Lessons learned from making my first quilt

Last fall, I took my first quilt class. I was terrified and not sure how I'd do, but I was also excited to try something new. And though I started out shaky, within a few weeks I got my quilting legs and took off and fell madly in love with this medium. Since then, I've complete another quilt top, taught at QuiltCon and am diving into my third quilt this week. Before I fill you in on all those things, here's a look at my first quilt process and some of the things I learned.



Taking a quilt class made a huge difference. I have a hefty stack of quilting books that I love, but taking a class really helped me understand how quilts come together, and made the books make more sense. Having a person who can answer questions and share their personal tips was infinitely helpful. Now I can tackle quilts I see in books with confidence. It was also fun to watch a group of students take identical patterns and create such incredibly different quilts. I loved it.



It pays to press. My sewing guru, Leslie, always said, "It pays to pin!" in our sewing classes, and she's right. The same saying can go for pressing when it comes to quilting. I won't iron clothes to save my life, but give me seams to press and I'm all over it.



Mistakes are no big deal. I don't have a picture of it, but once I pulled my quilt out of the dryer, I was fondling it with glee (get yer mind out of the gutter!). My hand came across a seam in the middle of a block that had come completely out. At first, I was horrified, but then I thought it'd be a perfect place for a little embroidery. Maybe even a stitched "oops." No biggie.

Seeing your kid snuggled up under a quilt you made while they watch tv is pretty freaking awesome. After all the time and energy (sweat and tears, of course) I put in to this quilt, the happiest I was came when my son grabbed it off a chair and curled up underneath it. So in love.



Keeping it simple made it doable. The quilt blocks themselves were pretty involved, so I went super simple with the quilting (an aesthetic I prefer anyway) and kept the binding simple by just doing it all by machine. I thought this might be a "cheater" method of binding, but it turns out some of my very favorite quilters use this method exclusively. It felt great to finally tackle making my own binding and being able to attach it in one run through the machine satisfied my need to git 'er done. I kept Susan Beal's Modern Log Cabin Quilting book right next to me during the entire binding process. Her instructions were so easy to follow, and eased all my binding fears.



I'm so glad that I fell in to quilting right now. It's been a great way to rejuvenate me, challenge me, and introduce me to a whole other community that is vibrant and supportive. I'm looking forward to quilts number three ... four ... five ... one hundred ....

"Show Me a Story" Winner!

Thanks to all who commented for a chance to win a copy of Emily K. Neubuger's Show Me a Story. I truly love this book, and even if you didn't win, I encourage you to grab a copy for yourself or follow her blog tour for another chance to win a copy.

Congrats to Arielle Clementine who said, "i am planning on homeschooling my kids, and feel like this book would be a wonderful way to get them interested in storytelling!"

I'll be in touch, Arielle, to get your copy of Show Me a Story headed to your home. 

Stay tuned for updates on my quilt class and my first-ever quilt block. Spoiler: I didn't die from fear over making it. 

Introducing "Show Me a Story" by Emily K Neuburger

One of my favorite things about the time I spent at CRAFT was finding and following so many immensely creative folks through their blogs. I love stumbling on new blogs, keeping up with them, and watching them grow over the years, and it's even more exciting to see them make the jump from blog publishing to book publishing. 

Emily with her daughters, Hazel and Leah, telling stories using the Traveling Puppet Theater project from Show Me a Story

One such case is Emily K. Neuburger of Red Bird Crafts, whom I first connected with a couple of years ago after posting about some of her projects on CRAFT. I've followed her work and stayed in touch ever since, and was thrilled to se her new book, Show me a Story, that has "40 craft projects and activities to spark children's storytelling."

The Story Disks project is simple and cute, and will end up providing hours of creative play for kids. 

As a mom, I have to admit that when I've tried to craft with my kids, they don't always jump right on board. They seem to need some kind of additional hook to get going. What I love about Show Me a Story is that the projects have purpose. It's not just about making something cute, it's about making something that you then turn around and use to share creative stories and adventures with others. That bumps the awesome factor right up through the roof for me.

The Storytelling Jar is an adorable project that would look cute on a desk or shelf, and can then be pulled down to use for story telling whenever the mood strikes. 

The projects are mostly pretty simple, and use basic materials that can often be found around your house (even in the recycling bin!) so it's a great book for families to have on hand for rainy days, family activity nights or summer boredom busting. It's also a book that would be a great gift for teachers, because many of the activities would be perfect for the classroom.

