Hello and welcome to Sarah Goer Quilts (formerly Things I Make). I'm so pleased to be a part of the 2015 New Quilt Bloggers Blog Hop this year. I sew and quilt for my sanity and blog to help keep myself motivated and to inspire others. I love colorful. I love bold.
I grew up around a sewing machine. My mom and my grandmother were crafters, and my mom made clothing for me when I was little. However, she's only ever made one quilt because she "just can't understand cutting fabric into little pieces just to sew it back together." I don't know when I learned to use a sewing machine, but I can't remember a time that I didn't sew. The first thing I remember sewing as a kid was scrunchies. I used to sell them at craft shows in my mom's booth. After college I decided I wanted to start quilting. I did a bunch of book reading and made my first two quilts from the book Quilting for Dummies.
I'm really enjoying swaps on Instagram. I like that swaps challenge me to try something new. I feel like I can push myself to try something for a few square feet that I wouldn't be up for committing to a whole larger quilt for a first go. The first swap I participated in was the IG Mini Swap quilt, which shipped in December of 2014. Basic Shapes was a lot of firsts, including my first time doing such dense quilting with a variety of quilting patterns.
I used the Schnitzel & Boo Mini Swap (round 3) to reteach myself how to paper piece. I hadn't done it since my Ribbit quilt in maybe 2009. I'd been admiring these adorable envelope blocks for some time and thought it was a great way to feature some Tula Pink fabrics. This was also the swap that was my excuse to start adding Tula to my stash. Win! ;-)
I participated in Ms. Midge's blog hop in March when I made her Charm Dash pattern as a lap quilt. I don't use solids much, but I just love the solid background on this one! :-)
The first project that I think I went bold on was when I participated in the Shop Hop by the Bay mystery quilt in 2003 (in my first year of quilting). I decided my theme would be crazy and wild and at each shop I bought a couple fat quarters in bold colors: stripes, dots, or patterns. I used the black and white print as my contrasting accent fabric. I didn't finish Candy Shoppe for many years (due in large part to wanting to learn to free motion quilt first), but now it lives in my family room and makes me happy every time I see it.
I'm currently teaching my 4 1/2-year old son to quilt. He completed his first quilt in March in time to be in my guild's quilt show. He loves that it "made him famous." He currently has a second project underway. It's a surprise for his sister, which presents the problem of finding time to work on it when she isn't around. It's a small project and he's quilted 2/3 of it, so the end is in sight.
Blog Photo Tip
There's been some discussion in the New Bloggers group about taking quality photos. One thing some of us late night quilters struggle with is having good light for taking photos. Here are my two best blog photo tips.
1. Invest in a foam core poster board (or a few). I buy mine at The Dollar Tree. A lot of my progress photos are taken using the foam board as a background. They are great for photos any time of day with any type of camera. If you have a couple, you can use one as the base and one as a background. Here's my setup. Please note the honest craft room surrounding my shooting site.
2. Adjust the white balance on your camera. (For reference, I use a Canon Rebel T3 DSLR.) Step one is to play with settings to choose a setting more appropriate for your location (daylight, cloudy, tungsten light, etc.). For working with a camera that will allow you to set custom white balance, you can use a grey card. I was given a 12" x 12" White Balance 18% Grey Reference Reflector Card with a Carry Bag from my sister, the photographer. It's super easy to use and compact enough to take with me when I leave the house. (It's worth noting that you don't have to have a white background, my examples just happen to be using my poster board.) Here's how it works. You place the card/disc in the location you're photographing (see photo above) and take a picture of it, zoomed in so you only shoot the grey section, like this:
Then you choose "Custom White Balance" from your camera menu and select this photo you just took as the reference photo.
The last step (don't forget this one!) is to make sure your camera white balance settings are set to Custom.
Here's the result...
Quilting Tip
In an effort to save time and thread while piecing I do a couple things.
Step 1: Chain piece. Without lifting the presser foot between sections, you can more quickly piece your project. By not starting and stopping for every piece, you save time trimming and you save thread. I make a pile of sets of each pair of fabrics to be pieced, all right sides together and oriented in the direction they go through the machine. Then when I get to the end of the first seam, I just start the next set and keep sewing. There's generally 1/8 to 1/4" between each of my seams which makes it easy to trim before or after pressing.
