Studio Spring Clean Blog Hop 2018

Studio Spring Clean Blog Hop 2018 {an Art School Dropout's life}

A month or so ago Cheryl Sleboda of Muppin.com and Sew Much Cosplay put out a call for bloggers to take part in the yearly Spring Clean Your Studio Blog Hop. We were asked to take a photo (or seven) of our studio as it was and then clean it up and share the difference.

Due to being very sick with numerous chronic illnesses, I haven’t really sewn in my studio since last November, so it was a complete and utter disaster. It had turned in to a dumping ground for all my sewing and craft supplies, as well as my daughters supplies (I didn’t know about that part until I started cleaning). I am also redoing my fabric, craft and product storage in my workroom (I know it sounds weird that there are two rooms, but they are rather small and one just couldn’t contain everything) and I was storing a lot of the bins holding my fabric in my studio.

It was ridiculous.

When ever I needed to sew something real quick, I’d just use my machine that I had stashed away in the dining room. Again, ridiculous.

So I jumped on the chance to force myself to clean my studio up. I NEEDED the push so badly.

If you are curious about how bad it was, and then what it looked like afterwards, then keep reading…

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#ModernMinis4Andover

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About two months ago I was contacted by the lovely people over at Andover Fabrics with an idea they had for a rainbow wall of mini quilts at QuiltCon this year. They would send me the fabric in a specific colorway and I would send them a mini quilt to hang in their booth during the event. I have been very sick, and haven’t had the energy to finish anything large, but I figured I could hand sew most of the mini so I said “yes!”

They sent me the gorgeous bundle of blue and white fabric shown above, which arrived right at the beginning of the blizzard we had. The majority of the fat quarters were either by Lizzy House or Alison Glass. The rest was from various other lines with Andover (I really should look in to them because they were all beautiful).

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My First Noodlehead Super Tote

My First Noodlehead Super Tote {an Art School Dropout's life} / Handmade Tote Bag #spooonflower #artschooldropout #jesseesuem

QuiltCon is less than a week away and I just now finished my first sewing project for the trip! I had this crazy plan to make two tote bags (one featuring my fabric and one as part of a contest/promotion that I’ll talk about later), a drawstring bag, a makeup bag, a zipper pouch, a dress, a brooch, and a 100 or so hexagon pins to hand out. Whew, yep, crazy lady here. Most of the projects are about 75% done, which is pretty impressive for me. I’m normally a “the night before a trip and I am still sewing and refuse to sleep until I get on the plane” type of girl. I think I was just too excited about all of this selfish sewing!

My First Noodlehead Super Tote {an Art School Dropout's life} / Handmade Tote Bag #spooonflower #artschooldropout #jesseesuemOk, now let’s actually talk about the bag I keep showing photos of! This is the most intricate bag I have ever sewn from a pattern. Do you see those gusseted sides? Normally when I need a tote bag I just throw some squares and some straps together and call it a day. This is QuiltCon though! I will be surrounded by loads of other talented people who appreciate what goes into such projects. So no thrown together bags for this event.

Instead I made a Super Tote using a pattern I bought from Noodlehead. The pattern cost $8 and is worth every single penny.

As for the fabric I used my own designs printed by Spoonflower for the front, straps and zipper pieces (if theres any interest I’ll put them up in the shop next month). The sides, lining and top front piece are from Carolyn Friedlander’s Architextures line through Robert Kaufman fabrics. There is also a hint of Alison Glass’s Grove fabric in beet as an organizer in the front pocket. All of the hexagons were actually taken from another project I’m working on and the fabrics are by different people. The shiny fabric around the hexagons and used as zipper ends is a glossy black oilcloth I bought years ago for embroidered collages I use to make. There is also a bunch of heavier weight interfacing used that helps give the bag its shape and strength. Overall, I think all these fabrics blended so well together and really show my personal taste!

My First Noodlehead Super Tote {an Art School Dropout's life} / Handmade Tote Bag #spooonflower #artschooldropout #jesseesuem My First Noodlehead Super Tote {an Art School Dropout's life} / Handmade Tote Bag #spooonflower #artschooldropout #jesseesuem My First Noodlehead Super Tote {an Art School Dropout's life} / Handmade Tote Bag #spooonflower #artschooldropout #jesseesuem

 This inside of this bag was actually really hard to photograph! It was so dreary here and I just couldn’t seem to show just how spacious and versatile it is! I altered the inside pattern slightly by adding a zippered pocket on one side. This was to securely hold my inhaler, medication and anything else I truly can’t live without. Plus I like to have these items separated from everything else so theres no digging around, freaking out, while having an attack.