Emily's thoughtful and thorough explanations of the mechanics of stories, and her rich prompts help readers jump right in to the story-telling process.

Emily doesn't just provide craft project tutorials in the book, but she also includes incredibly helpful guides for getting kids in the right mindset to fall deep down the story telling rabbit hole. She's prepared rich lists of prompts and explanations that help parents or teachers put the activities in to context for the children. Show me a Story is filled with the kind of projects and inspiration that help create special moments between adults and children, and it's really refreshing to see this kind of take on a craft project book. I like when there is purpose to a project beyond just making it.

If all this resonates with you, you're in luck! I have one copy of Show me a Story to offer for giveaway to an Average Jane Crafter reader. Just leave a comment on this post, telling me how you would use this book with the kiddos in your life, and I'll draw a winner at random on Monday. You have until 9PM CST on Sunday, September 29 to leave your comment. Sorry, contest is open to U.S. residents only.

Hey, wait a minute ... I recognize that name under the quote up there ...

Being OK with Being Terrified

Cutting precise straight lines scares the heck out of me, y'all. 

Last week, I started my first quilting class. I've been meaning to try my hand at quilting for a while, but the right moment hadn't hit me yet. After being invited to teach a hand embroidery workshop at QuiltCon, I decided this was the perfect time. This fall would be the time I finally learn how to make a quilt. 

My initial fabric selection - I thought we needed five fabrics, but it turns out we only needed four. I had to change this grouping up a bit. 

I decided to get my fabrics before the first class, and had a lot of fun browsing through bolts. Though the quilt we'll be making in class isn't my particular style (it's very traditional piecing, and I'm drawn more to the graphic modern quilts) I'm excited to be learning so many techniques, and decided I'd try using more modern-feeling fabrics in the quilt. I figured I need to be in love with the fabrics so I can spend the next eight weeks staring at them, and the next who-knows-how-many-years using the quilt.

Even as enjoyable as shopping for fabric is, though, an unanticipated feeling emerged as I picked up, swapped out and debated different fabrics: terror.

The reworked fabrics for the quilt. I actually like this grouping better! 

You see, I haven't tried any big new skills lately. I've been pretty darn comfortable with my infatuation with hand embroidery and dabbling in other simple crafts, but I haven't really s  t  r  e  t  c  h  e  d  much outside of my comfort zone recently. Quilting is big, and pretty foreign to anything I've ever done. Sure, it's fabric and sewing, but it's also precision, straight lines, matching points, perfect quarter inch seams*, basting, binding and ... quilting! All these things are not in my usual bag of tricks. I'm a fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants kind of crafter. I take pride in not worrying if my seams are 100% perfectly straight. Quilting is going to take some time and thought and purposeful action. There will be lots of practicing on scrap fabrics, lots of measuring and remeasuring, and most certainly, without a doubt ... lots of mistakes.

I nerded out and used my light box to make a copy of the quilt pattern so I could color it in with different colorways and decide which fabrics I wanted to use in which ways. Don't laugh - it's super handy! 

I don't shy away from mistakes, and I love learning new things, but when I showed up to my class and realized I was the only one who hadn't made a quilt before (hey, it's an *intro* to quilting class, I didn't think it would be so odd that I hadn't made a quilt before!) I felt the terror creep back up. I'm typically outgoing and enthusiastic in a class environment. Instead, I became intensely introverted and ... I'll say it ... scared out of my wits. My quilt ruler was futzy, my machine borked out on me, and there were a million other little things that just made the evening a bit crazy and uncomfortable ... and terrifying.

I made photocopies of the tracing and then colored them in, swapping my light and dark grey fabrics. I'm a super visual gal, so this helped me get a better idea of how swapping the fabric placement would affect the overall look of the quilt. See? Handy! 

It took a stiff cocktail when I got home to try to relax and remind myself: THIS IS ONLY QUILTING. I need to take my own advice and not stress. I need to have fun. I've said this a million times to my embroidery students: The more you have fun, the more inclined you will be to practice. The more you practice, the better you will get. I need to stick with that, but I'm also kind of ok with being terrified. This kind of terrified is a feeling I haven't had in a long time, and it's reminding me I'm alive and pushing myself. Somedays the routine of family life makes me feel like I'm not doing much of those things. And I'm a process gal, which means - even when terrified - I actually really enjoy the process of being a bumbling idiot with something new, and slowly working to a point of comfort. I think it's a good thing for my kids to see, too. They see too many perfect, edited "final results" throughout media. They need to see some of that raw process (even if it includes a few swear words, I'm not gonna lie).

