Thursday, August 21, 2014

Congrats to my friend Marti!



My friend, guild mate and fellow blogger Marti has just reached 600 followers! Woo hoo!

She's giving away a copy of Essential Guide to Modern Quilt Making that I've signed. I'm honored that she chose that for her prize.

Go on over to her blog to enter to win, if you are interested. Especially hop over to check out her blog. She is incredibly generous with a sassy wit and a total quilt-making machine. I can only make that many quilts in my dreams!

Tuesday, August 5, 2014

Good Vibrations in Quilts and More

Used with permission from Quilts and More magazine. 2014 Meredith Corporation. All rights reserved.

I'm so excited to announce my first ever pattern published in a magazine! The project I designed (and sewed and even quilted myself!) is called Good Vibrations and can be found in the Fall 2014 Quilts and More. It's a little modern, will look fantastic in many different fabrics, and is very easy to piece. The small lap-sized quilt definitely packs a visual punch. The issue should hit the newsstands on August 12.

Used with permission from Quilts and More magazine. 2014 Meredith Corporation. All rights reserved.

I even made the cover, down there on the lower right! You can see the other featured projects from this issue, here: www.allpeoplequilt.com/fall There are some excellent ones. I'm definitely making a Petite Chic quilt (by Emily Herrick of Crazy Old Ladies) for my cousin's yet to be born baby out of a layer cake from my stash.

It is an amazing full-circle moment for me since that magazine division cannot be more responsible for me getting into quilting. I freelanced for them right out of college where the then editor Heidi Kaisand encouraged me to borrow one of their sewing machines, and the rest is history. I wrote about it a bit more, years ago, in another post.

Used with permission from Quilts and More magazine. 2014 Meredith Corporation. All rights reserved.

I have to say a special thank you to Art Gallery for the gorgeous fabrics. If anyone is interested in copying this look, they are Carnaby St. by Pat Bravo along with some of their basics. I know I can still get these prints at one of my LQS, and some of them have been added to their basics lines and coordinate with some of their newer collections, too. I'm a huge Art Gallery fan! Their fabrics sew like butter and they have some of my favorite fabric designs, plus they have a deep selection of lovely basic prints.

Friday, August 1, 2014

Modern Provence mug rug



I recently made this mug rug for a swap at the Front Range Modern Quilt Guild. My partner Lyn mentioned that she liked the colors of Provence: deep, saturated blues and sunny, buttery yellows. How beautiful! Those colors are always so happy to me. I took the Provence theme and put in touches of the modern aesthetic, with the wonky star and some bold patterned fabrics. The border is a lovely slubbed chambray.

The mug rug in its new home


The very best part is that Lyn loved it! She sent me this photo of her tea wares on it and it is perfect. It helped that she was so descriptive about what she wanted, and it warms my heart to see she enjoys it. Her sugar bowl is gorgeous, too.

Wednesday, July 23, 2014

Breaking the Grid



I absolutely love this new quilt top! It came about from sketching some block shapes. I think you can really see some influence from my career as a graphic designer in it. The shapes are quite flat, but the way the shapes overlap and the color positioning creates a lot of depth and movement. To me, it has a good balance of expected and unexpected. That little red cross finishes it like a little punctuation point.


I included a textured background fabric which is Line Scratch in charcoal from Carolyn Friedlander. This fabric is brilliant in the way it hides seams. The seams are even more invisible than on the solids. Carolyn's fabrics are amazing. I've been mulling over how to quilt it. I haven't quite decided but it will be on the simple side. It needs a structured and/or linear quilting, not something very curvy. Now you know what I'll be working on in my spare time!

Friday, July 11, 2014

Feature on Sew Mama Sew


I'm super excited Sew Mama Sew is running a series of features on Essential Guide to Modern Quilt Making every Thursday. The chapter I wrote was featured yesterday. There is a great deal of color theory terminology basics just in the post! Of course, there is a lot more in the book… ;-)

Monday, July 7, 2014

Slopeside change up from my mom

My mom was one of my pattern testers for Slopeside. I had asked her just to work through a few blocks but she loved it (of course--she's my mom!) and wanted to make a whole quilt. It is great to have a supportive mom even though I'm an adult.

