February Mini Print of the Month: Let Love In by Cori Kindred

I actually bought this month's miniprint in January, but I'm not going to be a stickler since I was just preparing for Valentines Day! Cori Kindred had a collection of sweet postcards perfect for the 14th (that Cori just added more of to her shop!) that I am very much looking forward to send. Well, all but this one, which is staying home with me. Check out her etsy shop—there is a darling Sparkly Vintage Heart print that is calling out for a good home.

Impressions of NYC, Prints by Rebecca Sherman

As many of you know, I used to live in NYC—which means that while I don't actively miss the city (really, I don't) I do miss aspects of it, so I'm often taken with visual references to the place I called home for nearly 6 years. Rebecca Sherman of Brooklyn is behind these prints, which are inspired by the light, energy and architecture of the city. I just love how evocative they are and her use of bold colors.

Rebecca I graduated from NYU with a BFA in Studio Art and she actively exhibits her artwork in the city. She recently started printing her designs onto tote bags to be able to share a version of her art that's more functional.

Tutorial: Patchwork Pillow Covers

Ask and you shall receive! Here's how I made my pillows (though please keep in mind that this is definitely easier after you do one, and the point of patchwork is decidedly not to be perfect!)

Patchwork Pillow Covers
Materials
1 1/4 yards fabric*
Scissors
Quilting Ruler
Cutting Mat
Rotary Cutter
Pencil
Pins
Needle
Thread
Sewing machine (optional as you can do this by hand)
Iron
Pillow insert (mine was 18x18 inches)


*I used a yard of the linen bird fabric and scraps of the creme silk border- about two to three inches all around the front panel, so I started off with one yard-sized piece of fabric.

1. Cut your yard of fabric in half, then in half again so that you have four equal pieces of fabric (they might not be exact squares—that's okay).
2. Working with one side of one panel, use your quilting ruler to measure 2 1/2 inches from the edge. Cut with your rotary cutter and set the strip aside. Rotate your panel clockwise and cut 2 1/2 inches from that side. Set the strip aside and continue rotating and cutting until you get near the middle.
3. Use your own creativity to cut the middle piece how you like it. Each of my fronts was done a little differently.

4. Arrange your strips to remake a square, using the longer pieces towards the outside and working inward. I did not line up my pieces exactly how I cut them because I wanted to make one fabric look more interesting.
5. Turn over each piece, one at a time, and use your ruler to mark a 1/4 inch seam allowance with a pencil. (This will help you to sew straight lines.)
6. Starting in the middle, pin two pieces together and sew. Iron your seam flat. Continue pinning, sewing, and ironing until you have the entire panel sewn, trimming excess fabric when necessary.

7. Measure your panel. You want it to be 1 inch larger than your pillow insert on all sides. My pillow was 18x18 inches, so I used the border (my pieces were 2-3 inches in width, which was more than I needed, but it gave me some room to play with) to make up some of the space that I lost from my seam allowances.
8. Measure your border pieces to the length of each side of your panel, mark your seam allowance on one side of each piece and pin along that side to your panel.

9. Sew your border.

10. To make the back panel (which has an overlap so you can insert the pillow) take one of the remaining three pieces of fabric (that you cut in Step 1) and fold it in half. Iron to crease and cut. Fold over one long edge of each side about a half of an inch. Iron to crease and sew. Repeat with the other piece.

11. Place your front panel on a surface, right side facing up. Arrange your two back pieces on top, overlapping the sewn edges by about an inch and a half. (This gives the cover enough room to expand to accommodate the roundness of your pillow.)
12. Make sure that the back panel measures a little bit more than the final size you need—for me, this meant that I measured to make sure that my back panel was a 19 inch square, which it (remarkably) was.
13. Pin the two back pieces together where they overlap and sew in, horizontally, about two inches. This will help the back of your pillow to not gap excessively.

14. Return the back panel onto the top, right sides facing and pin together. Since my back panel was the size I was aiming for, I used it as my guide. You may need to mark lines to achieve your intended dimension. Iron the seams flat when you are finished sewing. Trim any long threads.

15. Your pillow cover is done! Insert your pillow to make sure that it fits. You can remove the pillow insert to trim any excess seam allowance at this point, though do make sure you try the pillow out before you make that commitment!





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Patchwork Pillow Covers, Completed

I finished my other pillow! I opted to do something similar since it turns out I like pairs, but the fronts (the patchworked part) are different on each. The second one turned out much better—it fits better and I measured carefully enough that the back panel has proper overlap but doesn't gap. And here you can see them where they'll mostly be living on my couch.

Here's a link to my full tutorial and to see the inspiration for these from the story we did on Denyse Schmidt in the Dec/Jan issue of ReadyMade. Thanks for all of your encouragement after I finished the first one—I'm very happy with how these turned out!

