Khaja - Sew adorkable: 15 DIY projects to keep you out of trouble--quilts, clothes & gear for the chic geek

Publisher: Amy Marson

Creative Director: Gailen Runge

Art Director / Book Designer: Kristy Zacharias

Editor: S. Michele Fry

Technical Editors: Doreen Hazel and Nanette Zeller

Production Coordinator: Freesia Pearson Blizard

Production Editor: Alice Mace Nakanishi

Illustrator: Samarra Khaja

Photo Assistant: Mary Peyton Peppo

Style photography by Nissa Brehmer and instructional photography by Diane Pedersen, unless otherwise noted

Published by Stash Books, an imprint of C&T Publishing, Inc., P.O. Box 1456, Lafayette, CA 94549

Dedication

I owe a debt of gratitude to my beloved Jack, Kip, and Ren for being there for me throughout the making of this book, much like Olympic gymnastics spotters or elite racing pit crews. (Lets face it, they didnt have much choice, reallyalthough they could have changed the locks on the house, I suppose.) Without their endless love, support, feedback, cheerleading, and enthusiasm, I wouldnt have made it to the finish line as quasi-gracefully as I did. Oh, and thanks for letting me turn the house into an unmitigated disaster zone. Much love to my endlessly supportive mom and dad and especially to Aman for being there to make me see the world with more patience, humanity, and understanding. This book is for these beautiful people and for Baby Otto. Cant forget the family pet fish.

Acknowledgments

My head would have combusted if it werent also for these great people who helped make my drawing, sewing, and creating much more fun: Hayden (you got me into this mess!) and all the great folks at Timeless Treasures for aiding and abetting my fabric hoarding tendencies. Also a big thanks to Singer (Vanessa!), Pellon (Erin!), Dritz (Paula!), AccuQuilt (Loretta!), Clover (Raquel!), Olfa (Robin!), Wacom (Pam!), Oliso (Scott!), and Aurifil (Alex!)all of whom Im extremely proud to partner with. Ive always believed in good-quality products that actually walk the walk, and all these brands hit that mark, plus theyve got cute-to-look-at stuff that makes my work flow extra fun and enjoyable.

Thanks to Jeannie Jenkins, my go-to longarm quilter, whose beautiful work can be admired on both my Candy Dots and Braille Alphabet quilts. Also to Oona and Irina for their mad sewing skills when I didnt have enough hands to do everything myself.

And finally, a monumental thank you to all my collaborators in crime at C&T / Stash Books (that means you, Roxane! Gailen! Michele! Doreen! Kristy! Nissa!). It has been an immense pleasure to drag you talented bunch along my crazy craft ride.

Introduction

Well, now youve done it.

Here you were, minding your own business, searching for a first edition of A Concise History of Thumb Wrestling, and now look you went and picked up THIS book along the way. Well to that I say, in a too-loud, sing-songy, musical theater voice, H-e-l-l-o, unforeseeable SCORE!

Let us rejoice and dance in a festive circle; sure, sure, you can bring out that travel-size maypole you carry around in your bag for emergency situations like this.

Once were fully winded (way sooner than we should be), lets stop and find out what the heck this book is really about, shall we?

Game on.

Heres the deal. You and I both know there is a lot of seriousness in sewing, but what theres not enough of is humor. Good old-fashioned foolishness and shameless punniness on a grand DIY scale.

And that is why this book is here!

[Anthropomorphized book with sequined spats and top hat enters stage left, grinning profusely, while sidestepping across the stage; jazz hands optional.]

This book is for smart, talented, crafty folks (Im lookin straight at you) who have an eye for whimsy and who love good tongue-in-cheek visual play. The projects included are all conversation starters that celebrate those strong-willed sewers out there who want not only something handmade but also something unique. These projects please the eye and complement the sofa, and as a bonus they say so much about the person who makes thema true expression of the creators whim.

So whats in store for you when it comes to these projects? Im glad you asked, my good friend.

Youll find cleverly themed projects that arent subject to cultural and gender lines and that can be adapted to suit children and adults alike. They totally debunk traditional ideas of whats exclusively for young versus old or girls versus boys. In this book, we dont care about those delineations, because humor and fun transcend all boundaries. And lets face itwe all love a good laugh and to be surrounded by things that make us happy.

Along with morsels of silliness, educational tidbits are added for extra flavor whenever possible. You can admire the ingenuity and brilliance of Louis Braille while sewing up a queen-size quilted ode to his alphabet. And you can pay homage to one of the many dinosaurs that once walked Earth while piecing together amusing family portraits that no house is complete without. Seriously people, I implore you to make many and line the stairs with them.

Take this book (pay for it first; were not a bunch of hooligans), go home, get your materials, and get makingyou smart, hilarious, creative creature, you.

Behind the Seams:

Tale of a Textile Designer

What do you do? Easy enough question, but my answer is quite hard to fully present in its real-to-life form. That said, lets take a paltry stab at showing you a bit of my textile designing world, shall we?

The Ideas

Heres the thing: Much like a moth to a flame, I cannot resist a good paradox. With the precision of a truffle-sniffing pig, my brain will, nine times out of ten, fling itself directly into one, pinpointing the extraordinary in the ordinary or the ordinary within the extraordinary. Narrowing in on these paradoxes fuels my sense of humor, and because I like to laugh, its a chronic occurrence.

This predisposition frames my visual sensibility and inevitably leads me to doing things like taking an idiom and twisting it from metaphoric to literal, as with my When Pigs . I adore taking the sensible and mundane in life and angling it just enough to reveal the absurd and offbeat. Whether by way of changing scale, tapping into childhood nostalgia or time-honored traditions, or playing with technique and presentation, my cherished love of paradox is a loud, cacophonous running theme throughout this book. I hope you like it, because its hard to miss.

The Process

My designs are all hand drawn in one way or another. Some begin on good old-fashioned paperI like vellum, in particularwith pen or pencil. Others come to life directly on my Wacom Cintiqmy tablet companion. Once Ive refined my concepts, they all make their way into Adobe Illustrator, my preferred graphic design software, where I finesse the repeat and select my color palette. I typically find hints of specific colors while Im out and about in my daily life (the aqua blue pool at my kids swimming lessons, for example). I tend to choose bright, bold colors.

Once Ive sorted out a pleasing combination of colors, I adjust my file accordingly and send it off for proofing. After not too long, I receive a strike-off, which is the first test version of that design printed onto fabric. I examine the swatch, checking it for scale, flow, and color. Sometimes colors need further adjusting; sometimes everythings perfect as is and ready to sign off.

After my approval, the fabric moves on to production and, later, release and distribution. It never gets old seeing a finished design when it debuts and knowing the artistic journey behind its creation. From my brain to printed bolt and topped off with my selvage signatureits an addictively fun ride.