Look how great it looks! She's a fairly new quilter but she pieced it perfectly. She used a print layer cake called Tranquility by Sandy Gervais. The quilt will be cute to have out during the fall especially.

My mom's version of Slopeside!

Notice that she also paired up her colors instead of using a contrasting mix like I did. I love seeing what she did with the pattern!



Don't forget you can still get the pattern on sale! Get 20% off your purchase of the Slopeside pattern from now through July 12, 2014 with this coupon code: SLOPESIDE20.


Saturday, July 5, 2014

Joann insanity




Why do I bother going to Joann? Oh that's right, I am now clutching these lovelies, most of which are Juliana Horner Modbox and Homestead fabrics. One of them is Jennifer Paganelli. (Am I the only one that did not know she had fabric there?) They sure are lovely! Next time, I'm leaving the kids at home though.

Quilt finish for my new baby niece



I just finished this adorable quilt in time for my mom to give to my niece. I wish I could give it to my niece in person, not that she'd know, but we live too far away for that. I thought it would be kind of neat to give her a quilt that was coordinating to her older sister's quilt but not a copy. I had some left over Buttercup charm squares from that quilt plus another mini charm pack of the same line. That was my base and then I pulled from my stash and only bought one additional mini charm pack of Mirabelle from Fig Tree. Extra quilter bonus points to me! ;-)








The back is a big four patch. It's the biggest four patch I've ever made! The binding is the leftover scraps of these two prints. It is my first scrappy binding.

Quilt details:

Pattern: Boxed In from Skip the Borders by Julie Herman (A little note: mini charm packs work great with this pattern!) I used very similar fabrics to hers. It was just fate! I had already planned to make a quilt for my niece out of these fabrics and had a bunch of 2.5'' squares to use. I was flipping through my books, saw that pattern and the rest is history.

Fabrics: all stash! Most fabrics are Buttercup, Fresh Cottons and Mirabelle from Fig Tree fabrics but the woven stripes are Poetry from April Cornell. The brown is the little dragonfly fabric from Hushabye from Tula Pink. That pop of dark twinkles across the quilt. Some of the fabrics used have been sitting in my stash for over 10 years. Yikes!

Quilting: Susan Santistevan of Modern Prairie Quilting did the overlapping bubbles quilting on it. The round quilting looks great with the square patchwork.

Tuesday, July 1, 2014

Slopeside + Layer Cake winner!

Random number chose #8, my friend Megan! Megan, the pattern pdf and a layer cake are headed your way! Thank you to everyone who commented and your supportive words!


The discount is still available to everyone else for the pattern. Get 20% off your purchase of the Slopeside pattern from now through July 12, 2014 with this coupon code: SLOPESIDE20.

Friday, June 27, 2014

Slopeside giveaway and discount!



I'm so excited to announce the launch of my pattern company, Quilts for the Making, and my very first pattern, Slopeside! I hope you will love making your own version!

What I love about Slopeside

I love how bold and colorful it is and it isn't too hard to make. It uses a unique but easy construction technique that I walk you through with LOTS of diagrams. You can use either yardage or layer cake squares for the colored triangles. I love to have variety in the colors so a layer cake is a great way to get that, especially for the throw size.

I've included size options for throw, twin and queen. It will look gorgeous on a bed! I always appreciate having size options instead of having to calculate how many blocks and how much fabric I need to alter the size of a pattern.

This pattern has been thoroughly tested, too, so you can be sure that it is clearly written and accurate.







To celebrate the launch of Quilts for the Making and the Slopeside pattern, I'll be giving away a copy of the pattern and a Kona Summer 13 Ten-Square layer cake to a lucky blog commenter (US only for the layer cake). Leave me a comment to enter and I'll draw a name on July 1. 

