Peri Handmade

big news!

with equal parts excitement and trepidation I am announcing that we will now be selling some handmade items at Periwinkle!  

I'm calling this venture Peri Handmade, and it will have its own little area of floorspace devoted to items such as handbags, table runners, baby quilts and pottery.  (yes, pottery)

At this point, all items will have been handmade by me.  

This is an idea I've entertained for quite a long time now, especially as the pile of quilts gets taller, and people come in to the shop looking to buy a completed quilt.   It has been easy to procrastinate however, since I tell myself that I need to have proper labels and care instructions, and proper ways to display items, .....  but I think that I need to just start, and try to keep improving the logistics as we go. 

The nervousness comes with offering handmade.  Any maker knows that feeling of vulnerability that comes with putting a price tag on something that you've put part of your self into.   There will always be people who think you're asking too much, and others who think you're asking too little, and don't hesitate in telling you so.  There are people who want to point out all the flaws on an item, and those who love every quirky imperfection.   

So, it is with a feeling of bravery that I enter the handmade marketplace again, and hope that it will be kind.   

Block 12, Housetops

Block 12 is an old favorite of mine, Housetops:

this is the block, but not in the kit colors......

these are the colors in the Jo Morton kit, -- I only had enough of these colors at home to sew half of a block

and these are the colors in the Cotton and steel colorway,

this shows the block before it is cut into four smaller blocks.   I am keeping my options open for this one.  I might keep adding rounds to it and use it in the center of my quilt... who knows,   

Stash Management!

 So for the past week or so, I've been chipping away at that box of scraps by my cutting table.  I take out a handful of scraps, iron them and then cut them into some standardized sizes. 

I got  big chunk done on Sunday, along with a couple of other quilters in the classroom at the shop.  The bonus was that it was fun to visit and get to know each other a bit more,
Here are some ideas that occurred to me as I was doing this...(and continue to do a little bit each day--my shelves are getting pretty full, so I think I'll start to sort out what's stacked there too).

Some ideas
---keep a basket by your cutting table to put odd sized scraps until you have time to organize them,   include left over pieces of binding
 ---keep another basket to put fabrics you just don’t want to have, give it away when it’s getting full,
---cut into the largest precuts, or dimensions that you have a project in mind for
larger cuts can be subcut later
----keep a lint roller handy,
---decide what is the smallest size that you want to keep as one full chunk, folded with the other fabrics, such as a 10" x 20" piece, or a .1m of fabric, whatever you prefer,

   Sizes to cut:, (you might not want to do all of these, but you'll develop some favorite sizes to use)
    6 inch strips
    5 inch strips
    3 inch strips
    2-1/2 inch strips
    1-1/2 inch strips
    10 inch squares
    5 inch squares
    2-1/2" squares

Storage: can be stacked on shelves, or in containers,   or ziplock bags,
As you’re cutting you can roughly group them by length,
store the longest strips on bottom of pile
you might want to group strips into light and dark piles,

Keep in mind some quick projects that take larger pieces of fabric, such as pillowcases, simple tote bags,

Organize your patterns into sections that correlate with the type of cuts you are accumulating

As I was cutting, I noticed some colors that went together nicely, so I pulled them out, 

and then I pulled larger pieces from my cupboard, because I decided I needed to make something with them, 

It took me a few days of browsing around online to decide on a project, but last night I started cutting the shapes for a new quilt, which I will have to blog about later, because this post is about stahsh management, after all,

But, this is the outcome I hadnt really expected, the moral of the story, if you will, 

that once you make a start with organizing your scraps, it leads to noticing new color and fabric combinations, which stimulates the imagination.  Before you know it, you have a new project in mind that has you pulling all sorts of things from your stash to use..... 

Shenandoah quilt,

This morning I spent machine quilting 

I decided to try using this pretty ivory colored Clipdot from Michael Miller on the back, and I love it.   It is a lightweight cotton with some texture on it.  The quilt feels really light and airy...

The quilt itself is called Shenandoah, by Creative Sewlutions, and you can make it in seven sizes!  

this is the second size I've made.

it only uses two fabrics,..... for this throw sized one Im using a beautiful Asian floral by Hoffman and a moda Weave as the background,

the first one i made, in the smallest, crib size version I used a pretty border print,  

It is a pretty cool pattern, all in all, I am already thinking how I can vary it by filling up those columns eith piecing....

Stash Management Day!

One thing I have heard many people say lately is " I need to use what I have", or I need to sew what's in my stash.  

Great idea!  there are amazing treasures just waiting to have their turn in the spotlight.

i've realized, however, that it is way easier to sew from your stash when 

a. you can see what is in it, and 

b.  you can get at what you want when you need to.

So, this entails a bit of Stash Management!

It means turning chaos 

into order

sometimes just by refolding and stacking by color,

and somettimes turning big heaps of odd sized scraps

into a basic system of standardized precuts that are one step closer to being included into a project,

If you want to participate in a group stash management, Why not come on Sunday to the shop from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. to get organised with a little guidance and lots of moral support.  $5.00 for the day will cover snacks, ideas, cutting mats and irons. you will need to bring a box or two full of scrap chaos, a ruler, and your rotary cutter.  limit of six people, so call the store to reserve your spot!  306-933-3072, in Saskatoon!   

I hope to take some photos and notes to post later for those who aren't able to come in person.   it will be invigorating to get some of those stacks tamed!