I make stuff. Sometimes I knit or crochet it, sometimes I sew it, sometimes I like to just talk about stuff other people make. What can I say, crafts are cool!
This week I'm just popping in to say hi and tease a project I'll be able to show you next week. I've been upcycling clear vinyl bag holders that we used to use at the shop where I work back when we offered sewing machine repair. We used to use them to hold the paperwork so we could easily identify whose machine was whose. We haven't had a repair tech for well over a year now, and these badge holders have just been sitting around waiting for a new purpose. Well I found one and I will talk about that and show you what I made next week. If you happen to be at International Quilt Festival this weekend and see me wandering around, feel free to say hi!
This week it's TTMT on a Wednesday... I talk about mending and clothing recon, what's working, what's not, and plans for more recons and garment making.
Things I talk about this week:
Base Cloth for a baja/hoodie - maybe I'll use Simplicity S9759... anyone used that pattern? If so what are your thoughts? I tried to purchase a pdf download but the website is down right now. Other pattern suggestions for this cloth?
This week I talk briefly about last week's Paper Piecing Club and show another finished "Lil' Ghostie" block. "Lil' Ghostie" is my September block in my 2025 PP Club Pattern Series. The first 9 block patterns, up to and including "Lil' Ghostie" are available as a pdf download from Hip Stitch.
This week I talk about Paper Piecing Club and show my finished test blocks for the patterns I'm releasing on Thursday. They'll be available, along with all the rest of the 2025 Paper Piecing Club Pattern series (which is available now) Thursday morning around 8am or so Mountain time.
I also talk about the most amazing early birthday present: Jennifer O gave me the gift of TIME. Her time, given to me in taking on one of my languishing UFOs and finishing it for me, and my time, because now I have a finished object on my bed instead of a finished project hanging over my head. I had originally pieced these blocks into a top and did not like it at all. So I had taken it apart, last year maybe? And I sent her the blocks I received in the 2018 TTMT Quarter Log Cabin Block Swap, as well as the leftover blocks I had made in case we had more participants, and I sent a bunch of neutral fabrics she could use in the finished quilt. We discussed her laying out in a similar fashion to her finished quilt from the same swap, and then she started planning. She ended up having one leftover block from my extras that I had made and she even turned that into a zippered pillow cover. She backed both the pillow and the quilt in the most amazing mushroom fabric that is just super adorable. I love everything about this gift. It's just, well, perfect. Instead of posting a bunch of the same photos, I'm going to just link to her video about this quilt from this week so you can hear all about it directly from Jennifer. This truly was the best gift ever from the best friend ever. I love you Jennifer!
This week I'm talking about Sew-jo... how do you motivate yourself to do the stuff you don't WANT to do so that you can get to the fun stuff? I am having trouble motivating myself to clean and organize and purge, even though I know once I do I'll be happier trying to actually create in my space. What do you do? Asking for friend?
This week I talk about project room chaos and show my finished shop hop quilt called "A Purrfect View". These setting kits are currently sold out, but I plan to have the patterns available as a pdf download soon, and hope to have more setting kits available soon. This year's block ("Shroommates") and setting kit ("A Purrfect View" ) were designed in collaboration with my friend and cowork, Elizabeth Webb. We bounced ideas off each other, then she painted a mockup of our idea, then I turned that into a quilt layout in EQ and pieced the quilt. The quilt was quilted by Tisha Cavanuagh, of Quilt Icing. I'm very proud of what we accomplished this year with the block and the quilt, and look forward to more collabs with Elizabeth.
This week I share the dates and times for Albuquerque Shop Hop and show the Kokka fabric I bought to make new bedroom curtains for Miss P. Short and sweet!
This week I talk about getting my beloved daughter Miss P home from Japan, and I show off the Sumi e paintings she did while studying abroad. Once again, I want to thank everyone that supported her Study Abroad fundraiser. That category has been removed from the Hip Stitch website, but you can still purchase my patterns there. I'm so proud of this adventure she took and I love the art she made while she was there.
This week I show you my finished brand new Color Wheel of Destiny, a prize wheel I modified so that all the wedges are string pieced blocks, each a different color family. We will use the wheel each month at Scrappy Sewcials, a "sewcial sewing" event I created and co-host at Hip Stitch. Spin the wheel, and then go raid the basket of scraps from that color family to make your next block! Or aren't sure what color you want to use next? Spin the wheel! It's fun to let chance choose your colors and it makes it helps you avoid decision fatigue when you are working on a project. I also show you the scrappy improv blocks I pieced at Scrappy Sewcial this past weekend after unveiling the new wheel. Sew much fun! And that sound the wheel makes.... sew satisfying!
