Stitching With Lorelei: Gilmore Girls are Coming

Are you as obsessed with Gilmore Girls as I am?

Just to give you the low down, I own all of the Gilmore Girls seasons on DVD. That's DVD, people! Quite a commitment. My old roommate answered the Craigslist ad to look at the house and later told me that when she saw my Gilmore Girls DVDs she knew we would be perfect for each other. She was right, we are still great friends.

These shows are my comfort watch, when I have a bad day I can put on a some select episodes.

Just because it has been a tough month I give you this (PS - I watched this again tonight and it still makes me laugh).



The Gilmore Girls are famous for talking fast and a freakishly close mother daughter relationship. This spawned multiple inside joke/catch phrases. You know you can find a Gilmore fanatic when you can pick out the Gilmorisms. It's how we identify our people.

Gilmore Girls is doing a revival on Netflix and this epic event prompted Lee from May Chappell to host a little Gilmore Girls inspired stitch-along.

I picked Copper Boom to stitch up. This phrase means, "quickening your pace or getting down to business/work" (thanks Urban Dictionary). In case you needed Rory and Lorelei to explain it to you, see below...



This basically sums up my life.

This embroidery design uses only the satin stitch and back stitch (for a great explanation of basic stitches head here). I stitched mine up in an afternoon while re-watching Gilmore Girls on Netflix.

Download the free pattern here (a million thanks to Lee for helping me make my vision a reality, you all may not know this but she is a genius graphic designer). I used back stitch for the Copper, the circle of the sun, and the lines. I used satin stitch for the Boom, and a single stitch for each ray.

My colors:
DMC 351 - Coral - All of the letters and the inside of the suns rays.
DMC 726 - Topaz LT - The sun rays and the circle
DMC 744 - Yellow - Pale - The straight lines

Details:

This is a SUPER casual stitchalong! Basically, all the designs are free. We’d love for you to stitch them up while binge watching your favorite episodes or even during the second viewing of the revival. The first viewing will require focus. We are having a little giveaway on Instagram. Every time you use the hashtag #stitchingwithlorelai, you get an entry. You can post anything from choosing your floss to your finished product. Unlimited entries. On December 1, we will randomly choose a winner who will receive a SewLux gift card for $50! Special thanks to Chrissy & Linda for donating this awesome prize! You can enter so many times, no excuse to not share your photos!

I know I can't wait to snuggle in and stitch these fun projects. 
Monday, November 14: Lee Chappell Monroe of May ChappellTuesday, November 15: Corey Yoder of Coriander QuiltsWednesday, November 16: Tessa Walker of The Sewing ChickThursday, November 17: Sarah Lowry of Stitching & BaconFriday, November 18: Elizabeth Dackson of Don’t Call Me BetsySaturday, November 19: Lee Chappell Monroe of May Chappell

Copper Boom my friends!

Around the World Blog Hop here comes the Bacon!

My dear Internet and real life friend Tessa (you may know her as The Sewing Chick), tagged me in the around the world blog hop. Tessa is the best. Three things about Tessa before I start: (1) She has the BEST sense of style, this lady can combine some fabrics to make it her own. (2) She is an immaculate and precise seamstress (sewer? sewist?). You know she knows what she is doing and if you need help with something, she knows how to do it and probably has some tricks. She taught me the best way to put on binding. Seriously the best. (3) She is hilarious and adorable. I am proud to call her my friend.

So as I understand it, I am supposed to answer some questions about myself and give you some insight into my soul or something like that.

Let’s start with the basic stats. I am 29 years old. I live in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. I have been married to my best friend for a little over 4 years and we have been together for over 10 years. He is a fabric purchase enabler, a photo shoot assistant, quilt namer, great cook, plays hockey, historian, and super hero (at least to me).

I grew up in Portland, Oregon, lived in Denver for six years. I love the east coast, but I secretly miss the mountains, gray skies, and skiing in Oregon.

For my day job, I am an archaeologist. It is not glamorous and I do not have a whip or fedora. I do travel a ton and sometimes I bring a sewing machine. My specialty in my field is really obscure and techy.

I learned to sew when I was super little. My best friend’s mom made all of her outerwear and I was so jealous. I distinctly remember a raincoat with a cat patch on it that was handed down to me that I wore OUT. Fortunate for me, Susan was happy to teach, although I was not a patient student. I also joined sewing 4-H in middle school, where a very patient woman taught me and one other girl basically everything I know today. Sometimes I wonder how she is doing and if her little daughter grew up to love sewing with the passion she instilled in me.

I basically forgot about all sewing until graduate school when my friend was trying to make something with her new sewing machine and I surprised everyone (myself included) by jumping in and showing her how do everything (she did not know how to sew). Apparently, I did not forget anything.

I got a sewing machine from my parents for Christmas after I graduated. I made my first quilt while Derek was in Germany doing dissertation research. I started my second quilt almost immediately and I have not stopped quilting since.

What is my style?

