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WHO EVEN AM I?

"Dear Friend, I like to start my notes to you as if we’re already in the middle of a conversation. I pretend that we’re the oldest and dearest friends, as opposed to what we actually are, people who don’t know each other’s names and met in a chat room where we both claimed we’d never been before. What will NY152 say today I wonder. I turn on my computer, I wait impatiently as it connects. I go on-line and my breath catches in my chest until I hear three little words: You’ve got mail. I hear nothing, not even a sound on the streets of New York, just the beat of my own heart. I have mail. From you."

- Kathleen - "You've Got Mail"

I'm going to take a note from Kathleen and start this post as though we are in the middle of a conversation, as opposed to coming back from a year-long blogging absence. You've Got Mail is my all time favorite movie and one I can watch over and over. It is my anthem to autumn.

We are on the cusp of September - almost autumn - here in the Pacific Northwest of Canada. We are so close to the season of leaves changing, crisp days, crunchy apples, good books, warm drinks and cozy evenings. Can you feel it?

The past year has been a good one. Lots of things have shifted and changed in our lives, mostly for the good.

(Side observation: Can I just say how GOOD it feels to be sitting here writing? Words are my weakness. Documenting our life is something I miss here on this blog.)

Last summer, I released my first non-quilt sewing pattern, the Finch Bucket. It was named after I posted a picture on the gram of my newest little baby, Atticus, sitting in it. The literary reference is absolutely intended.* The pattern went through much prototyping and testing since this photo.

Over the past year, I've had hundreds of people share their makes, their customized buckets, their joy at making their own Finch Bucket. Many people have made several or even dozens (!!!!) of these themselves. There is also another group of friends that have bought the pattern in excitement, but then some fear crept in and they are a little bit nervous to start.

Don't be. I've got your back.
"Recite that to yourself every time you feel you're losing your nerve. I know you worry about being brave, this is your chance. Fight. Fight to the death." - Joe Fox

Another movie reference? What can I say except "I can't help myself."¹

Funning aside, I would like to help people conquer their fear of bag making, or of the sewing machine, or whatever other reason is holding them back from making a Finch Bucket. If this is you, let me say this - you can do it.

Maybe you fall in the other camp - the "I've made so many I could make them in my sleep" camp??

If you happen to follow my Instagram (IG) handle, you likely know we are hosting a Finch Bucket Make Along, launching September 1, 2019. This is geared towards ALL levels of sewists, from the "never made a bag" or "I have barely turned on my new sewing machine" friends to the "I make bags all the time and want a challenge" group. I'm hoping that the hashtag #finchbucketmakealong will generate inspiration and encouragement to all the participants.

So, here's the plan.

FINCH BUCKET MAKE ALONG SCHEDULE

We will be kicking off our make along on September 1, 2019. There is no official way to join, except that we will be doing the info sharing over here, via my blog. You can definitely ask questions here or on IG and I will do my absolute best to answer all in a timely fashion.
Bear in mind that IG only lets me see a certain number of notifications before they fall off my feed, so if you're asking a question, maybe ask it on one of my posts to ensure I actually see it.

- September 1 - This first week will focus on how to choose fabrics, favorite tools, interfacing etc. I will be doing a techniques post for the new sewist/bag maker. I will also include another post with ideas for the more adventurous/experienced bag maker/sewist.

- September 7 - This marks the middle of our make along. I am hoping that those joining in will be sharing their makes/works in progress (WIPs) on Instagram, using the hashtag #finchbucketmakealong. I'll be following the hashtag and will be able to see the posts and will share some with your permission only of course. Please be aware that private IG accounts will not be view-able to anyone not following you, so I may not be able to see your WIPs/makes. I will check in with everyone here on the blog to see how people are doing and if there are any issues or questions people need help with.

- September 15 - Our make along wraps up and hopefully everyone who joined has a new fun bucket to use for whatever they choose. I will also be drawing 3 people from the hashtag to win a prize (the drawing will happen on the 16th PST time). The prizes will be announced closer to the time, but I can say that I have had some wonderful people donate some prizes, and I will be including a few special treats of my own. I haven't and will likely not list the exact prizes until later or until they are won as I don't want this make along to be prize-centric. I would rather this be more of a journey in cheering each other on, helping each other out, conquering any fears of bag making/sewing we may have and progressing in our own skills as makers. Prizes are the icing on the cake, but not the main course.

To get your copy of the Finch Bucket library, click here. It includes two different sizes, one massive and one medium size, and two different variations for each size, one with patchwork and the original bucket style. It also comes in both metric and imperial measurements.

