happy new year!

Thank you to everyone, followers new and old, for your support in 2012. This past year was a productive one, and I'm looking forward to 2013, which will include teaching classes, printing fabric with this awesome lady, and sewing for new twin nephews. Happy New Year to you all!

Above is an ornament I stitched using a kit I received at the Purl Soho book signing for Jessica Marquez's new book, Stitched Gifts, last month. 

LMP+QG december challenge: quilted coasters

Each month, my friend Kait and I are making a project from the book, Last-Minute Patchwork and Quilted Gifts ("LMP+QG" for short). You can see previous projects here.

For the last month of our year-long challenge, Kait and I decided to keep things simple (between holiday gift-making and Kait's craft fairs, we've both been busy!) and make one of the easier projects in the book: quilted coasters.

Pulling from my mom's stash of vintage fabrics, I selected three coordinating prints and made a trio of coasters, which I quilted with cream thread. This project was simple and quick and definitely one I'll return to when I need a last-minute gift.

And that's the final project! I have a few more finishes to share with you in the new year (like quilt tops that became actual quilts), but you can see all of the projects that Kait and I completed throughout the year here.

LMP+QG november challenge: bird ornaments

Each month, my friend Kait and I are making a project from the book, Last-Minute Patchwork and Quilted Gifts ("LMP+QG" for short). You can see previous projects here.

After taking off the month of October (our trip to Sewing Summit kept us busy!), Kait and I jumped back into the LMP+QG challenge last month with bird ornaments.

I opted to make two birds, using a vintage floral print from my mom's fabric stash paired with white.

The birds were a bit finicky to make (and these were actually my second attempt at the pattern; the first attempt was gnawed on by our dog), and I found that the pattern worked best when made from two fabrics that contrasted really well with one another.

Coming up next: Quilted Coasters

giveaway winner!

Thank you so much to everyone who entered my little giveaway, and welcome to all of my new followers! The winner of the mini charm pack and pinback button is...

Congratulations, Melissa! Shoot me an email [saltyoat at gmail dot com] with your mailing address, and I'll get your package in the mail!

do. Good Stitches: November Blocks

Here are the blocks I made for Erica, November's quilter in our circle of do. Good Stitches. Erica requested blocks made in boy-friendly colors, using this tutorial. I had fun pulling a bunch of fabrics from my stash for these, including some shirting and a vintage print. I can't wait to see the finished quilt!

P.S. Looking for the Giveaway Day giveaway? Hop on over here!

before and after: bedside table

Hop on over to the Spoonflower blog today to see how I transformed my bedside table using paint and wall decal!

And in case you're interested, here are a few more before and afters from the archives: a piggy bank, a desk, and wooden boxes.

giveaway day!

Welcome to everyone visiting as part of Sew Mama Sew's giveaway day! If this is your first time at Salty Oat, here's a mini round-up of some of my most popular posts over the past few years, to get you up to speed:

• One of my first quilts was made from the bunting I hung up at my wedding. 
• When learning to embroider, I stitched a sampler using a doily as my inspiration. 
• I think napkins are fun to make and give (see evidence here, here, here, and here). To make your own, check out my log cabin napkin tutorial over on the Fat Quarterly blog.
• I was lucky enough to have two embroidered pieces (this one and this one) included in group shows in Seattle a few years ago.
• I love to quilt. Here are a few of the quilts I've made this year: for my parents, for my sister-in-law, for a friend, for me. 

Now for the giveaway! This year, I'll be giving away a mini charm pack from Moda (each square of fabric measures 2.5" x 2.5"), featuring the fabric line Kissing Booth by BasicGrey. I'll also be giving away a hand-stitched, cross-stitch pinback button, featuring the letter of the winner's choice.

To enter, simply leave a comment below, telling me what letter you'd like stitched on your button. Please be sure to include your email address, so that I have a way to contact you if you win. Comments will close December 7, at 5:00 pm PST, and a winner will be chosen at random and notified by December 9. This giveaway is open to everyone, domestic and international.

*Giveaway is now closed.*

a wedding gift

This past weekend, I finally finished assembling a belated wedding gift for some friends who were married this summer: a cocktail shaker and hand-embroidered cocktail napkins.

The napkins were made with a solid turquoise on the front, with a coral red running stitch along the border, and a blue and white gingham on the back. My husband picked out the shaker, which has a number of drink recipes along the sides. Hopefully both items will be put to good use by the new couple!

gallery of gifts 2012

In case you've been itching to get your hands on some handmade Salty Oat goodies, here's your chance! From now until December 22, you can find a few of my things for sale in the Gallery of Gifts at the Library Arts Center in Newport, New Hampshire (my home state!).

