Quiltytherapy

Blog

3 Things I’m Enjoying This Week 2.20

Posted on February 20, 2022by Tisha

Well hello, sunshines. Can you believe February has 8 days left? That means we have a birthday coming up at our house and someone is excited.

This week’s favorites are more personal. So let’s jump in.

My mom’s peach cobbler

Today I was visiting my parents and my mom made her peach cobbler. I brought some home and will probably have it for breakfast. It’s one of those things that I haven’t tried to make because I just like my moms. So when I do have it, it feels special.

I do know her recipe just in case.

Excuse the poor lighting, I needed a picture before it was all destroyed.

We were discussing the best ways to eat the cobbler. She likes it with ice cream. I like it with some milk. Similar I guess. Is there really a wrong way to eat cobbler?

More rock climbing

Buckle up shoulders, we have more climbing in our future. I took Porter rock climbing this week to use up the last of our Groupon deal and he loved it. (Reach out if you’re in Indy and want the details) He did not stop and just kept going.

He had no fear.

He’s ready to go back ASAP. Deal kid.

Closet Purge

While looking for my items to round out my spring wardrobe I decided it was necessary to evaluate what I had. Since I have worked from home long before the pandemic, my wardrobe is really lacking. I’ve been rocking the hobo chic look for a while because I could live in tights.

Those days are coming to an end and going back to the office occasionally is in the future. I collected quite the bag of stuff that I’m not totally in love with. When doing a closet purge, I let the bag sit for a few days. If I go to look for that item in the next few days, then I still have. However, most of these pieces, I haven’t worn in a bit. Time to make space for something new.

Do you clean out your closet with the change of seasons?

No comments yet

Blog

3 Things I’m Enjoying This Week 2.13

Posted on February 13, 2022by Tisha

Hello Sunshines!! How has your week been? I hope something amazing happened for you. Even the little things can be amazing.

Let’s dig into my 3 things from this week.

Sport Bras

Yes, I’m bringing up bras again. You need to get fitted because it’s a game changer. But what about Sport Bras? Well, they do come in your bra size. You need to know what works the best for you and your activities.

I would love to wear one of those strappy cute ones. They offer little support and rarely does everything stay put in those for me. If you can wear them, amazing.

Kelly K Roberts noted that Adidas came out with 43 new sport bras. Check out her reel and her thoughts.

Let me tell you about my recent favorite….Glamorise Wonderwire Sport Bra.

Nothing moved in this one and it was comfortable. Shopping for sport bras is almost worst than bra shopping. You have to think about how you’re going to be active in that bra, if it rubs you wrong, and does it provide support.

Try lots of options and find the right one for you. I’m excited to try this new one on a long run.

Here is that resource guide I mentioned last week.

Spring Wardrobe

I have been planning the items I want to add to my spring wardrobe for this year. The goal is to be intentional with what I’m purchasing and selecting the right thing. Starting to look now gives me some time.

Here are my items:

emerald pleated skirt
lace sleeveless top
gray linen dress
embroidered shirt
black pants
lilac or periwinkle dress
something floral

I have a few items purchased from Poshmark that should be here this week. Should I share those next week?

Indoor Rock Climbing

I haven’t climbed in a couple of years thanks to Rona. Yesterday we decided to meet up with some friends and climb. No regrets, but my arms and shoulders are SORE today.

Before we went, I did box in the morning. That probably doesn’t help with the soreness.

I’m not a great climber but it was a great change of pace for a workout. I made it up a few times and tried some more challenging stuff. Not quite like some people that were with us.

It’s on the list to do again very soon. Plus it’s a great way to support a local business.

1 Comment

Blog

3 Things I’m Enjoying This Week 2.6

Posted on February 6, 2022by Tisha

We are dug out from our snowstorm this week. The boys have been enjoying the giant mountain of snow that gets built up in our yard from the plows. This week has been lots of time at home and reading.

