January 2011
1 post
Moving...
To my legions of adoring, loyal fans, I think I’m making a move. I’d like to consolidate all of my ramblings into one. So if you’ll come over to www.berkshiresbliss.com with me, that’s where I’ll be posting about crafting and other adventures from now on.
See you there! :)
April 2010
1 post
4 tags
Wonderful Wallaby
A few weeks ago the Purl Bee blog featured a post about the Wonderful Wallaby, a cute pattern that looked like fun to knit. Best of all, it’s seamless! So, in my state of lovely NYC living and relaxation, I wandered down to Purl Soho (just before they moved to their new digs). I gathered up the materials needed for the sweater just in time for an airplane ride to and from Beijing. Though...
March 2010
3 posts
6 tags
Tutorial: Wonky or Crazy Four Patches, Framed
Wonky Four Patches. Aka Crazy Four Patches.. The word wonky is growing on me. It used to grate on me slightly… but I now appreciate what it’s trying to convey. The word crazy is simultaneously rather vague and judgy. Am I the only one who even thinks about such things? I’m being rather vague and judgy! Who really cares, right? Let’s just get down to it!
Making our simply...
2 tags
Cat Beds
I may or may not have admitted this before… but we have 3 cats. It’s rather a long story as to why there are three of them, and it’s something I relate on my other blog.
In my quest to avoid packing at all costs a few weeks ago when I was supposed to be getting ready to move from California to NYC, I decided to make them a cat bed or two. Actually, I justified taking time to...
4 tags
Buzz Buzz Buzz
I joined an online quilting bee last month. What’s an online quilting bee, you ask. Back in the days of yore, ladies (bc that’s who quilted back then) would gather and work on a quilt together. It was a practical and social gathering - many ladies working on one quilt sped along its production, and simultaneously allowed for them to have some fun social time together. Fast forward to...
February 2010
11 posts
7 tags
Mama's Garden
Last March my lovely mother, who looks like she’s 40, turned 60. I had made a few quilts and knew I wanted to make her a quilt for the Big Occasion. My mom is a great mom, daughter, sister, grandmother, cook, teacher, and also a devoted gardener. Her quilt would definitely feature flowers, this I knew. I scrambled to source a medley of fabric and get it all pre-washed.
One of my very...
6 tags
Happy Chinese New Year! 恭喜發財!
What a weekend!! It’s been non-stop eating for the past 3 days, it seems. This weekend was a very special one: Chinese New Year, Valentine’s Day and President’s Day rolled into one. It basically spelled 3 days of unfettered feasting and a lot of time together for my family.
It’s a Chinese tradition for elders to give youngsters 紅包, red envelopes, usually containing cash....
5 tags
Quilter's Palette Sampler Quilt
Though I’m not really into the look of sampler quilts, my former boss’ wife Beth, whose quilts and general level of cool inspired me to finally start quilting, highly recommended the book Quilts, Quilts, Quilts by Diana McClun and Laura Nownes, which features a sampler that has been completed by thousands of beginning and developing quilters. I have yet to get around to to making...
2 tags
Bag Lady Continues
Bags are great fun to make, and they can immediately be put to use. That’s what I love most about sewing right now - the utility in what you create.
Perhaps one day I will fancy myself an artist, but for now, I just like to make stuff. Especially “stuff” that can be used. I’ve implored my grandmother to use her quilt, have it keep her cozy in bed, or at least keep the...
7 tags
A Wedding Quilt
Two of my dearest friends Mark and Anna got married last summer. It was a GORGEOUS wedding; two beautiful, wonderful, caring, funny, fun, creative, smart individuals surrounded by their adoring family and friends. And their dog Gordon. Puts a huge smile on my face thinking about it. I didn’t actually get to attend the wedding itself, due to scheduling conflicts, but I did get to hang out...
3 tags
Pinwheels and Sashing
I like taking the self-taught route to my various hobbies. If at all possible, however, I highly recommend taking classes, especially when you’re first starting out. They really helped propel my comfort and technique; seasoned teachers have so many tidbits of knowledge to share, and the camaraderie amongst fellow students and being able to see what others are doing are great, as well.
...