What has terrified you lately?

* Ironically, I'm the youngest person in the class, but I have the most basic, simple sewing machine in the group. Most of the others have super fancy computerized machines with special settings and presser feet that make precise quarter inch seams a snap. My machine ... notsomuch. But I keep thinking, "come on! Pioneers had flippin' FOOT POWERED machines!" and then I feel better. 

Give it up for new beginnings, y'all!

Oh, my dear, sweet little neglected blog. I've missed you.

There has been a lot of change around these parts over the last nine months or so, and that's contributed to my lack of posting. Fortunately, I'm getting back on track, and really looking forward to getting nice and comfy back over here.

The biggest crafting-related news around here is that, after four years, I left CRAFT at the end of June of this year. I loved blogging there, and am thankful for all the wonderful people I met and inspiration I found, but after blogging and being editor there, I decided it was time to move on to some new creative endeavors. 

One of my project tutorials for Whimseybox

I am thrilled to be working with Alicia and Bri at Whimseybox, which is based right here in Houston. It's exciting to be even a small part of a new and growing venture, especially when I admire the women behind it so much. I've had fun blogging for them and creating project tutorials (something I hadn't done in ages!) and am even more excited for what the future holds for Whimseybox.

I'm also excited to announce that I'll be teaching at the first ever QuiltCon in Austin next February. I'll be teaching basic hand embroidery in the context of studying redwork in modern quilting. I can't believe I'm part of this incredible event. I mean, hi ... Anna Maria Horner, one of my all-time biggest design inspirations and first fabric designer crush, is teaching in the same room I am right after my class ends. Who wants to place bets on me passing out? If you are interested in the class or QuiltCon, be sure to check it out and sign up soon. As of a few days ago, there were less than three spots left in my workshop. The QuiltCon folks have been amazing and so professional. This is going to be a top-notch event. I can't wait!

Speaking of quilting, I'm starting my first quilting class next week. Yep. I've never made a quilt (well, not an official quilt - I've "quilted" a few small things for fun/practice, but I've never done a whole quilt start-to-finish before). Even though my workshop at QuiltCon isn't so much about quilting (it's a basic hand embroidery class) I didn't feel I could stand up as a teacher there, having never made a quilt. I've read Susan Beal's Modern Log Cabin Quilting book cover-to-cover, and am ready to get some real-life action going in the quilt department. Look for updates over the coming weeks as my class progresses!

I've got some great books and craft goodies to share with you, as well as some fun project tutorials, soon. Thanks for sticking with me - even with my sporadic posting. This fall marks the 5th anniversary of Average Jane Crafter, and I'm so glad to still be crafting and sharing things with you!

My Secrets For the Week-Long Manicure

This is totally out of character for me. Really. I am not a girlie girl at all. I kind of feel like I need to pull up the pictures of me as a 4th grader, wearing camo pants and no shirt (because I was a total tomboy and felt like I should be able to run around half-naked) so I can prove my non-girlie nature here. I'm not really in to fashion and I rarely wear makeup, but the one girlie weakness I have is this: painting my fingernails each and every week.

When I was in college, I painted my nails all the time - sometimes every other day. I'd use wild colors, but paid no attention to application or care. They were generally a sloppy mess. Once I had kids, my nail-painting habit died off, and I didn't touch the stuff for years. Then I had an embroidery class in which a student carried on about her nail-painting ritual. Her blog was the first place I saw the painted nails trend, and a post she did on her weekly ritual of painting her nails got me completely hooked again. Initially, I was painting them only occasionally. Several months ago, though, I got hooked on a weekly routine of painting my nails every Thursday night while watching 30Rock, Big Bang and Project Runway.

My husband teased me about it at one point: "Why do you like doing that so much!?" I stopped for a minute and wondered the same thing. Why - as a non-fashion/beauty interested person - do I bother with painting my nails every week? Here's what I came up with:

• I love the colors. Sometimes it's as simple as that. For as much black as I wear, I am always drawn to the menagerie of colors available in the nail polish aisle. I have a basket full of colorful bottles, and digging through them is deeply satisfying to the color-hungry part of my soul. Seeing a nice color on my hands every day is - as silly as it sounds - a little pick-me-up. 