Step 2: Work on two (or more!) projects at a time. This might sound crazy, but hear me out... I piece nearly everything using a medium grey thread (aurifil #2605) which allows me to work on multiple projects simultaneously (time saver!). Working on multiple projects allows me to chain piece, going back and forth between projects, hardly ever lifting the presser foot. I prep two piles to chain piece, one group from Project A and one group from Project B, then I start chain piecing. Once I get all the way through the Project A group and into the Project B group (so what's under the presser foot is Project B), I pause sewing (don't lift the presser foot) and snip the thread between the last Project A seam and the first Project B seam. Then I take the Project A group to the ironing board to press my seams, snip the sections apart, and use those units to make my next pile of Project A pairs of fabrics to be pieced. Once I get done sewing the first batch of Project B seams, I repeat the process. I just flip back and forth between the projects until I'm done with one or both.
Four Fun Facts About Me
- I binge watch Friends and Gilmore Girls again and again while I quilt. (I do mix it up with other shows as well, but I always go back to those two series and rewatch them.)
- I have 14 years of newspaper and yearbook experience, from middle school through college and as a middle school yearbook teacher for 4 years.
- I'm a huge Disney fan. After being a Disneyland annual pass member for 14 years, I have only been 3 times in the last 5 1/2 years (since kids). I miss my frequent trips with my Disney-loving buddies.
- I'm the handy one in my house. Putting up level shelves is one of my specialties.
Maybe you haven't yet seen my rather lengthy WIP list... So, what is your best tip for managing multiple projects at once?
Thank you to Cheryl from Meadow Mist Designs, our hive leader, and to our other New Quilt Bloggers hosts, Yvonne (Quilting Jet Girl), Stephanie (Late Night Quilter), and Terri Ann (Childlike Fascination).
Thank you so much for visiting! Please check out the other bloggers from my hive posting for Week Two of the hop:
Cristy @ Love You Sew
Patty @ Walnut Street Quilts
Eileen @ Eileen In Stitches
I'm linking up to Tips and Tutorials Tuesday at Late Night Quilter.
Deb Chimes
Hi Sarah, thanks for your great photography and sewing tips. I also love bold and colourful! Your little boy is just too cute and his first quilt is wonderful. At the moment, the only way I seem to be getting my older WIP's finished is by joining goal setting linky parties. But this unfortunately hasn't prevented me from getting easily distracted and adding new projects to my already substantial list!
sarah
Post authorI feel ya. In the last year I think I've done a decent job of finishing some old projects... but I've probably started double the number that I finished. The goal link-ups is a great idea. I need to get back to doing that. Thanks for visiting! I'm glad you enjoyed my tips.
Hayley
hi Sarah, I really enjoyed your post. I am super impressed that you are teaching your son to quilt. My little Moo will sit on my knee while I sew but would prefer to make people by sticking pins into skeins of embroidery floss. I especially love your purple quilt. It is so happy!
sarah
Post authorThank you, Hayley. I'm really excited that he is having fun learning. It started because he was doing some hand sewing at school, so I asked if he'd like to learn to make a quilt. I had given a talk to his class about quilts, showing them the steps of making a quilt and examples of different types of quilts, so he already knew a lot of the lingo. I think "quilt sandwich" is his favorite. Thanks for visiting!
Cindy
Lovely intro! It was nice getting to know a little more about you. Thanks for the photography tips.
sarah
Post authorThanks Cindy. The grey card was a game changer for me. I'm so pleased with the results!
Tish
Thank you for the white card tip. I'm guilty of the late night quilting and hadn't really thought about that, so that is quite a juicy little tidbit for me :) My 46 year old cousin is wanting me to teach him to sew...so if you have any tips I would be glad to listen! It is awesome that your son is learning.
sarah
Post authorHi Tish. Thanks for visiting. I'm wanting to teach some adult friends how to quilt, but I'm not sure when that will be reasonable in my schedule. I think "Teaching my Friends to Quilt" would be a fun series of posts. I need to think more about how I'd go about that. I feel like to teach a beginner to sew, a nice simple project that could give practice at an even seam allowance, but was forgiving if it wasn't quite perfect would be good. What is your cousin's goal? To quilt? To sew something in particular?