I should clarify something from my post last week on Quilt Clothes. I don’t care what you do with a quilt that is yours. It’s become apparent to me that I truly don’t like quilted clothes. After posting my thoughts I did some digging to learn from others. Someone had the best comment that really hit me, “Does she walk around flea markets and cry at all the furniture that has been painted or repurposed?”

There are pieces in my home that I want to repurpose and guess what? I can do that because I own them and it’s okay. So do want you want with quilts, I’ll be over here side eyeing you. Here’s to learning and changing your perspective.

Here is my list of 3 things from this week.

Concerts

Many of my favorite bands have announced upcoming shows. Black Keys, Decemberists, and Head & The Heart. Scott purchased Rage Against the Machine tickets for us this summer. Bring on concerts and being outside.

Good Fitting Bras

If you have not been fitted recently to get your correct bra size, please do so. It’s a game-changer. In December I was measured for the first time in forever. It’s inconvenient that sizing isn’t more inclusive at big retailers, but there are lots of great small businesses that would love your business to buy your bras.

We went to REI and I was interested in this sports bra, but I will need to check Brooks site to see if they have my size.

I will work on a list of stores for the coming weeks that you can shop from and get a better range of sizes. There are some good tik toks that list them too. I just need to find them again.

Duolingo

In mid-2021 I transitioned jobs to work more in linguistics. I work with translators and get documents translated/localized into 20+ languages. Since we are wanting to travel to Europe in the coming years, I thought it was time to learn a language. I chose German to start learning. My family is part German and well why not.

Over the last 88 days, I’ve been learning and practicing German. It’s nice that it just takes 5 minutes per day.

Have you tried Duolingo before? If so, what language are you learning?

1 Comment

Blog

3 Things I’m Enjoying This Week 1.30

Posted on January 30, 2022by Tisha

Hello Sunshines,

We are in the middle of a cold spell in Indiana. It was around -10 the other morning. That’s cold.

With cold spells comes my signature hobo chic look. Messy bun, tights or joggers, shirt, and a big boyfriend style sweater. I complete the look with Uggs or slippers. It’s a hot mess, but works for this season.

I’m working on a post with some goals for 2022 that I hope to have out soon. What are your goals for 2022?

I want to be consistent with posting this year. So, I will be sharing 3 things I enjoy in the week. They could be anything.

Without further ado….

Traveling On

This song came up in my YouTube possible likes and they were right. Over the course of the week, I’ve probably listened to this 40 times.

Not a Happy Family

Audiobooks are my jam. Sitting down with a book to read, I will fall asleep. It’s a bad habit that I don’t see myself breaking. I found Shari Lapena thanks to a recommendation. You should check out her Not A Happy Family if you like true crime. It’s a story with an interesting plot twist.

Mary Fons

The quilt coat trend isn’t new and I haven’t publicly picked a side. You guys, I hate quilt coats. You just spent all this time on your quilt and now it’s a jacket. Well Mary Fons has a few thoughts and digs deeper.

I didn’t realize designers were buying antique coats to “upcycle” them. This seems very wrong and I’m glad someone is speaking up.

You can find the post here.

Thanks for reading and come back next week for this week’s favorites.

1 Comment

scraps

Love of Scrap Quilts – Earth Day 2021

Posted on April 22, 2021by Tisha

Earth Day 2021 is feeling refreshed and renewed. Indianapolis had hail, snow, and some wintery mix this week. I thought this was spring? These crazy weather patterns are a result of climate change and we all have made an impact. Quilting is an industry full of waste and consumption. It’s the part that I hate about it. You have to buy a line of fabric quickly because they may not reprint. A certain designer puts out a new line and it’s gobbled up. Over the last couple of years I have shifted my focus away from consuming and focusing on my love of scrap quilts.

Give me your scraps and I can make something awesome. Here are some scrap quilts I have made with friends or other people’s scraps.

I also believe every baby should have a handmade quilt. Friends come to me with a gender or color palette. I can make a Simple Squares quilt in a day or weekend. My scraps are usually stored in certain sizes so doing a pull is pretty easy. Then I dig into my larger scraps to offset.

