I need your advice on a few projects I’ve got going on. First is this vintage quilt I picked up at the thrift store recently. It is super fantastic, there is no doubt. The colors are super saturated and somehow read neon and pastel at the same time. The prints are flat out amazing…

…but the thing is ginormous! Queen size? King size? I don’t know but it weighs a ton. I’m thinking of cutting it down to a twin size for my daughter’s bed. What do you think? I’m pretty sure I can just cut it to size and then hand bind it. I want to use a pattern binding (stripes or polka dots), but is that too much? If I just do a solid color, which color?

And then what to do with the rest? There might be enough for curtains for my daughter’s room, but is that too crazy? Is a pillow to boring and matchy matchy? Advice! Direction! I need you!

Second is this cheetah print. Leopard really, but my youngest son is obsessed with cheetahs and he is convinced this is a cheetah print. He has requested a jacket made out of it. I’m planning on using the Study Hall Jacket pattern. How do I do it so it’s not too costumey? I was thinking of pairing it with that dark green jersey. That’s one option. Another is dying the print:

Another idea is to do more of a color block thing with the print–like Shauna from Shwin and Shwin did. I don’t want the thing to look goofy. I mean he’s 4, so he can rock goofy, but still. Any ideas?! Any advice?

The house is always so depressing after taking the christmas tree down. It just looks so sad and naked. But this year is different. We finished some spiffy new curtains right before christmas (I’ll show you later, because damn curtains are hard to photograph and really they aren’t incredibly interesting) and because I got this print right before christmas. I’ve been itching to get it up ever since it came. The print is called “Noodles Over Salzburg” and it was made by an old family friend. I think my sister has the same one (right, Katie?). Anyway, I love it. It’s ridiculous and awesome.

Thank you, everyone, for all the nice things you said about the new site. A couple of you asked who designed it and hey! it was me! My husband did all the actual making of it, while I just said, “here, put it here, or maybe here, no move it over!”

If you have any more questions you can ask them in the comment section and I can answer them there too! I know I’m late to the threaded comments party, but I finally made it. And it’s awesome. So we can reply to one another and have real discussions there.  It’s like you came over, except you have to bring your own coffee.

I’m having a hard time getting back into the swing of things after vacation.  It doesn’t help that my basement studio, which I thought (as I froze my fingers off sewing in december) would be heaven in the summertime, is stuffy and airless. Not pleasant one bit.  So most evenings I’ve been reading in the air conditioned bliss of my bedroom.  I did manage to sew up these two cuffed pants for two brothers. When my good friend had her second baby I started making a baby quilt just because that’s what you do when a baby is born, right? Well, after cutting and piecing some and loosing faith in my design, I realized this mama doesn’t need another baby blanket. Because once a baby is born everybody makes one, so you end up with 10 and then you go and have another baby and another 10 blankets show up on your doorstep.  So I thought I would make some pants for her boys instead. She gave me some sweet japanese prints for the cuffs (you can see them better here and here). I’ve never really been drawn to cutey cute fabrics, but the japanese somehow make cute things a little sophisticated–well with fabric anyway. The fit on both is way off, but we’ll just say they’re for growing in to.  The little ones are big but fine. I used a shorts pattern for the bigger size and just lengthened it and now they are super wide leg and a little girly.  I’ll see how they fit and maybe take them in (wow this is thrilling. are you still reading? congratulations).

I’m a little low on inspiration these days, but you my dear readers are full of it (ha!). So leave me a link to a blog, a photo, an article that has made you turn off the computer and work (or play).

thanks!