I don’t know. I like color and pattern. I make quilts with patterns and without. I often start a quilt without doing any math and remain unconcerned with the results until the end. I rarely buy fabric for a project, but instead I spend way too much time cultivating my stash. I love traditional patterns and, I guess, I tend to approach them from a “modern” slant. Sometimes, I just get an idea and go for it. At the end of the day we are all quilters and I try not to take myself too seriously. My dream project is to make a quilt with a giant cat on it, made out of cat fabrics I have collected over the years. I am putting that out here because I trust you, my friends, to not steal that idea.

What are you working on now?

I just finished an epic binding marathon, so I should have some new things to share here soon. As far as actually working on, I have two quilts all basted and ready to quilt (soon, very soon). I have my paint chip quilt that I am quilting. Otherwise, most of my other projects exist in only my head right now. 

What is my favorite project?

Hands down my clamshell. I pretty much always love my latest finish the most of anything, but finishing my Pink Chowder quilt taught me I can do anything. I cut, pieced and quilted that. So bring it on.  I also made that quilt with some of my dearest friends, they gave me fabric to use as clams, they encouraged me. They complimented me and teased me. They brought me starburst and onion dip and diet coke and wine. Friends are the best aren’t they?

I am not going to tag anyone here. Not because I don’t love you, but this hop has been going on for a bit and I don’t want to call out those who have already been called upon. This post is also over a week late. Woops! If you want to play, by all means! Link your post below; I want to know what you think. I promise.

I am sorry if this is a little stream of consciousness and a bit long. I am writing it in a hotel room, I am on a work trip this week. I have barely recovered from my trip to my grandmother’s house and I had a conference all last week. I had a great time visiting with family and colleagues, but I am bone tired from what feels like constantly talking for a week.

I love you all. Thanks for being here, thanks for making it this far. I give you this cat.

xoxo,

Sarah

Tree Trivet Tutorial [Christmas in July Sewing Challenge]

Happy Christmas in July!

For my tutorial in the Christmas in July Challenge, Chrissy from Sew Lux Fabrics sent me these gorgeous new prints from the Aspen Frost Line by Basic Grey (this exact fat quarter pack is on sale for 10% off right now, no coupon code needed). I LOVE this line. It is the perfect mix of scales and those low volume stripes, musical notes, and snowmen...

For my tutorial, I decided to go with something I wanted to use and give this Christmas. It has to be fast, because (real talk) no matter how much I plan ahead, I will forget someone and I need a go to present I can whip up in 20 minutes. Also, I live in a tiny little house. Teeny tiny (like 900 square feet tiny). In my teeny tiny house, we have this tiny little dining room table. I do not let that stop me from making huge dinners and inviting people over to share them! My table can't really hold a table runner and all of the food and plates.

So, how to get decorative without a huge table runner?

Some sweet little Christmas Tree Trivets.

I imagine using these all Christmas season. When they are on the table, they look so cute waiting for your warm dishes. After dinner,  you hang them up and they are beautiful seasonal decor!

A set of trivets would make great hostess gifts or would look fantastic along with a plate of cookies as a Christmas gift for a neighbor or friend. They come together really quickly and are a great way to show off adorable Christmas fabrics.

There is some really simple paper piecing for this pattern. Don't worry if you have never done paper piecing, because this project would be great for getting your feet wet. I will walk you through it.

Christmas Tree Trivet Tutorial
(This tutorial makes 1 tree trivet. I made a bunch to give out this Christmas quickly by cutting out the materials for a couple at a time)

Use 1/4" seams, unless otherwise noted

Supplies:
Pattern Pieces (download HERE)
Rotary Cutter/Mat/Ruler
Fabric Scissors and Paper Scissors
Pins
Coordinating Thread
Marking Tool (I like the Frixxon pen)
Washable Glue stick (optional, but useful)
Turning/Pointing Tool (optional, but useful)
Walking Foot (optional, but useful)
Add-a-Quarter Ruler (really, really optional)

Fabric/Materials:
I started with an eight pack of Fat Quarters of Apen Frost by Basic Grey for Moda from Sew Lux. Each trivet takes about a fat quarter of fabric total (so you could make at least 8 trivets with this fat quarter pack, but I bet you could squeeze out more).

Cut - 
1 - 7.5" x 9.5" piece of Insul-bright (regular cotton batting would work too, but be a little less insulating for your table)
1 - 7.5" x 9.5" piece of fabric for back (I would hold off cutting this until you have your pattern pieces for less waste)
1 - 1.5"x 4" rectangle for hanging loop (optional, could also use a 4" long piece of ribbon for a couple of these I used the fabric selvedge)
1 - 5" x 2" rectangle for trunk
1 - 9" x 4" piece of fabric for bottom of tree body (labeled 2 on tree pattern)
1 - 6" x 3.5" piece of fabric for middle of tree body (labeled 1 on tree pattern)
1 - 3.5" x 4" piece of fabric for top of tree body (labeled 3 on tree pattern)

Download and print the pattern pieces. There will be two sheets. Make sure to set your printer to scale 100%. Cut out the pattern pieces. You should have three pieces (Tree Body, Trunk, and Tree Back). You will need one copy of the tree body for each trivet, but you can reuse the pieces to cut the trunk and back multiple times.