That sums it up I think. Let me know if I'm missing anything obvious. And I'd love it, of course, if you felt like dropping a comment below. Are you planning on joining in the fun? What are you looking forward to? Or you could even let us know a little bit about yourself. 
Really, anything to let me know I'm not sending this out into a void would be wonderful. 😛

How do we feel about blogs? Are they still a thing? I have no idea. But, this is definitely more fun than I remembered blogging to be. Maybe because I'm older? Who knows. But I like it so I'm thinking I'll keep it up for a bit.

I'm off to get these blog posts up and photographed/filmed. And maybe I'll sneak in a listen to the greatest movie ever while stitching on some ideas.


* reference to the character Atticus Finch in the book "To Kill a Mockingbird" by Harper Lee
¹Frank Navasky - You've Got Mail

fun things are coming

I'm just popping in to say I'm SO excited to have released my own podcast channel.

I've discovered that I find it much easier to podcast than blog, and simultaneously share wips (works in progress) and other projects. Go figure. :)

You can find my channel at: 

Stitch Mischief Channel

We will be covering works in progress of all types, finished projects, project bags, yarny goodness and much more. 

I hope you'll come join us!

xx, 

Jade

paperie booklet pouch

When Aneela Hoey released her latest pattern, the Booklet Pouch, I knew I would be making one. I have a crush on pouches. Shocker, I know. :)

As usual, with this type of pouch, I find the assembling of materials and prepping to be the longest step. I chose to use some carefully hoarded fabric from the Paperie line by Amy Sinbaldi. Once I had everything together, the actual making of the pouch took much less time than I anticipated.

Here area a few tips I've compiled for when you make your Booklet Pouch.

1) Read all the instructions through. And when you've done that and are ready to start making it, do it again. All the way to the end.

2) When attaching binding to the pockets and outer layers, the pattern says to sew just inside the fold line. I recommend stitching at maybe 3/8 of an inch as it will make turning it easier.

3) See step one. If you happen to be shortening a separating zipper, follow the instructions at the end of the pattern. Don't be cocky and think you've got it covered because you've sewed dozens (or hundreds) of zippers in the past. Don't assume that it will magically fix itself either. I'm sure you're sensing a bit of a lesson learned here.

See these adorable little tabs I added after the fact to my pouch? They're not part of the pattern but are actually a fix for something I should have known better than to do. I was so excited when I finished my pouch so quickly, I patted myself on the back for being so speedy (ha)! With my family as an audience, I zipped up the exterior zipper and then the zip pull just kept on going and went right off the pouch. It's not supposed to do that.

Quickly looking at the pattern, I realized I missed a vital step. (See step one above. Despite having read the pattern at least twice, I may have glazed over a little excerpt on the last page.)

I put the pull back on and then thought I'd be clever: I attached little tabs that matched the binding to sort of extend it around the corner and over the zipper ends. Proud of myself, I went to attach my zipper and close my book - it turned out I had the pull on the wrong side of the zipper. (For real.)

So, I ripped those tabs off (they were ugly anyways) and pondered what to do (short of ripping out the whole pouch). Once I put the zipper back together (CORRECTLY), I thought of ribbon. Ribbon would work. Scroll up to see the cute little ribbon tabs I added. They so adorably cover my glaring rookie mistake.

If you're nervous about sewing with vinyl or attaching binding, don't be. The pattern walks you through the steps beautifully. And if you think my experience scared me away from building another one, you're wrong. I'm already plotting the fabrics. 

lift off

I'm having a hard time wrapping my mind around how fast the last year has gone by. So many things have changed as we've adjusted to having our newest little member in our family.

Photo by the amazing Brandie of Brandie Grant Photography

Now that our little baby is over a year old, I've been working hard to get back to my making while still juggling homeschooling 2 children (3 next year!!), running our home and caring for all the littles.

There are a lot of balls being juggled constantly, but I seriously wouldn't want a different life. (I've worked full time with three kids before and it is not something I would willingly revisit, at this point in our life. I would rather do with less and be with my littles, than have a bigger income and be without them. Disclaimer: I know this is not necessarily an option or the right fit for everyone. It's just what works for us.)

So, let's see - what have I been up to this past year? (I may have knit a few socks and made a few quilts.)

Just before we were pregnant with Atticus, I began to dabble with yarn dyeing. Once pregnant though, the smell of dyeing and making in general was just something I couldn't do while battling nausea and exhaustion. I was in survival mode. Thankfully, the desire to craft and make, and the ability to dye yarn came back after his birth. (Thank GOODNESS!)