The rest of the divided gathered/elastic pockets were part of the pattern. They are perfect for an event like Quiltcon where I’ll be picking up random bits and pieces all weekend and I’ll be able to divide them up and not just have a mound of crap on the bottom of my bag. Plus I’m taking a workshop one of the days, so this way i can keep my supplies separated from anything else I buy or am given.

My First Noodlehead Super Tote {an Art School Dropout's life} / Handmade Tote Bag #spooonflower #artschooldropout #jesseesuem

This bag also has two options when it comes to the main zipper on the top. You can either have a zipper, or not have one! I chose to add the zipper to this bag, and omit it on the second one (purely because I forgot to buy a second zipper) The instructions made it so easy to install it, which has made me way more comfortable with the idea of always adding a zipper. (I already have plans to make loads more of these bags)

My First Noodlehead Super Tote {an Art School Dropout's life} / Handmade Tote Bag #spooonflower #artschooldropout #jesseesuemThe front pocket was even harder to photograph than the inside! It’s so slim and flat, it just wouldn’t stay open. As with the interior of the bag, I also altered this part a little to fit my needs. I had seen on the From A Blue Chair blog where Kati added a small organizer type of pocket inside the front pocket. It was brilliant! (you should check out her post too! She did a few other alterations that were great and worth reading about!) So I used a super bright purple fabric and stitched up three dividers to help me hold my phone, business cards and extra pens (or business cards I’m given). This way I can get to all of those items super fast without taking the bag off my shoulder.

As you can see, I used a magnetic closure to secure the pocket when not in use. The pattern suggests this option, velcro or nothing at all. I think the magentic closure looks best. Thats just my opinion though.

My First Noodlehead Super Tote {an Art School Dropout's life} / Handmade Tote Bag #spooonflower #artschooldropout #jesseesuemMy First Noodlehead Super Tote {an Art School Dropout's life} / Handmade Tote Bag #spooonflower #artschooldropout #jesseesuemI think thats it. Who knew I could type so much about one bag? Wait until I start talking about the next bag!! Hahaha.

If you will be at QuiltCon, please look out for a girl with purple hair, carrying this bag! If you see me, please come say hi. I have some sparkly goodies for anyone who does.

P.S.: Everytime I look at that last photo all I can think of is Alec Baldwin in 30 Rock asking “It’s weird. What do I do with my arms?”

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Shop Update: Three Baby Quilts

muted_hexagon_quilt_mintgraytan_006_550I’ve been making baby quilts lately as a form of therapy and as skill building exercises. The size is perfect because one yard of fabric fits on the back and I can sandwich everything together on my work table. However my little one is starting to outgrow this size and I really have no use for a stack of baby quilts. Soooo I added them to the shop!

I priced them according to quilts similar in quality and design that I’ve seen online. I don’t plan on taking custom requests and won’t update quilts non stop, but it’s nice to know that if I have an idea I can test it out and it may end up finding a new home one day, not just sit on my shelf and get dusty.

$195.00  Hexagon Baby Quilt - Mint, Gray, Tan & White {an Art School dropout's life}The first three quilts that I added are all completely different. Both in color and design. There is the light muted tone hexagon quilt above

$200.00  Rows of Plus Signs Quilt - Black, White & Mustard {an Art School Dropout's life}$200.00  Rows of Plus Signs Quilt - Black, White & Mustard {an Art School Dropout's life}

The black in white plus sign quilt with a surprise mustard colored backing

$175.00  Icosahedron Baby Quilt - Blues & Grays {an Art School Dropout's life} $175.00  Icosahedron Baby Quilt - Blues & Grays {an Art School Dropout's life}And the icosahedron quilt made up of lots of blues and grays.

I’d love to hear your thoughts about these pieces and anything else that may be on your mind right now!!

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A Collaboration Between Cloud 9 Fabrics, Silhouette America & Me

A Collaboration Between Cloud 9 Fabrics, Silhouette America & MeBack in July, I took place in a collaboration between Cloud 9 Fabrics and Silhouette America. I was sent an awesome fat quarter bundle of Cloud 9′s new line Arcadia by Sarah Watson to make something using my Silhouette CAMEO. All they asked of me was to make it an applique project.

A Collaboration Between Cloud 9 Fabrics, Silhouette America & Me {an Art School Dropout's life}

A Collaboration Between Cloud 9 Fabrics, Silhouette America & Me {an Art School Dropout's life}

 

I had so much fun designing and making this project! I wrote up a full tutorial, with pictures, over on Silhouette America’s blog. Trust me when I say, this project was way easier to make than it looks!

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 Also, if you are new here and would like to keep up on all the new projects I will be posting then please add me on BlogLovin!

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