This week I show my latest test blocks for the 2025 PP Club Pattern Series: "Puzzling", a modern take on the traditional Dutchman's Puzzle quilt block. I made two versions, one using all grunge and one using fussy cut scraps. I also talk about being almost done with my new Color Wheel of Destiny, which should be finished in time to make its debut at Scrappy Sewcial this Sunday. I'll show y'all the finished wheel next week!
I'm back from almost a week in Austin, Texas where I visited my BFF and friend of over 30 years and her family (Jennifer O) and we did some thrifting and some LQS shopping. We also took a short road trip to visit a mutual friend, Jennifer R, in the Houston area! There's nothing better than getting away from work and recharging with your friends. Stay crafty, yall!
Help support my daughter's study abroad experience in Japan (she's there now!). There are still a few physical items and patterns for which she will receive the proceeds. She's also currently getting the proceeds from any of my pattern sales, including the 2025 PP Club Pattern series. I've already added June's block, Hexplay!
I'm back from vacation and have a new thrifted top, a new haircut, and a new 5 inch pattern to release this Thursday at Paper Piecing Club at Hip Stitch.
All of the scrappy, string-pieced wedges are done! Now I'm working on preparing them for insertion into my color wheel of destiny, so that when I spin the wheel they don't come flying out. So it's not finished, but the sewing part is finished, anyway.
Sorry I missed you last week, I've been working on something I can't show yet, but I did have some crafty time over the past week or so, and that's what I talk about in this video. I took a class last week with an out of town instructor and had a great time making art quilt bookmarks. Then this past weekend I started making string pieced wedges for a new color wheel of destiny to use at future scrappy sewcials. All in all a much craftier time for me lately. I also got rid of some of my personal scraps by adding them to the color sorted baskets at Scrappy Sewcial, and yesterday I color sorted the remining giant bag of scraps from my project room into ziploc bags and have them all in a single big tote bag to grab and sew with when I want/need a little bit of a color.
In which I show my next 5inch finished block that I'll be distributing this Thursday at Paper Piecing Club, "Here Comes the Sun". "Here Comes the Sun" makes a quarter of a sun design. You can use it as a single 5inch block, pair it with a second one to make a rising or setting sun, or make 4 and sew them together into a 10" finished full sun block! PDF pattern will be available for download soon.
January - April's blocks are already available on the Hip Stitch website
I'm coming to you a few days late, or a few days early, depending on whether I get another video posted this coming week, with 2 finished quilts that I donated at my local Project Linus group (Material Girls) meeting yesterday. It felt so good to finish two quilts from my two pants hangers' worth of quilt tops that have been languishing in my project room waiting to be quilted. I hope to be coming to you with more finishes soon.
This week I'm talking about my current crafty endeavor, which is (re)fashioning clothing, to me it fit better either size-wise or personality-wise. There is no selvage name on the lightweight canvas I'm using to remake these overalls, so I can't share that, sadly. With my new work schedule I think it will be much easier for me to be able to post a video every week, and hopefully also to get more crafty-type stuff done every week.
This week I talk about my newest addition to the 2025 PP Club Pattern Series, "Silly Scrappy Star", which finishes at 5 inches square. I'll be giving printed copies of this block pattern to attendees of this month's Paper Piecing Club and then next month it will be available to purchase as a pdf download.
Can't come to Paper Piecing Club? You can purchase a pdf download of the first three blocks now.
I spent the most of the last week of March and first week of April in Tokyo with my daughter, Miss P, as I tagged along with her as she traveled there for her study abroad semester. There's a lot more tell than show in this video, but I talk about some of the places I visited with and without her, and show some of the things I purchased.
just a video to say hello from Tokyo. Technically it's Tuesday evening here, but it's very early Tuesday back home in Albuquerque, NM, so I will greet you with Ohaiyo Gozaimas. My daughter Miss P and I arrived last Wednesday afternoon and have been exploring the city together. She is now in her dorm as her Study Abroad semester begins next week and this week she is busy with orientations and the like, so the next few days I will be doing some solo explorations before I head home this Saturday.
See you next week!
aregato gozaimas
love,
nmjewells
Hey y'all, I am back with a short video after missing next week. In this video I talk about my plan for my #ttmtbom quilt, which I'd like to finish in April. I will do my best to post a short video next Tuesday while I'm out of town. A huge thank you to everyone who has supported my daughter's Study Abroad Fundraiser. There are still some items/patterns available in the fundraiser on the Hip Stitch website.