The simple squares is one of my favorite quilts to make. It’s great to see the combination of colors and prints come together to be something unique. There are one or two already organized to be made.

Another favorite is half square triangles. These also come together quickly when you have your scraps ready to go. There are a variety of ways you can manipulate a half square triangle as well.

My scrap bins are usually overflowing and my favorite part is digging in. Start gathering and playing, ideas start to come to life. Then those scraps become something new entirely.

Using scraps is not only sustainable, but gives projects so many options. You shouldn’t be afraid to play with scraps to see what you can make. Some of my favorite quilts have been created by just playing. Most of the time I don’t know if they will work, but I love the process.

My love of scrap quilts is not going away. I have even found someone that will tiny scrap pieces for her projects. There is a bag ready to be shipped once I finish my next quilt.

Tired of your scraps?

Try a swap with friends, check Instagram for destashes, or organize one in your swap. Seeing new options will sometimes help spark creativity. Also it’s okay to give some away if you aren’t inspired. Partner up with another quilter so you can keep a scrap pipeline going.

Some people aren’t into scraps and that’s okay.

I love scrap quilts because they are economical for stretching your fabric investment. Plus, you are creating less waste. Sustainability was not something I thought of when I started quilting.

Do you make scrap quilts? If not, let’s connect. I will take those scraps off your hands. No, seriously.

1 Comment

scraps

Scrappy Solids Strip Quilt

Posted on March 31, 2021April 1, 2021by Tisha

My solids bins was overflowing with strips. Earlier in 2021 I decided it was time to really tackle some of my scraps. The solids bin had not been used in a few projects. So why not create a scrappy solids strip quilt. For the longest time I have admired solid strip quilts that I’ve seen.

Rather than tackle everything all at once, I started just sewing one morning for 20 minutes or so. I did sort my colors from the grays and whites in my solid scrap bin. This part went quickly.

Soon there was enough to look at making blocks. Time for some starch and a hot iron. I sewed the strips into rectangles and then pressed. It was satisfying to see the blocks start to add up.

All of these blocks had to be trimmed. This was a bit of improv sewing on my end. There wasn’t really a size I had in mind either. Some were long, some were wide. I love that there was no plan.

On a weekend without the boys I set out to make the top. For some reason, I thought this would only take a few hours. The sewing Gods laughed at me and this top took forever. I had it all laid out among the legos on the floor and made it almost impossible to enter the room. So, I had to finish the top so the boys could play in there.

I needed a few more blocks to round out the top. As I put it together I realized it was not big enough for a baby quilt. Honestly, the photo above barely put a dent in my solids bin of scraps. I busted out a few more blocks. To make my original version I would have needed probably another 40-50 blocks. Sometimes you have to know when to just stop in a project. There will be more solid scraps that I can play and work with later.

I quickly basted this quilt with some yardage in my stash. I did have to add a solid piece on the side to make sure it was just wide enough. For quilting, I went with free motion in loops. I wanted the quilting to fade into the design and this actually worked.

Finishing the Quilt

Forty minutes later it’s done and ready to be trimmed. This took some work to make sure the quilt was even on all sides. Slightly challenging considering there wasn’t a set size for the blocks. Let’s just say I improv trimmed as well.

For the binding, I had a blue solid fat quarter that I used. Once bound I quickly washed it.

Tip – always throw a Shout Color Catcher into your quilts the first time you wash them.

Here’s an important step when you’re dealing with a scrap quilt, all the extra little threads. I find the more you use and play with the fabric, the more it frays. Those little frays love to come through on the top. This is why I always wash a scrappy quilt before giving it to someone. I can trim all of those little threads and make it a non-issue.

We have had some crazy winds here making quilt photographs almost impossible. We had a day without a ton of wind…so out to the fence I went.

The backing was just perfect and used many of the colors from the front.

This quilt doesn’t have a home yet, but feels good to make some room in my solid’s bin. I should have made it bigger, but I was ready to move on to the next project.

No comments yet