Giveaway! Wear Spring on Your Finger

We still have a few months until Spring, but if you're anything like me, the warmer temperatures and green grass can't come soon enough. Which is why I'm so excited to be able to share this giveaway with you, generously offered by Katherine of the Katheyl shop on etsy. This means you could have a delightful way to wear a bit of Spring on your finger to tide you over until it actually gets here.

Katherine was born and raised in Singapore but has recently moved to Munich to join her husband who is working there. She started her etsy site as a way to regain and maintain her sanity while she worked a full-time job in the executive search business, but she's now focusing on it more as she adjusts to her new home.

From Katherine:

I love all things whimsical and pretty, as well as nature-related (having being a Zoo volunteer for 7 years) and these are the main influences of my designs. I always make special efforts to ensure the quality of my works and I'm proud of each of them as every piece is unique (each design comes in very limited quantity).

Let's help her celebrate this new phase in her creative life by entering the giveaway. Here's how to do enter: Post a comment about one thing you're looking forward to doing this spring or that this ring reminds you of from warmer seasons of the past by 12 pm Central Time Friday February 4th. To be entered twice, become a fan of Katherine's work on facebook and mention that you did so in your comment. The winner will be chosen at random.

Please make sure to use a username when you post so I know who you are, and email me at thingswemake at gmail dot com with your full name and address to ensure that you will recieve your prize should you win.

And now just for fun, here are a few of the other accessories available in Katherine's shop.

Blog it Forward!

This is a perfect example of why twitter is so much fun. Last week I watched as the blog it forward mashup came to life and I'm happy to be participating! Here’s the scoop if you have a blog and want to participate, or if you’re just curious and want to follow along:

We’re going to share a connected stream of blogger posts on “what inspires us the most” on our individual blogs, but link back & forward to the other blogs participating, a bit like a chain letter (but, hopefully a lot less annoying!).

Feel free to repost this on your own blog & tweet about it, and link back to this sfgirlbybay.com post URL where there are more details, info on how to participate, the theme, etc. You need to sign-up via an email to Victoria of sfgirlbybay by Friday, February 5th.

She’s then going to make a list of bloggers who want to participate (perhaps alphabetically) and post it on Monday, February 8th. Everyone will see when their post is due, and the order of the mashup. We will post one day at a time, starting with Victoria’s and move on to the next blog, and then the next — you get the idea.

Victoria is planning to post the first mashup on Wednesday, February 10th and from there, she’ll link to the next blog and that blogger will post on Thursday, February 11th, and then she’ll link back to Victoria, and then to the next blog on the list who will post on Friday, February 12th and link back to her (we’ll skip weekends since they are slow) and so on and so forth.

Again, to sign up or get info straight from the source, head over to sfgirlbybay.

So fun!

Whole Grain Peanut Butter Muffins

The night before an earlier than usual meeting at work last week, I decided that I just had to bake muffins for my coworkers. I'd seen a recipe for Peanut Butter muffins in my King Arthur Flour Whole Grain Baking book that looked intriguing, so I decided to give that a go. I skipped the optional glaze but added in the chocolate chips because that seemed like the right thing to do and I might be deeming these, officially, my favorite muffins ever. They have a slightly cornmeal-ish texture, which is lovely, they are sweet enough, but not overly so, and the peanut butter helps them get slightly crunchy/chewy on the outside, which is heavenly.

(Unfortunately, as I was too distracted by the taste of the muffins, I neglected to take a photo. So above is a photo of a slightly different version of this type of muffin from Annie Eats, which is based on a recipe from Baking Bites. Mine pretty much looked like this, though they were more golden as mine have whole wheat pastry flour in them.)

I highly recommend that you make these, and soon. I might try them with raisins or even a bit of banana the next time I make them, though the version I made might be hard to top.

Peanut Butter Muffins
2 1/4 c whole wheat pastry flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
4 tbsp unsalted butter at room temp
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
3/4 cup peanut butter, creamy or crunchy, at room temp
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
2 large eggs
3/4 cup buttermilk
1 cup chocolate chips, optional (or not!)

1. Preheat the oven to 375F. Lightly grease a muffin tin or line with papers and coat the papers with nonstick spray.
2. Whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl.
3. Cream together the butter and the brown sugar in a large mixing bowl until light. Add the peanut butter, mixing until incorporate. Beat in the vanilla and the eggs, one at a time, scraping down the sides and bottom of the bowl to make sure everything is evenly mixed.
4. Add one third of the dry ingredients and mix. Add half of the buttermilk, mix until combined, then add the remaining dry ingredients and the rest of the buttermilk. Scrape the bowl again. When everything is mixed evenly, stir in the chocolate chips.
5. Scoop the batter into the prepared pan. Bake until golden brown and a cake tester inserted into the middle comes out clean, 23-25 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then turn them out onto a rack to finish cooling. (That last step is key—letting them cool entirely in the pan means that they will continue to steam, which will result in rubbery muffins.)