The annual holiday show features the work of a number of New England artists, and I'm excited to be included for the second time (I first participated two years ago). Among the items I sent, you'll find corduroy lunch totes, cross-stitch animal hoops, patchwork pillows, and cross-stitch pinback buttons.

If you're in the area, I hope you'll stop by the gallery and do a bit of holiday shopping and support a great organization!

heart quilt for hurricane sandy

When I heard about Make It Better: Craftalong for Hurricane Sandy, I knew I wanted to help. Knowing that temperatures have been dropping and people have been without heat, I packed up a box with some cold-weather accessories, and a heart baby quilt I made earlier this year.

The top is pieced from red and pink solid scraps, and the quilt is backed with a floral Japanese print and bound with a white and blue polka dot.

I hope it brings a bit of comfort to someone who could use it right now. For more information on ways to help those affected by Hurricane Sandy, please visit here and here.

do. Good Stitches swap + a cross-stitch heart quilt

After sending off my set of coasters to my swap partner Erica, I received the most amazing gift from my swap partner Alyssa, who blogs over at Pile O' Fabric. Using fabrics from some of my favorite designers, Leah Duncan and Lotta Jansdotter, Alyssa created a wall quilt featuring a cross-stitch heart, based on the original Salty Oat logo.

Isn't it amazing!? She hand-quilted the entire thing and then hand-stitched the Salty Oat logo in the bottom right corner of the quilt.

Also in the package were two wide-mouth zipper pouches (made from Anna's tutorial, which I've been meaning to try out myself) featuring more of Leah's fabric and linen. They arrived just in time for my trip to Houston and were perfect for holding travel essentials and Quilt Market goodies.

Alyssa put together a great tutorial for the cross-stitch quilt block, if you're interested in making your own.

Thank you, Alyssa!

do. Good Stitches: October Blocks

Herringbone blocks I made from colorful scraps for Sonya for October's quilt for the Wish Circle of do. Good Stitches. Tutorial found here.

happy halloween!

 

My new faux pumpkin, stitched by hand with black yarn.

quilt market

Detail from Melody Miller's booth at the 2012 International Quilt Market, Houston

This past weekend, I went to Quilt Market for the very first time for work. It was a quick trip (and I only managed to take one picture!), but I did see many exciting, soon-to-be released fabric collections, discover a few new fabric companies (like this one, out of Japan), meet friendly people, and buy a few things at the Sample Spree. Did any of you go this year? What was your favorite part?

P.S. Thank you to everyone who donated to our team for the Walk to End Alzheimer's! I was so disappointed not to be able to attend because of my last-minute trip to Houston, but my husband still went to represent our team on Saturday, and thanks to your support, we were able to raise $2,000!

scrap challenge: chevron napkins

When Rachel at Stitched in Color announced that she was going to be doing another scrap challenge (I loved the results of the first!), I immediately volunteered to participate and was so excited when I was one of the four people selected to create something using all of the scraps pictured above.

My husband and I are heading to a wedding soon, so I figured this would be a great opportunity to make something for the newly married couple. After a bit of brainstorming and sketching, I decided to make a set of napkins using mini half-square triangles.

I wanted the napkins to be modern and simple, so I decided to incorporate the ubiquitous chevron, along with a lot of negative space. I created the chevrons from half-square triangles, and then pieced them into columns that ran the width of the napkin. Each napkin features all of the fabrics from the bundle, arranged in a random order.

I improvised the placement of the column in each napkin, to mix things up a bit and create some interest, but once I finished, I worried that it looked more like I hadn't measured properly! Hopefully the couple won't mind.

I really loved the color palette of the bundle, and particularly loved having the chance to work with new fabrics with different textures, including two Kaufman linens and a Moda Cross Weave. I paired everything with a white organic Kona, which I also used on the back. The napkins wound up being slightly more than 18 x 18 inches.

Thank you to Rachel for organizing this fun challenge, and a big thanks to Pink Chalk Fabrics for the gorgeous bundle of fabrics! You can pick up your own bundle here.

do. Good Stitches swap: what i sent

Last week, I mailed a small package to Erica (an amazing quilter who blogs over at Kitchen Table Quilting), as part of a swap amongst the members of the Wish Circle of do. Good Stitches.

In it, I included a set of coasters I'd made for her using Essex linen and prints by Anna Maria Horner, one of her favorite fabric designers. The pattern for the coasters came from Rashida Coleman-Hale's I Love Patchwork. The coasters were fun to make---and a great way to use up scraps!---and I'd love to make more for both holiday gifts and upcoming craft fairs. I backed each coaster with a coordinating scrap from my stash, and quilted everything with zig-zags.

I also included a little bundle of scraps for Erica, in the colors she'd asked for: navy, green and gray.

This was such a fun swap to participate in, and it was nice to be able to get to know my fellow circle members a bit more. Hopefully we'll do more swaps in the future!