I got my sewjo back!

sewjo \ˈsō-jō\ noun- 1.self-confidence in one's ability to sew, 2.the ability to bounce back from a negative attitude about sewing, 3.the ability to make awesomeness out of fabric and thread.

Yes, I did just make up a word, and I love it. Feel free to use it often : ). I know my last post was a little whiny, and it didn't seem like I enjoy sewing at all. Sorry about that. I'm new at this.  I get discouraged sometimes. If it has ever happened to you too, fear not! I have some advice. This is how I got my sewjo back:

 1. Take some time to organize. Organization is the key to happiness. At least in my book. I always feel more motivated when everything is accessible, in its place, and looking pretty.  That goes for work, home, and craft room.  Hubby helped me with this one.  He made me an awesome pegboard to organize all my quilting stuff.  My poor rulers had been shoved in a too small basket, my rotary cutters were in a bucket and my mat was tossed wherever it was out of the way until it was needed.  Now, everything is in its place.  I even have little baskets for my starch and basting spray.  Perfect! I've ordered pegboard paper towel holders for my ribbon since the pegboard replaced my ribbon rack.  Can't wait 'til they arrive, although, don't ask me what I'm going to do with my self-healing mat... (P.S.- that's my lonely crayon block fabric in the bottom left corner)  Can you guess what my lonely crayon color is?

Bright green pegboard to match my bright green yarn rack!

2. Sew something.  Anything.  Anything other than what was annoying you in the first place.  Following step one, I was still in my organizing phase.  I took the too small ruler basket with its baby nursery purple liner, and decided it had to go.  The liner, not the basket.  Baskets are great when you have lots of stuff.  I realized that I might have just enough leftover fabric from my sewing machine cover to make a new matching liner for the basket.  I had no idea how to do this, and I was totally winging it, but I did it!  It felt sooo good.  Gussets and all, I totally made it up.  It fits, it matches...perfect!

Before 

After

3. Let loose, have some fun, and experiment!  You never know unless you try, right? Besides, you might just be pleasantly surprised.  Grab some scraps and wing it.  It's a tiny bit liberating to know that there are no rules or boundaries. (I know, it's ironic that I complained about this in my last post).  One of my quilt guild assignments was to make a name tag for our July meeting.  I knew that I wanted to try and combine all my fiber crafts into my name tag, so I went back to my roots and cross-stitched my name.  Then I grabbed some leftovers from my sewing machine cover/basket liner and went to town.  For a second, I tried to figure out the math part of it, and then I said to myself, "Whatever, I have enough stuff to make another one if it doesn't work out."  I think it turned out pretty cute.  I'm still trying to decide if I should do some blanket stitching and add a crochet edge.  I'd love to work in knitting, but I don't see how that's possible.  Eh, I have two more days to experiment and try to figure it out.

North Jersey Modern Quilt Guild Name Tag

4.  Do something completely different.  Before I had the courage to tackle my lonely crayon block (sans any helpful directions), I tried to distract myself with other stuff.  I attempted to reorganize my DMC embroidery flosses.  I printed out a checklist, figured out what I was missing, hit up Michael's for 25% off, wound new bobbins, blah...blah..blah.  Then I crocheted my mom this super adorable tea cup pincushion. (Shhhh...it's a secret! Don't tell her!) Oh, wait.  My mom is my only follower...sorry for ruining your surprise, Mom! : )  But, seriously, how cute is it!?!?  By the way,  I got it from the new Joann's app.  If you have an iPad and haven't downloaded the new Joann's app for it, close this blog and do it now.  It has some great inspiration and patterns. I <3 free patterns.

Teacup pincushion for Mom from Joann's app.

5. Claim your sewjo.  By now, you should be feeling pretty good.  You've conquered a task or two, you've organized, experimented and created: successfully! Go ahead and tackle what was irking you. I actually had fun designing my ideas for the lonely crayon block.  It was the math I had a problem with.  I had to create a 10.5" block.  Apparently, a 9 patch and a 10.5" block don't go so well together.  The closest I could get was 10.625".  I figured that was close enough, so I made my block.  Then, I just trimmed it accordingly.  I think it came out okay.  I went with option number one.  What do you think?

Lonely Crayon Block- Brown

P.S.- Sorry about my awful iPhone photography.  Photography is the next thing on my to-learn list if I'm going to keep this blog thing going.

Hope you've got some sewjo! Until next time, happy sewing!
xo Jess

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I'm too OCD for this...