Hanging Loop (Optional)

2. Using 1.5" x 4" rectangle, fold long (4" side) raw edges in 1/4" and press.

3. Fold these edges in to meet each other and press in half.

4. Topstitch along folded in edges, as close to the edge as you can comfortably. Then, topstitch along fold. This will be your hanging loop.

Tree Back and Insulation

1. Using your Tree Back pattern piece, cut one tree back from your chosen backing fabric and one from  Insul-bright. I like to use my marking pen to trace the pattern on the fabric and batting and then cut on my marked lines (I use a combination of rotary cutter and fabric scissors for this step).

2. Position backing fabric on top of batting, align edges. Set this aside.

Tree Front

1. Cut 1 trunk using the trunk pattern piece and 5"x 2" rectangle.

2. Position the 6"x 3.5" rectangle on the tree body pattern piece so the fabric overlaps at least 1/4" on all sides of the paper and the section labeled "1" on the tree. Using your glue stick, attach the fabric to the pattern piece with just a dab of glue. Make sure the right side of the fabric is facing away from the printed side of the pattern piece and the fabric hangs over the lines.

3. I trim my seams at this stage. Between the sections labeled "1" and "2" fold the paper along the line (not the fabric, just the paper).

4. Using the add a quarter ruler or a regular acrylic ruler trim the fabric to 1/4" away from the fold. Unfold the paper.

5. Position the 9" x 4" rectangle of fabric centered along the raw edge you just trimmed, right sides together. Make sure that when the fabric flips down it will cover the bottom of the paper.

6. Adjust your sewing machines stitch length to slightly shorter (on my machine the stitch length is 1). Sew through the paper attaching the two fabric pieces, following the line.

7. Unfold the fabric and press seam open, either with your finger or a dry iron.

8. Follow steps 3-7 to attach the top of the tree (section labeled "3" on the pattern piece). This time you are folding the line between sections 1 and 3 and trimming that side of the fabric. Use the remaining rectangle (3.5" x 4") for this section.

9. Using a hot iron, press the tree body (I turn the steam back on at this point).

10. Trim the tree along the pattern edges. You now have a triangle shape.

11. Remove the papers carefully. The narrow stitch length should keep you from ripping out your seams.

12. Fold tree body in half and finger press and fold trunk in half and finger press (see photos here).

13. Align the two center folds and pin right sides together.

14. Lengthen your stitch back to normal. Sew the trunk onto the tree (using 1/4" seam is very important here).

15. Press this seam down towards the trunk. This is important!

Making the Trivet

1. Line up up front of trivet and back of trivet/batting, right sides of fabric together. Batting facing outwards.

2. Position loop so both raw edges of tab are aligned, facing the seam and the loop is facing the inside of the tree. I leave the loop placement up to you. I like it towards the top of the tree. Pin loop in place.

3. Using your walking foot (optional, I forgot in this picture and it was fine) stitch around the tree using a 1/4" seam leaving an approximately 3" opening in the trunk for turning.

4. Trim all of the corners, be careful to not clip into the seam.

5. At the right angles between the tree and the trunk clip, trimming out tiny triangles if you can.

6. Turn the tree right sides out. Use your pointy turning tool if you have one, to push those corners out.

7. Press the tree well. At the opening in the trunk fold the raw edges in 1/4" and pin.

8. Using walking foot, top stitch all around the tree as close to the edge as you are comfortable. This should close up the opening at the bottom.

9. At this point, I like to add some quilting to the trivet. This is really just decorative. My favorite is the garland quilting, which I just do with my walking foot and some improvised curves. Quilting along the seams looks super cute too.

10. You have a Tree Trivet. Enjoy!

Thanks for stopping by! I hope you make something for the contest, there are some terrific prizes up for grabs, just for starting your Christmas sewing early. It has been my pleasure to share with you today!

Don't miss these terrific tutorials.

Christmas In July Challenge Schedule

July 8 – Christen, Love by Hand

July 10 – Sarah, Stitching & Bacon

July 15 – Kelly, Kelby Sews

July 17 – Lyanna, Purple Panda Quilts

July 22 – Tessa, The Sewing Chick

July 24 – Kristen, KD Quilts


Don't forget to start and finish your own holiday sewing project to link up July 26-30 for a chance to win one of three amazing prize packs from these amazing sponsors!

Grand Prize

$40 gift certificate to Sew Lux Fabric
Pearle Cotton Sampler from Sew Lux Fabric
3 Sewing Prints from Pen & Paint
Paloma FQ bundle from Dear Stella
1 pattern from LBG Studio

Second Prize

FQ Bundle from Michael Miller
2 sewing prints from Pen & Paint
Pearle Cotton Sampler from Sew Lux Fabric
1 pattern from LBG Studio

Third Prize

Havana FQ Bundle from Monaluna
1 sewing print from Pen & Paint
Pearle Cotton Sampler from Sew Lux Fabric


Winners will be selected by the judges, which will consist of all of the bloggers plus Chrissy from Sew Lux Fabric. Entries will close on Tuesday, July 30 and winners will be announced on Friday, August 1. 

Check out this post at  Love By Hand for more details, but you do not need a blog and your sewing can be anything you have made in the month of July to get ahead on Christmas sewing.