In which I show you my latest 5inch blocks designed for Paper Piecing Club, which I host at Hip Stitch here in Albuquerque, NM. I'll be making last month's block, "Nearly Nine", available for purchase as a pdf download on the Hip Stitch website this Thursday, and the majority of the funds from purchases of these 5 inch blocks will help fund my daughter Phebe's Study Abroad in Japan this year.
I'm back from a one-week hiatus after a brief bout of some sort of flu, and this week I am showing and telling about my next finish in the TTMTBoM, Interwoven Diamonds, from December. I decided once again to alter the pattern and removed the rectangles at the top and bottom of each of the 4 pattern segments, resulting in my diamonds floating in the background. The way I did this was extend a couple pattern lines on each of the 6 inch sections of the 12 inch block, reducing the number of pattern pieces and using a single fabric for everything except the diamond in each section.
This week I also talk about the 2025 Paper Piecing Club Pattern Series, the new patterns I'm designing each month to share with the folks that come to the Paper Piecing Club I host at the shop where I work, Hip Stitch. I've decided to make my original patterns for this series available as part of Miss P's Study Abroad Fundraiser, so the first pattern is now available as a pdf download on the Hip Stitch website, where they've graciously allowed me to continue to raise funds for Miss P's academic adventure in Japan. As with the rest of the items/patterns in this fundraiser, the majority of the proceeds of these sales goes directly to help my daughter pay for her Study Abroad this year (the rest just goes to cover things like cc fees, website fees, and taxes).
TTMT #539 - @nmjewells - February 11, 2025 - Nearly Nine (Crafty Show & Tell)
This week I show you 3 sample/test blocks made for my new pattern for February's Paper Piecing Club, a PP sew-together that I host at Hip Stitch. The first attempt had way too many pieces, but the test was important because when I looked at the pattern again, I could see that it could be made with fewer pieces, so back to the drawing board I went, resulting in a finished pattern that I sent to my fellow TTMTers Jennifer R and Abbie D, who graciously agreed to test the pattern and offer feedback. The name of the block, "Nearly Nine", was a collaboration of brainstorming with Jennifer O., and I'm very pleased with not only the name but also the finished pattern and test blocks. At some point (possibly not until the last block is released, but I might start sooner) these patterns will be available as free pdf downloads on my blog. Until then, if you are local to the Albuquerque Area, come join us at Paper Piecing Club in person, as we sew together and share our favorite tips and tricks and best practices with each other.
Meanwhile, there are still some items/downloads available in the Study Abroad Fundraiser for Miss P on the Hip Stitch website. Thank you so much for supporting this endeavor. I'm so excited for Miss P that she has this amazing opportunity to live and study in Tokyo for a semester.
TTMT #538 - @nmjewells - February 4, 2025 - A Twist on November (Quilt Block Show & Tell)
In which I show you my versions of the Talk to Me Tuesday Block of the Month blocks for November, chosen by Rainey, and talk about changing one of the blocks and why.
You can find all of the #ttmtbom blocks released so far in the pattern archive.
There are still items for sale as well as a couple of my pdf patterns available in the Study Abroad fundraiser for Miss P, and hopefully I will also get some new pdf patterns in there soon.
This week I show off the three scrappy improv quilt blocks I made at the January Scrappy Sewcial at Hip Stitch this past weekend. I really enjoyed sewing, snacking, and being silly. It was a lot of fun, and there was even a brand new face this month. I love our little group of scrappy gals.
This week I show a new craft for my daughter Miss P. She's at it again, learning a brand new craft, and this time it's counted cross stitch. So I show you her first ever attempt at this, and she did a great job!
There are some new items available in her Study Abroad Fundraiser Feel free to check it out.
Want to come do some scrappy sewing with me? Register for Scrappy Sewcial
TTMT #535 - @nmjewells - January 15, 2025 - Half a Heart
Happy New Year! I am back in my project room with a brand new design and an actually finished block sample. *throws confetti* I've given myself permission to put a pause on the room organization because I really wanted to actually sew something. And so let me introduce you to "Half a Heart" my new 5" paper pieced pattern. It's going to be free on my blog after I've released it at the first Paper Piecing Club of the year, which is Thursday morning January 16 at Hip Stitch. Every attendee will receive 2 free printed copies of the pattern, so they can make one in the club that day and take one home for making copies. Then the free pattern will eventually make it onto my blog.
Phebe's Study Abroad fundraiser at Hip Stitch is still going well, and I'll be adding things periodically to keep it going up to and during her semester in Tokyo. You can find the items still available on the Hip Stitch website.