Eleanor
How lovely, a budding quilter! Great photography tips, I really must try this! Love Candy Shoppe, so bright and cheerful!
The only thing I can suggest for WIPs is something like the finish-alongs hosted by On The Windy Side - set yourself a target that within each quarter to finish some. I've got a few rather old WIPs finished this way.
sarah
Post authorHi Eleanor. Thank you for the reminder! My finish along list is rather long. I finished 5 WIPs in Q1... but that left me 30 projects (gasp!) on my Q2 list. I like the monthly goals for A Lovely Year of Finishes with Sew BitterSweet Designs for ONE short term goal. Now to make the goal be an old WIP quilt. (This month my goal was a swap mini.) I'll have to think on which old project I want to focus on in July. So many to choose from!
Yvonne @Quilting Jetgirl
I have a piece of paper that sits by my computer keyboard to remind me of my WIP list and deadlines. It helps me to have the list by my computer to push me to get up and get sewing when I've been sitting and reading blogs for too long - the internet can suck me in! :) Great introductory post, and your tips are fantastic.
sarah
Post authorA physical list would probably be so much more beneficial for me than just my list on the blog. I see a post it on my laptop in the near future. Thanks for the idea! (The internet is SUCH a time suck!) Thanks for visiting!
Allison CB
WOW - great tip about the color card!!! Thanks!!
sarah
Post authorThanks, Allison! It was the best gift I've ever gotten in an Easter basket. ;-)
bo
Interesting blog!! I do not sew let alone quilt but I can certainly appreciate all the time and effort that is put into quilting. I love seeing your finished products. Good luck with your new blog.
sarah
Post authorThanks, Bo! I'm having lots of fun!
Allison
Thank you for the very helpful photography tips! I usually have at least two projects on the go but I have found if there's too much 'stuff' piled up around my sewing space I get overwhelmed and find it difficult to settle and make progress. So my tip for working on two projects would be to keep the workspace uncluttered so you can see the wood for the trees!
sarah
Post authorYes! You're so right. I'm currently wading through quite the mess after making and shipping out two mini quilts this week. I chipped away a bit at the folding and putting away of fabric today. More of that tomorrow, so I can get back to some sewing. :-) Thanks for the tip! Any fabulous organizational tips? It seems my stuff multiplies when I'm not looking. :-)
Cheryl
Excellent post! Great photography tips. I love that your son is learning to quilt. My son (who is 8) told me that he is going to make a quilt for my guild's quilt show in March of next year.
sarah
Post authorThat's so great! I hope you'll blog about his process. I'd love to read it and to share it with my son. Thanks for visiting!
Wanda Dotson
Sarah, I love the new name. You are remarkable in every way. I hate chain piecing, though. I'm always thinking "when will this be over." I can see the advantages if you are organized enough to think that way and you clearly are. I'm BEYOND EXCITED to learn those photos tips.
sarah
Post authorThank you, Wanda. You are so sweet. If you hate chain piecing then never ever try one of those jelly roll race quilts. Talk about wondering when it will end! If you haven't seen them, Missouri Quilt Co has videos on youtube. I'm so glad that the photo tips are something you can use. :-) Thanks for visiting.
Lisa
Hi Sarah: I'm really happy to read your photography tips. I've never heard of a grey board before. I love your Tula Pink envelope mini quilt. I just might have to get on instagram just for the swaps.
sarah
Post authorHi Lisa. It sure pays to have a photographer in the family. My sister has been visiting frequently and saw me struggling with taking late night shots for a last minute blog post. I've gotta tell you, the swaps are kind of addicting... make sure you have lots of time before you go there. ;-) Let me know when you join Instagram so I can follow you and I'd be happy to point you in the right direction when you're looking for swaps. Thanks for visiting!
Kim S.
Love your photography tips! They may be life-changing! I have never adjusted the white balance manually, and now I can't wait to try! Thanks so much for sharing your tips. It was so nice to get to know you through this post :)
sarah
Post authorThanks so much, Kim. Let me know how it goes. It's truly been a game changer for me. (Now to upgrade my iPhone so I'm running the latest version and can find an app to adjust white balance for iPhone pics -- I know it's out there, but I haven't had time to figure it out yet.)