4 tags
Bea's Quilt
This was my 3rd quilt. A lap quilt for my sister Bea, who was graduating from college. She’s fresh, modern, vivacious and bright. I tried to make the quilt so, as well. I used a bunch of Amy Butler daisy chain fat quarters, and Amy Butler’s free “ginger bliss” pattern for the front. Quick and easy. Notice the little rascal scheming in the bottom right of the picture.
...
5 tags
Exploring Color Choices Quilt
This was my second quilt. I made it in a class called “Exploring Color Choices,” taught by Annie Smith at our LQS. The workshop helped us learn more about combining colors, and the way light and dark values work against/with each other. If you’ll notice, all the blocks are made of the exact same pattern; yet they look totally different because of the placement of the light and...
4 tags
She Knits!
My obsession of the week is knitting. As I have mentioned in another posting on my other blog, I’ve been known to dive into a hobby, stock up with books and supplies, go all out for a mad dash and then… well, things… fizzle. And languish. And gather dust. When I last tried to rekindle my knitting c. 2004, I managed to knit one 12”x12” square for an afghan before...
6 tags
Bag Lady Beginnings
As soon as I’d banged out M’s quilt and a few Christmas gifts in late ‘08, I decided to try out a different project. A bag! Bags are great… I love bags. So I went and bought a bunch of pretty home dec fabric, a few Amy Butler patterns and set to work. Mind you, at this point I had *just* acquired my sewing machine, and had barely sewn in my life.
For a variety of...
5 tags
Random Polish Saint's (aka Valentine's) Cards
To be very upfront, I don’t particularly care for Valentine’s Day. I don’t actively dislike it… I think it’s fine as an excuse to show affection for the people around you who you love… but the whole Hallmark, Godiva, consumer explosion that occurs, particularly with the Christmas decorations barely down - I just find it a very overblown part of the culture of...
January 2010
6 posts
7 tags
Appliqued Baby Tees
A few years ago, Joe and I went through a wedding stretch. There were 8-10 invitations a year, and we’d attend 5-6 weddings every 365 days. These days that number has quietened down slightly, I currently know of “only” 3 weddings this year - one of them being our own!
But what this means is that we are transitioning somewhat, from the Wedding Era, to Baby Time!! There have...
6 tags
Machine Applique Tutorial
(see here for some more examples)
What you need:
Your design, with scraps of fabric chosen
Coordinating (or contrasting, if you prefer!) thread, most any weight will do (40, 50, 60, use what you normally use for sewing)
Sewing machine
Zig zag foot with clear opening, or applique foot
Fusible web, I use Soft Fuse
Stabilizer, I use Solvy by Sulky
Sharp needles (I use Schmetz Microtex...
7 tags
Last Christmas, I gave you my...
…first attempts at handmade presents… and.. well, yeah.
Flashback to Christmas 2008. Joe had not given me my sewing machine yet, but I was already excited about diving further into sewing adventures. So I borrowed my mom’s machine to make family members a few gifts.
As always, Niece M. came first. I used a McCall’s pattern I found browsing the pattern selection at,...
6 tags
Bean Bags for Wee One
Is it okay to go backwards? As in, post about crafts projects out of order? Out of order?! Gasp! Well, all my blogging efforts are an asynchronous mess anyway, so I will. Besides, my friendly commenters told me I could do whatever I wanted to, when I posed a similar Mother-May-I question in my other blog. This’ll be more fun for me - to be able to talk about some things that are current,...
4 tags
My First Quilt - M's Quilt
Part of what got me to finally begin quilting was the birth of my beloved niece M. Making things with your own hands (okay fine, and with the help of a very powerful machine designed to do in minutes what normally takes HOURS) is one thing, but giving what you’ve made to someone you love is the delicious cherry on top. M. was coming up on her first Christmas in 2008, so I had the...
5 tags
Adventurous Novice Crafter - An Introduction
Allow me to make a quick introduction to what I hope will turn out to be a long-lived relationship. Reader and I. Me and My Sewing Machine. Fabric and Thread. All that good stuff. I’m GS and I am an Adventurous Novice Crafter.
I have always loved making things with my hands, but have never spent a whole lot of time actually doing so. I loved cross-stitch projects in elementary school,...