Seriously.  Go ahead and laugh, but I'm not joking.  Along my very short quilting journey, I have struggled with my quest for perfection.  I'm one of "those" people, and I can't help it.  (Just imagine how I was at my wedding dress fitting...)  So, when it comes to crafting, I have pulled out more stitches than you could imagine, but I have fought a good fight.

I came up with a mantra.  Well, not on purpose, but I found myself saying the same thing over and over in my head.  "It's not perfect but..." and I would finish with "that's what makes it handmade," and "that's what makes it one of a kind," or "nobody is going to notice that this stitch is 1/32nd of an inch to the left of the others."  This mantra helped me to finish 3 quilts. (P.S.-machine binding is not for me, because that extra little seam that pops up on the back makes me MENTAL...anybody know any good tips on that?)

Enter Craftsy BOM.  July: Dresden Plates.  Circles.  I can't even make a circle with a compass.  Never could.  Now you want me to SEW one?  I've barely mastered straight lines!!! I watched the video lesson.  Twice.  Hers were not perfect, yet mine had to be.  I even got the little rotary circle cutter (which is pretty cool, by the way).  I sewed my first circle...very slowly.  I only went about 4 stitches before I would shift and re-align.  It actually came out pretty good.  I would recommend that method...but, it was too small.  Apparently you aren't supposed to sew dresdens with a scant quarter inch seam because they will come out bigger than intended.  Woops. Soo, I make another circle.  Same method, not so perfect circle. By this point my patience has worn thin and I just want these things done.  They're not perfect.  It's not the end of the world.  Do yourself a favor.  Let it go.  You will be much happier while quilting. Besides, I'm grumpy enough for the both of us!

My perfectly imperfect Dresden Plates

I don't mean for this post to be a gripe session, but here's another issue I have.  I need directions.  Specific ones, and lots of them.  This whole Modern Quilt Guild thing might not be for me.  Our first assignment was to make a "lonely crayon" block.  Perhaps you have heard of this before, but I had not. Adorable name, really. You choose the color you use least in your quilting- you're "lonely crayon", if you will.  You're allowed to use white and one other color.  You make a 10.5" square or a 5.5" x 10.5" block. Easy-squeezy, right? Um...wait...what?  That's it?  What's it supposed to look like?  What size do I cut the squares?  Should I do stars?  Half square triangles? Dresden? (Kidding!) Oh...I'm supposed to figure it out by myself?  Excuse me, while I go weep in the corner and console myself with a Skinny Cow Chocolate Truffle bar....

Ok, ok, I'll put my big girl panties on and design some blocks.  That's right, design.  All. By. My. Self.  I mean, they're not exactly totally original or anything, but I pretty much just played around with different 9 patch arrangements.  (I can't reinvent the wheel you know!) But, uh...now I have to figure out the math.  Why must this be so difficult!!!!???  Here are my options (I'll post the product when finished):

Hubby likes 1, 2, and 6.  Mom likes 1 and 2.  I kind of like my original flower basket-y thing (#5).  What's your preference?  Leave a post and let me know! :-)

Happy sewing! xo

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Awkward...

I created this blog about a month ago, and have yet to write anything! I started to...honest. I hemmed and I hawed...I wrote and I revised...I trashed and I rewrote...I edited and I...you get it. And then, I joined a quilt guild! I was politely asked if I had a blog.  "I do," I hesitantly responded, "but, I...um...haven't written anything yet." How embarrassing! I explained that I was having trouble with an introductory post, and they all said to skip it!  So here I am, pulling the trigger, and writing a non-introductory-introductory blog post.

I can't help myself though, so here is just a little bit about me. I only started quilting about 2 3 (!) months ago, but I'm already hooked.  I've known how to knit and crochet since I was a kid, but have really only gotten back into it in the past 7 or 8 years.  I used to cross-stitch quite often, but it's taken a backseat to everything else.  So, while I'm no expert, I thought I would go ahead and toss my ideas out there.  Share the little tips and tricks that I've learned (and perhaps share a bit of my fiber obsessions) with the rest of the crafting world.  I've learned so much in a short time, and can't wait to share it with you.

Oh, wait, before you go! Here are two quick pics of my very first quilt! Pre and post binding.  It's the Sophie Car Seat Quilt over at Moda Bake Shop. (One of my very favorite sites!) I used Hoo's in the Forest by Doohickey Designs for Riley Blake.

Thanks for stopping by!

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