Ruth
great to read more about you. my aunt makes clothes and can't understand the quilting thing either! Love all the color and WB makes all the difference even to daylight shots!
sarah
Post authorThanks so much, Ruth. I need to get better about using the grey card even in "good" light. :-)
Andrea Bertone
I bought one of those grey cards. Thanks for the inspiration to finally use it!
sarah
Post authorDo it! Let me know how it goes. :-) Thanks for visiting!
Silvia Sutters
Sarah, how fun! I can't wait to teach my girls how to sew. My oldest is 3 and I want to get her a sewing machine for Christmas. I would love to hear more tips on teaching young kids how to sew. (I taught kids, but they were 6th to 8th grade). Thanks for those tips - they were actually great mini tutorials- now all I need is a SLR. haha.. ;)
sarah
Post authorMy son started sewing at his Montessori preschool. The first thing he did was sewing on plastic canvas with embroidery floss. They started him at the corner of a square and had him go in one hole, out the next, and so on around the edge and then spiraling in until the whole square was full. After that they drew a picture on burlap for him to stitch along a line with embroidery floss. (There's a pic of that one in the first post about teaching him to quilt.) It was after he'd done these two projects that I thought to ask him if he wanted to learn to sew with the sewing machine and to make a quilt. Thanks for visiting!
Louisa @ Sewmotion
What an excellent post, thank you so much for the photography tips, my pics do come out so grey, I'm definitely going to try this!
I love your mini quilts, and you're right, they are a great way to learn something new without committing yourself to a huge quilt. Enjoy the rest of your Blog Hop, I'll be following. :)
sarah
Post authorThanks so much, Louisa. I hope the photo tips help you out! It's been fun "meeting" so many new people. Thanks for visiting and following!
Megan: Sew Stitching Cute
Sarah! Oh my dear sweet Sarah! You inspire me so much with your work! I am LOVING your blog and you look great! While I have yet to work even with Allison Glass fabric, I have been dyeing to and I will soon one day! I may just have to join the swap! The colors all blend so well together and I don’t think anyone can ever go wrong. I also dream of making a top for myself (or a few) in her fabrics (just as many others have, haha). I agree about swaps, for me they are about developing my skills and accuracy rather than what I aim to always just do… although I feel lately that is all I am doing. Over join, I know. As well as life… but it is all slowly coming around. Yay! I love that Star and X quilt… of course in Allison Glass! The backing is beautiful! Preppy the whale is still something I need to make… but then again I want to make all things! Don’t we all? You did a SUPERB job on that envelope fussy cutting with Tula Pink… I mean, my goodness! I may need to make one for myself! I see you are also a chain piecer… I feel sometimes I waste more time trying to figure out how to efficiently do it and chain piece rather than actually just chain piecing! LoL I recently learned this while at a sewing class with Angela Pingel! Always learning! I so can’t wait to get to know you more through this hop!
*Stopping by from the 2015 New Blogger Blog Hop – New Bees
sarah
Post authorYou're so sweet. I suspect there will be a round two of the Alison Glass Mini Swap. It was just too awesome to not! I have some of her fabric earmarked for making dresses for my daughter. I'll want her to just wear them all the time. ;-) I'm glad you are inspired by my little projects, but with over 30 WIPs in various stages of planning and sewing, I totally get being over-inspired. I feel like I need to catch up before I start more. But that never really happens. I'm glad I took a break on signups for swaps and have nothing due in July. But I have 4 due in August/September. Eek! I should really get started on those. I have a plan for one in my head, but I'm a procrastinator/last minute kinda girl. :-) Thanks for visiting and for the lovely note.
Jane
Hi Sarah! Lovely to get to know a little more about you. I too am a multiple WIP person. It makes life so much more interesting. Part of me wanted to not have any finishes until the end of the year, and just plod through a bunch of different quilts, but unfortunately things haven't worked out as I'd planned (can people stop having babies please!) but at one point I'd love to get back to the many projects I have going. I kind of love this system, because last week I found a bunch of pieces for three quilts that I'd cut out and managed to misplace in the move. It was like a lovely gift I'd left for myself. I also completely agree on using a medium grey thread for almost everything. Occasionally I'll get one of my other basics out, but the grey works on nearly all fabric combinations.
I love your work. Your Tula envelopes are adorable!