In the last year, I've resumed playing with yarn and I am slowly developing my yarn business. I tend to be self-critical, so I'm constantly reminding myself that building a successful (sustainable!) home business takes time, hard work and patience. And I'm learning to trust my gut and not question or doubt myself as much. 

My favorite part is the color. I absolutely love getting inspired by a photo or a fabric and planning a color of yarn that would work for that perfect project. It's the same reason I quilt and play with fabric.

Honestly, the fact that people want to buy the yarn is just icing on the cake. (You can find my shop here.)

I've finished knitting my first sweater using yarn I dyed myself. Being involved in every step of the creative process, from picking the colors and watching them fade into each other while knitting was so magical.
Pattern: So Faded by Andrea Mowry.
Colors (top to bottom): Caribbean Blue, Video Killed the Radio Star, Huckleberry Memory, Bella, Sweet Dreams.

I've also released my first knitting pattern, for DK weight socks on Ravelry. 

Simply Socks DK

If you've followed me for a while, you'll know I have a thing for making project bags and pouches as well. I love making and having beautiful pouches to store my knitting. 

I had new labels printed!

Out of necessity and the inability to find the perfect sweater size project bag, I am now making a large sweater knitting bag pattern. (More info to come soon!)

I have all sorts of things planned for the near future. Some are fun and quite new to me. But I'm so excited. I just wanted to say Hi and touch base. It's been a while. 

xo,

Jade

Anchor's Aweigh - Lap Size

Hey everybody! Remember a million years ago when I used to blog and made this quilt?

(You can find that blog post here.)

One of my most frequently asked questions is how I did the math to scale down the pattern from a 90" x 96" quilt to a lap size of 60" x 64".

So, I've done up a little cheat sheet with the measurements for each row per the instructions in the original pattern, found here. You will still need the original pattern, just simply use the new measurements. If you come across something I missed, please let me know.

Click here to download the cheat sheet.

And because everything is better once you put a baby on it, here is our newest addition.

xo,
Jade

Heartland Blog Tour - My Maker's Tote

I was extremely flattered to be asked to be part of the Heartland Blog Tour. It is being hosted by Amy Friend of During Quiet Time, and features this gorgeous collection by Pat Bravo. I have loved Art Gallery Fabrics since I came across them about 4 years ago. They had me at first touch. The hand of these cottons is awesome.


For this project, I chose to make a Maker's Tote. I've started one in the past but made the mistake of putting it down and figured this would give me the impetus to get both finished. We'll see how that goes.


If you've followed along on my crafting journey, you know I'm a major lover of pouches. All sorts of pouches and have conquered, for the most part, my fear of zippers.
This particular pouch was a learning experience to say the least. BUT, I finished it. I'm pretty sure I over-batted certain parts of it which lead to a battle between my fingers and the binding. My fingers won but there were a few casualties. :)

When I first saw this collection, I knew I had to include the owls. They are just too cute.

I love how large this pouch is, even as the smaller size. And the zipper is a separating zipper meaning the pouch can open completely, really opening up the space inside.

There are also 4 pockets on the inside, with different capacities for holding stuff. (And hold stuff they will - this is the perfect crafting/knitting bag.)

I opted out of making the zip pocket on the outside of the back of the pouch. (I admit, that style of zip is NOT my forte.)

Isn't the storage capacity awesome? By tonight this pouch will be loaded and ready to roll.

I love how these fabrics worked with the pouch - the large scale prints played perfectly with the large surfaces. Heartland fabrics are now available in stores.

For more great projects made out of these awesome prints, follow along with the blog tour, as outlined below.

November 7 Debbie
November 8 Jess and Charise (twice as good today!)
November 9 Jade
November 10 Amanda
November 11 Kari
November 14 Stephanie
November 15 Christopher
November 16 Kerry
November 17 Nichole
November 18 Krista

Thanks for reading along!

xx Jade

the happiest of rainbows

By this point in my blogging history, I have come to accept that I am not the most prolific of bloggers.

The past couple seasons have been very busy and very, well, encompassing.


A few blog posts back I updated you on my recent sad history of recurrent miscarriages. I felt like a follow up post was needed.


Last December, I put myself on the waiting list to be accepted to our BC Women's Hospital Recurrent Loss Clinic. There was a few months of waiting but I was ok with that. After an initial meet with the doctor in charge of our case, I received a few blood tests searching for possible conditions that could be causing the miscarriages. I later was on the receiving end of a hysteroscopy, which I would be happy to not have to repeat, EVER.
But all the tests came back with the same answer. Nothing was wrong. My thyroid is perfectly fine. I don't have any rare conditions that attack embryos, and since I already had three children, clearly, I am capable of having children.


