thoughts…

To enter the giveaway for a free copy of the Peacocks on Parade e-pattern, just leave a comment below and tell me your thoughts on downloadable patterns for quilting or sewing. Do you buy them? What do you like about them? What don’t you like? How do you feel on the pricing question? You don’t have to go into elaborate detail or answer all these questions, just give me a quick thought or two. Make sure your Blogger profile has an e-mail address or that there’s some way I can contact you if you win. Comments will be open through midnight Pacific Time on Thursday, January 19, and I’ll announce the winner of the free pattern on Friday.

Good luck, and thanks for sharing your opinions!

UPDATE: Just to clarify, the winner will be chosen randomly from the comments. Thanks!

Last Stitch projects of 2011

I’ve been on a bit of a blogging hiatus between the inevitable Christmas crush and some exciting work stuff that must remain under wraps for now, but since we’re ticking the final hours of 2011 away, I thought I’d best get around to posting my projects from the Winter and Gifts issues of Stitch—I think they’re still on newsstands, so I’m not totally out of date!

I was thrilled to see my Wool Petals Pillow on the cover. If you’ve got a stash of wool, it’s one of those deceptively simple projects that looks more luxe than it really deserves to. Unfortunately the pillow is now stashed in the closet to keep little claws from “inspecting” it…

Said claws thankfully don’t seem to be as interested in my other wool project for the Winter issue, the Silver Dollar Rug. The Other had a grey wool coat that was getting no use here in California, so I felted it and cut it into big circles as a larger-scale riff on penny rugs. We moved this summer into a house with wood floors, so we’re finally able to enjoy fun throw rugs.

I’ve long thought trapunto was ripe for a modern interpretation, and this Chain-Link Trapunto Pillow was the eventual result. The slight brown tinge in the image isn’t a misprint: the silk I used was cross-woven with teal in one direction and brown in the other, which is especially striking for dimensional techniques like this. I love how the pillow turned out and I’m itching to make some similar pillows with other designs.

It’s a little late to be showing a tree skirt—though I could certainly use with a head start for next Christmas! This Color-Wheel Tree Skirt is a fun way to use a large-scale holiday print.

Patterns for the previous projects are all in the Winter 2011 issue of Stitch; these Snowflake Table Linens are in the Gifts 2011 issue. There’re placemats, napkins, and napkin rings included, all made with English paper piecing using snowflake prints and some snowflake embroidery. I always say the best thing about snowflakes is that they’re festive for the holidays but still seasonal if the decorations don’t get put away on Boxing Day. (Which, needless to say, never happens around here.)

I hope you all had a lovely holiday and wish you happy sewing in the new year!