It's wonderful that you're teaching your son to quilt. We need more men getting involved in this industry.
sarah
Post authorThank you so much, Jane. I tried to axe some projects from the WIP list, but I found that I'm still even committed to the ones that are not to my current taste. But I make little to no progress on them. Hm. Maybe I'll have to try again to axe stuff at the end of the year, to get down to my goal of 12 WIPs (max). I'm trying not to join any more swaps which will help in the not adding to the list category. At least those get done, though. Something about having a deadline is super helpful! And about teaching my son, I'm so excited that he's enjoying it. My daughter (who turned three last month) is itching to learn as well. I figure I have about a year and a half before I'll really be up for sitting her down at the machine. :-)
Jane
I think most of us have way too many WIPs going. I don't know what it is, other than the desire to do something new. Perhaps you should give yourself self-imposed guidelines: write them up on your blog so you have some accountability. I tried to do that with a couple of projects from last year, but then we moved, and everything went out the window. I'm still finishing them up.
Could you give your daughter some hand work to do? At that age we had a lot of children's cross-stitch kits. The canvas and needles were plastic, so they were safe. The designs were printed on the canvas, so no major headaches.
sarah
Post authorGreat ideas! Thank you. I think she'll be doing some hand sewing at school in the Fall if I don't get to it before then. :-)
Jane
It's great that the school gets the kids in to it so early. I don't remember doing any sewing in class until grade 4.
Mary
Sarah, it is so delightful when reading a blog to see something I've never seen before, and I have never seen the envelope blocks you created in your Schnitzel & Boo Mini Swap quilt. I want to make some someday! Your photography tip is wonderful. Right now I just have a point and shoot camera and the camera on my iPad mini, but maybe someday I'll get a fancier camera to photograph quilts, and I will definitely refer back to your tip. As far as managing multiple projects, I'm hoping that The Get to Work Book by Elisa Cripes that just arrived in the mail and starts on July 1st will help me as I'm swimming in projects right now!
sarah
Post authorThank you, Mary. I'm glad you like my envelope blocks. I have just one block for myself and I'd like to make more, but it would be a heck of a lot faster to just quilt that up to be its own little mini. ;-) If you're running the latest operating system on your iPad, there might be 3rd party apps that you can set white balance in (not sure about custom white balance)... I haven't tried any myself, but a friend mentioned VSCOcam and Camera+ as two to try for the iPhone and I assume they'd have an iPad version as well if you want to check that out. Let me know how you like the book. I've been thinking a paper planner might be just the thing for me to get a better handle on things. Lately, I've been printing single page monthly calendars for blog post planning. When I use them, they help. Thanks you so much for visiting!
Karin
Thanks for the post! I bought a that gray card after reading this and WOW! I just took a series of pictures of my toddler's red cup. I couldn't see a huge difference outdoors, but the indoor pictures were a thousand times better. Can't wait to use this to take real pictures and not just sample ones.
sarah
Post authorYay! I'm so glad to hear that you like it! I don't usually bother with it outdoors (I find the "shade" or "cloudy" settings usually do it for me if auto white balance isn't working outside).
Anja @ Anja Quilts
Thanks for the photography tip. I'm a night quilter as well. How did you piece your letters -- improve or a pattern?
sarah
Post authorI'm not sure which letters you're asking about. If it was my ABC quilts, that was from the Little Letters series from Temecula Quilt Co.
helen
Hi Sarah, love the new name and love your schnitzel and boo mini quilt. I took part as well and really enjoyed it. Also saw your stash bee block for Leo, I am in hive 2. Loved the red and yellow
sarah
Post authorThank you, Helen. I think a new round of Schnitzel and Boo might be a swap I just couldn't pass up. It was great to participate. I'm also loving being in the Bees. Top priority for this weekend is to get my sample made for the Stash Bee as I'm the Hive 1 host next month. So exciting. :-)
Jayne
I love that you are teaching your son to quilt! Such a pleasure getting to know you! I love your minis. That Tula one, beautiful. Thanks for the tips on photography. It is difficult to capture the perfect picture/color most of the time, but great tips to remember.
sarah
Post authorThank you, Jayne. It's been very fun teaching him... though less fun sharing time on my one sewing machine. ;-)
Brianna Robertson
Hi Sarah, Those are great tips! Lighting is one of the things I struggle with most in photography, especially in high contrast situations. I've been dedicating so much time to sewing I haven't taken time to learn more. This will be an excellent starting point for me :) I have to get some foam boards for another project, so this is perfect!
sarah
Post authorThanks, Brianna. I absolutely understand not having time for everything. I use the phrase "if I had infinite time" often. ;-) Let me know how it goes!