I asked the doctors about my own personal theory as to why I was miscarrying and they basically said nothing could be proven and that new information comes out all the time.
I tried not to be disappointed that they weren't interested in the research, but I figured, I'd done the research, made the necessary changes, and maybe that would be enough.


Let me just say this first. I am not a doctor. This post isn't to give medical advice. It is just reflective of my discoveries and my own personal experience.
So here is how I ended up with the research that led me to believe that I could try for the final and fourth time to have our fourth baby.
When I switched family doctors, my new doctor ran a gamut of blood tests. This was done right after I had surgery the month after my third miscarriage. The blood test included testing for my B12 levels as well as my AST (aspartate aminotransferase) and ALT (alanine aminotransferase), and my thyroid function.
This was the first time someone tested me for B12, that I know of. My score was 248, with a healthy range being 156-698, according to this laboratory. While it wasn't super low, it was on the lower end of the spectrum and through research, I learned that Canada has a somewhat broad range, where as other countries have a much narrower range of what is an acceptable B12 range.
So I started researching links between "low" b12 and recurrent miscarrying. I found countless studies and research indicating a link. Simply put, from what I could determine, low B12 while pregnant could cause your body to abort the baby at about 5-6 weeks. While this wouldn't explain my first miscarriage (I saw a heart beat but the HCG levels were quite low for where the baby was in the pregnancy), it could DEFINITELY explain my second and third miscarriages. Both babies stopped developing at about 5-6 weeks. And throughout all THREE pregnancies, I was breast-feeding my son which further depletes vitamin stores, if not supplementing enough or correctly.
So, I beefed up my B12 intake with an oral methylcobalamin b12. My doctor retested me a month after my supplementing and it had already gone up from 248 to 419.


Fast forward 5-6 months later. During this time, I continued to take my vitamins, my iron and my B12 supplement and tried to generally become healthy again.
We were given the green light to try to conceive again. We waited until our anniversary celebration was over (the idea of being nauseous and exhausted while away was not appealing).


We were pregnant the next month. This pregnancy would be monitored by BC Women's Recurrent Loss Clinic. This meant I had several blood tests early in the pregnancy to make sure my HCG levels were doing what they should. And I would be able to have an ultrasound every two weeks from 6 weeks on. If I made it to twelve weeks, I would graduate from the clinic and move to regular prenatal care.


We were (VERY) cautiously optimistic. My pregnancy symptoms started before I even took a pregnancy test and worsened as I went along (all good things for sure). My kids, being the super curious type, immediately determined I was pregnant by the sudden occurrence of blood tests. They confronted us right away and I couldn't lie. :) Also, when I'm pregnant, I REALLY have no energy, so they would figure that out pretty quick.


So, when I was six weeks pregnant or so, we went in for our first ultrasound. To say I was terrified was an understatement. My hubby came with me (he really had zero choice in the matter - HA) and held my hand while the technician quickly assessed us.


While she lacked a certain warmth, one of her first sentences while scanning me was "Don't worry, I see a heart beat". For that alone, I was ready to leap off the table and hug her.
We got to see our tiny little nugget growing away with a beautiful round yolk sac. It looked like maybe we were going to actually have a baby. Up until this point, I didn't really believe it was possible.

I immediately felt better. This lasted for about a week until I started fretting that maybe something else would go wrong... When I saw the next ultrasound, surely THEN, I would believe we were actually having a baby.

Needless to say, this vacillating between being ecstatic and worried continued. After our final ultrasound with the Recurrent Loss Clinic, we were told we were graduating to regular prenatal care and that they would love it if we sent on a picture of our little baby when it was born in February. Having that vote of confidence meant so much.

Well, we are now 22 weeks pregnant, and our little blessing is a boy.

And NOW, I can begin knitting and sewing and getting ready to welcome our little baby into our family. To say he is loved would be a major understatement. Even as I write this, I can feel him rolling around and kicking me, and letting me know he is there and he is coming. I am so glad we tried "just once more".

another mini finish

It's February, and I cannot get over the rain at the moment. Its absolutely dumping buckets and I'm so grateful to be here and cozy in my warm little house.

I've mentioned before that I've been somewhat lax on posting my finished projects anywhere other than Instagram, so today I wanted to share something I made a little while ago. This was a custom made mini Sew Together bag for a lovely lady. (Original pattern can be found here, mini pattern conversion sheet here.)