• It's a simple form of self care. The whole moms-neglect-themselves is a cliche for a reason. It's hard to find much time or money to do a little something special for yourself, and my weekly manicures help in that regard. I'm taking time to take care of myself, feel "pretty" and indulge in something that's a bit impractical and makes me feel good. We all need more of that, right? 

• I can't multitask while I'm doing it. Aside from watching tv, I really can't do much else while I'm painting my nails or waiting for them to dry. After I finish painting them, I sit down on the couch and just allow myself to watch tv for the rest of the evening. I don't do dishes, fold laundry or work on the computer. This is pretty much the only time in the week that I just sit still. That's a beautiful thing! 

After digging around on the internet, and buying more beauty products than I'd care to admit to, I settled on a handful of favorites and a routine that give me a nice-looking home manicure that lasts all week.* My frequently-changing manicures have been visible in many of my pictures on Instagram, and I had several friends ask me to post my method and favorite products. There are thousands of nail-painting tutorials on the internet, but most of them are for fancy decorative nails. I haven't had time to do anything like that, nor do I strive to. The basic solid color manicure scratches my itch just fine, but just know that if that's something you desire, it's easily found with a quick google search or look-see on YouTube.

Enjoy the tutorial, and find some way - even if it's not painting your nails every week - to do a little something for yourself that allows you to not multitask while you do it, ok?

Here's a picture of my week-old manicure. On this particular week, I'd even cleaned out the garage over the weekend, and the polish still held up nicely. It's not perfect at this point, but for having been on my nails for a solid week, I'd say it's not to shabby, amiright?

My collection of nail polishes is kind of embarrassing, but not as extensive as some I've seen on the internet ... 

Supplies:

• A nice, fine nail file - I picked mine up at a beauty supply store 
• Target Brand Remover Dip-It Acetone (more on this wonder product in just a second) 
• Sally Hansen cuticle remover gel - I've used this one, as well as the SH instant cuticle remover. I like them both. 
• Sally Hansen Miracle Cure - for the base coat. This stuff rocks. 
• Nail polish in your preferred color (re: brand, I love Essie for colors & staying power. I also love OPI. My favorite inexpensive brand of nail polish is the Sally Hensen Xtreme Wear, which totally holds its own for a less-than-$3 polish) 
• Out The Door top coat - this stuff is what seals the deal (literally) on a long-lasting manicure. I found it at Target for around $3, but have had trouble finding it there recently. I know you can get it at beauty supply stores, it might just be a little more expensive there. LOVE this stuff. 
• A good cuticle stick - I like my metal one, as opposed to the wood ones. It came in a little manicure set from Target 
• Clippers - good for cleaning up gnarly bits around your nails 
• Nail brush - It's freaky how handy this thing is. I hadn't used one before, but now adore it. 
• Paper towels to protect your surface and use for quick cleanups

Let's start with removing your old nail polish. Part of why I didn't paint my nails much was because removing the color was a huge pain. I'd have stacks and wads of cotton pads all over the place, and the color would inevitably end up all over my hands. It was an annoying mess. At the risk of sounding like a commercial, this product changed all that.

Remember that stuff from the 80s that was a dip-and-remove nail polish remover? It was like a sponge inside a container and you shoved your finger down in it and rubbed off the color? The color often did the same thing as it does with cotton pads: gets smeared all over your fingers. Because of my experience in the 80s, I was hesitant to try this dip-and-remove from Target. Instead of the old sponge interior, it's full of plastic bristles. Instead of smearing color everywhere, the polish comes off in just a few swipes and leaves your fingers perfectly clean. I nerd out on this stuff big time.

Sure, it looks like a Sarlacc from Star Wars, and yes - I snicker and make 12-year-old boy jokes every time I shove my finger in it - but it works wonders and I'm sticking with it for the long haul.

Next, squeeze the cuticle remover gel along your cuticles and let it sit according to the package instructions (it can vary from 15 seconds to 5 minutes)

Use your cuticle stick to push back your cuticles.

At this point, I like to file my nails. I couldn't get a picture of this part, but it's pretty basic. Just gently shape your nails with the file. I've seen tips about filing only in one direction, but honestly couldn't get that down. Just don't go nuts and don't use too coarse of a file and you should be fine.

Once your cuticles are all pushed back and nails are filed, it's time to hit the sink. Again, I couldn't get a picture of this, but what I usually do is squirt liquid soap in to the palm of my hand and then dip the finger nail brush into it and scrub my nails pretty vigorously under the water. This removes the gel and the residual acetone (that can dry out your skin) and cleans up under your nails from filing. Dry your hands well after washing. You can then use your clippers to clean up any gnarly bits that are left around your nails.