Sarah
I'm the handy one in my house too! Lol. Also, I'd totally be an annual pass holder at Disney if I lived close enough. Great blog hop post!
sarah
Post authorI went to college at UC San Diego, so it was an hour 15 minutes no traffic to get to Disneyland so I couldn't resist getting an annual pass. Then when I moved back to San Jose I just made many trips a year. :-) Thanks for visiting, Sarah.
Martha
Super cute post with great photo tips (gotta get me a grey card or just actually use the one in the Scott Kelby book I have. D'oh!). Your personality really shines through your words.
As for the WIP list, I got nothing. Mine is on paper and too embarrassing to expose to the light of day. Happy to meet another 2015 New Blogger
sarah
Post authorThank you, Martha. I think putting my lengthy WIP list out there has really helped me prioritize and get some stuff done. I figure it has the added effect of helping some people feel like their list is not too long. ;-) Thanks for visiting.
Nurdan
Hi Sarah! A late visit from Hug-a-Bit Quilts from the Quantum Quilters!
You have given us some very great photography tips! I didn't know about the custom white balance setting thing at all. The difference between the photos are amazing! Thanks very much for sharing.
I also appreciate that you teach your son how to sew and quilt at such an early age. Whatever they learn at this stage of their lives will remain with them forever; that's what I believe. I want to teach my son how to quilt too when he is around your son's age- he just turned three.
Your quilts all look very lovely. It is great to know you a little better!
Cheers, Nurdan aka Hug-a-Bit Quilts
sarah
Post authorThanks for visiting, Nurdan. I'm glad you liked my tips. I'm having a fun time sharing my passion with him. I'm glad the kids are both excited about what I do. I've recently been thinking about how I can get my daughter (turned 3 in May) more involved. I think at this point simply having some of my fabric scraps available for her to play with might be the right move. I need to get a little more organized to be ready for that though.
Carrie Ottmers Wikander
Hi Sarah, sorry I'm so late reading this but I've been away for an entire month and am just catching up. I want to say thanks so much for your camera advice, I'm marking this post as a favorite to re-read next time I need to take photos (I'm a terrible photographer, really hate it so this helps). I say it's great to have a few projects going but if I'm honest, I usually just work on one at a time - I am usually so excited to see it finished that I just focus on it till it's done. That said, I also like having pieces in various stages, if I can, so I can do whatever I feel like or have time for. Great to meet you, and I really think it's neat the way you teach yourself new things - go for it, girl.
sarah
Post authorI haven't been away and feel like I'm catching up. ;-) Thanks for visiting and for your nice message. I hope the photo tips help. The past few days I've been cutting fabrics for a number of new projects, so I'm at the piecing stage for all of them. Luckily I still have other WIPs at farther along stages in case I decide I want to do some quilting or something. More importantly, I can now do some much needed tidying around here. :-)
Gayle Fahrion
Great read. Thanks for the great tips. I'm going to try that gray card trick. Plus your continuous chain piecing is interesting. I usually start and finish projects but my style has changed this year due to classes and retreats so I'm finding myself with a list of WIPs. Your technique might just need to get adopted. Thanks.
sarah
Post authorI'm hoping to knock down my WIP list. My goal was to cut it in half this year, but I'm afriad it's larger now than it was January 1st. Hoping to get through some of the older WIPs in the next couple months. Thanks for visiting!
Cassandra
Hi Sarah! It is so nice to have the chance to get to know you a bit better. I'm also a big fan of the mini quilt- it is so nice to get to do some experimentation in a relatively low risk format. It is so much fun to see your son working on his own quilt projects! It is so awesome that he is learning so early.
sarah
Post authorThank you, Cassandra. It's been great to help him with his first two quilts. Even he appreciates the mini quilt. His rainbow quilt (16" x 24") has six pieces and he was so proud of himself that he pieced it all in one day. ;-) Significantly faster than his 36 piece first quilt. :-)