When trying to make something specifically for someone, but someone I have never met personally, I usually use whatever tools I can find. I like to check out their Instragram account, or blogs and get a sense of their aesthetic. Is is minimalist, feminine, modern, rock, punk, cute or quaint? What is their favorite color? What projects have they been working on? What fabric designers do they use? All these little tidbits can influence the direction I take a project. Once I have a fabric pull, the client and I will go back and forth on choices until I'm set to begin construction.

This particular project was fun as I had never appliqued hexagons (hexies) to a project before. I didn't plan going in to do a grid quilting using multiple thread colors, but it's where the project led me. If you've never done this before, allowed yourself to be led by a project or a general feel for a project, I recommend it. It is very freeing to not let yourself be tied to preset constraints.

I love the arrow print we used on the side panels.

The binding was not my first choice, but in the end, it worked out better than what I had initially chosen and added a glow to the pouch. This essex linen background fabric remains to be a favorite of mine. It has so much depth.

 I'm pleased that the recipient likes it as much I as I do. It was definitely a fun project to X off my list.

In other news, maybe you've heard the buzz going around the creative world right now about a new book, called "Steal Like An Artist".



I was initially a bit put off by the title (how dare anyone imply we creatives steal!), but curiousity got the best of me. And boy was I glad it did. Go. Read.

IT'S. SO. GOOD. (You can find it here.)

And if you loved it as much as I did, read his next book, Show Your Work. (found here)

I read both these books in about 2-3 days. I could not put them down, and there were so many truth moments. It definitely changed the way I feel about the crafting world, Instagram, the blogging world and sharing our work as artists.

Let me know what you think - I'd love to hear your thoughts.


Linking to finish it Friday at Crazy Mom Quilts.

memories

To cut into the pieces and cloths that are left behind when a loved one passes away, is both terrifying and humbling. It isn't something I do often, but when I do, it is done with respect and the realization that a whole lot of trust is being directed my way.

This week, I cut into a stack of shirts and a couple pairs of pajama bottoms to (hopefully!) transform them into something that will keep the recipient warm and loved, in both the physical and emotional sense.

To break the clothing items down into usable squares, I cut along seam lines, after removing the collars and sleeves. For some shirts, I needed only to use the back section of the shirt, while for others, I used both the back and one shirt front.

The layout for this quilt is a simple nine patch block, that will be sashed in white. I cut out 4" squares from all the pieces. (To figure out how many pieces to cut, per garment, divide the number of nine squares, which in this case is 315 (35 x 9=  315), by the number of garments (in this case, 11). 

This is a quick mock up I did of the layout in Touchdraw.

This quilt is moving along quickly. I have almost finished constructing all the blocks, and plan to sash, using 2" strips soon. I'm hoping that the person I am making it is happy with the results. I can't wait to see the effect when it's all quilted and bound and washed.

hello darling!

I've been lucky enough to be able to make several "Sew Together" pouches the past year or so. I had no idea I had made so many until I started to tally them the other day - I think it's seven all together.
(Beware - they are addictive.)

This past week, I've been working on a special custom pouch for someone's daughter. The daughter loves Hello Darling (who doesn't) by Bonnie and Camille. And I just happened to have a bunch of squares left over from another upcoming project/WIP.

When making a patchwork exterior, I found that 2 1/2" squares (these are from a charm pack that I quartered) work perfectly. Seven rows of five squares are just about the perfect dimensions. If you are quilting it, wait till you have finished quilting before trimming. I found I only needed to trim about 1/8" off either side of the long edges and about 3/8" off the short edges. The exact amount, of course, will depend on the accuracy of your quarter inch seams.

For some reason, zippers just never get old. It's almost time to put another order in. Getting zippers in the mail ranks right up there with getting fabric in the mail.

I think a large part of what makes this pouch fun to make is the quantity of fabrics it uses. You can mix ranges and fabrics and colors and zippers and change the feel completely. It makes my color loving soul SO happy.

I used several Lecien fabric florals on the inside. They are just so gorgeous.

I really liked working with the person who requested this pouch - she had very specific opinions and choices in the zips and binding choices. And they really worked. Where I might have leaned to red in some cases, she leaned to aqua, and the overall effect is a very soothing palette with a splash of sunshine on the inside.

It feels so good to wrap this project up. The to-do list is getting shorter and shorter and I can't wait to fill it with some new goals and projects for 2016.

Linking with Crazy Mom Quilts for finish it Friday. Thanks for popping by!