Paint a nice, thin coat of your base coat on to your nails and let dry. Usually, by the time I finish my second hand, the first hand is dry enough to dive right in to the color coats.

Now it's time for color. I don't really have any tips for applying color other than be patient and paint thin coats. Globbing the color on doesn't do anyone any favors. Paint one thin coat, wait just a couple of minutes and then go back and paint a second coat. Wait a few minutes and then paint on your top coat, generously, over the whole shebang.

"But wait!" you say. "Your nails are a total mess!" Yep. And that's just fine. The other advantage to painting my nails at night is that I don't have to worry with cleaning up the edges. The next morning, when I shower, the excess polish comes right off. Usually just the process of shampooing and cleaning is enough to knock most of it off, but sometimes I have to use my fingernails in the shower to scrape off the last remaining bits. It's easy and my fingernails look dandy when I'm done.

And there you have it! That's what I do each and every week for my home manicure. I find that keeping my nails short helps keep them from chipping as much, and the biggest change in how they look during the week is from growth at the base. Otherwise, they look perfectly respectable, I'd say. Have fun and enjoy painting!

 *Disclaimer: Your manicure might not last all week. Depending on your level of activity and type of polish, you might have some chips. I'm not saying that your manicure will look exactly the same as it did when you completed it, but it should look totally acceptable if you're using these products and methods and aren't a lumberjack who doesn't wear gloves.

Recipe: Booze-y, Creamy Roasted Tomato Basil Soup, and playing with Snapguide

Several months ago, my mom visited and made some of the tastiest soup I'd ever had. Better yet, it was fresh and healthy and made my house smell heavenly. I wanted to give it a try a few weeks ago, but - of course - had to add a bit of ... decadence in the form of wine and cream. Either way is delicious, so you can follow the recipe as-is, or omit the wine and cream when you're trying to be a little healthier.

I'm including the recipe below, but I'm also going to introduce a new app I've been playing with lately so you can easily view the recipe and step-by-step pictures on your iPhone, iPad or desktop. Snapguide is a cool DIY tutorial app that allows you to easily upload pictures right from your iPhone, add text and publish with just a few click. Please note, this is not a sponsored review. I've just been playing on the app on my own and thought I'd share my experience. Screenshots below are from the iPhone app and desktop versions of Snapguide.

My "real" camera died a while ago, and my old iPhone (3G folks!) took terrible pictures. Honestly, that plus work constraints meant I wasn't able to crank out fun tutorials as often as I'd like to. I recently finally upgraded my phone, and instantly started wanting to snap away for projects. It's still kind of a pain, though, to upload the pictures, edit, post, etc. I kept thinking there had to be an easier way ... and there is. With Snapguide, you can create a tutorial right on your phone and publish it. I did the one for the soup while my son (literally) sat on my lap on the couch and played a video game on the tv. Aside from a few crashes when I tried to upload more than 3 pictures at a time, it was smooth, intuitive and really easy to use. And reading my tutorial and others is nice and easy - just swipe through each step. I like it!

I do wish, though, that they would have an option to embed the tutorial into your web site. If I'm going to create a tutorial, I'd like the traffic to at least be - primarily - to my blog. That will be the kicker. I think for now, my compromise is introducing the tutorial here and then linking over to Snapguide.

What do you think? Have you tried Snapguide? Check it out and see what you think. I like the variety of projects - food, makeup, home projects .... even dog tricks! I'll be curious to see if/how crafters embrace this new platform...

Recipe: Booze-y, Creamy Roasted Tomato Basil Soup

Ingredients:
(please note, the ingredients and measurements are general here. It varies depending on how much you can fit in your baking dish and what you have on hand. Go flexible, folks!) 

7-8 Roma tomatoes
7-8 small sweet peppers -OR- 2 1/2 red bell peppers
3/4 red onion
1 head of garlic - you'll need 6-8 cloves, depending on how much you like garlic
Olive oil
Balsamic Vinegar
Coarse Sea Salt
Pepper
4 large leaves of fresh basil
1/4 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup dry white wine of your choice
1 small can of tomato paste
3/4 of a 32oz box of vegetable broth
Immersion blender (if you don't have one of these, I highly recommend grabbing one from Amazon or Zappos. If you can't, be sure to read about blending hot soups in a standard blender)

Now go fetch the tutorial on Snapguide and let me know what you think!