Please make sure you are not a no-reply blogger or if you are, leave your email in the comments. If I can't reach you, I'll have to draw another name.

Everyone wins!

Get 20% off your purchase of the Slopeside pattern from now through July 12, 2014 with this coupon code: SLOPESIDE20. 

Monday, June 23, 2014

Essential Guide to Modern Quiltmaking Blog Tour



I am excited to introduce Lucky Spool’s Essential Guide to Modern Quilt Making and tell you a little bit about my chapter.

The coolest thing about this book is that it is not just a project book, although there are killer projects included. It is an education in modern quilting techniques. This book is deep in content. Each contributor has shared their expertise on a subject, like alternate grid work, working with solids or prints, quilting, improv piecing and more. To top it off, there is all the eye candy in the large gallery of modern quilts.

The sheer amount of information and inspiration makes this an essential reference book for any quilter, especially those who enjoy modern quilting or are curious about trying it.



I am thrilled to contribute Chapter 1: Principles of Color. Most of all, I hope the chapter will help you gain confidence in choosing a color scheme, applying colors to your quilt designs and understand color in a way that opens doors to creative expression.

I walk you through my approach to color theory, which might be a bit different than what you have learned. I start out with defining the three most important principles of working with color, then go over how to utilize these principles to your advantage (which doesn’t have as much to do with the color wheel as you may have been taught). Speaking of the color wheel, I don’t even recommend using the traditional red/yellow/blue color wheel. I’ve included a useful troubleshooting guide at the end of my chapter to help you with specific color issues that many quilters experience.

Color Play Quilt Project 


I’ve designed this quilt project to help even a beginning quilter experiment with color principles. I love this quilt for its striking design and simplicity, which creates an ideal framework for changing up the colors. Your color choices will completely alter the mood of the quilt.

Blog tour bonus! 

Here are some examples of other directions you could take the color, to get your wheels turning, along with a free Color Play coloring sheet to download, print and color in.





Special discount

Get the book at 20% off at the Taunton store with the coupon code EGQM20. The discount is good for your entire purchase through July 27.

Visit the other authors, too! 

Check out this amazing list of who is in the book and their chapters. Here is the blog tour schedule:

6/23  //  Chapter 1: Principles of Color  //  Teacher: Kari Vojtechovsky (you are here!)

6/24  //  Chapter 2: Working with Solids  //  Teacher: Alissa Haight Carlton (Handmade by Alissa)

6/25  //  Chapter 3: Working with Prints  //  Teacher: Dan Rouse (Piece and Press)

6/26  //  Chapter 4: Improvisational Patchwork  //  Teacher: Denyse Schmidt (dsquilts.com)

6/27  //  Chapter 5: The Alternate Grid  //  Teacher: Jacquie Gering (Tallgrass Prairie Studio)

6/30  //  Chapter 6: Circles and Curves  //  Teacher: Cheryl Arkison (Dining Room Empire)

7/01  //  Chapter 7: Paper Piecing  //  Teacher: Penny Layman (Sew Take a Hike)

7/02  //  Chapter 8: Large-Scale Piecing  //  Teacher: Heather Jones (Olive and Ollie)

7/03  //  Chapter 9: Modern Machine Quilting  //  Teacher: Angela Walters (Quilting is My Therapy

7/04  //  Chapter 10: A Study of Modern Quilts  //  Teacher: Heather Grant (Modern Day Quilts)

Thursday, June 19, 2014

Lucky Spools




I made this little mini quilt for Susanne Woods, founder of Lucky Spool (hence the monogram letters and spools) and someone who really deserves a big thank you from me. That is putting it lightly. The quilt is a tiny little thing. I didn't measure it but I think it was around 10 or 12'' square.

Speaking of Lucky Spool Media, keep an eye on all the great books coming out from them. I'm biased because I contributed to one of them, but seriously, there are amazing titles that will be rolling out. Really amazing.

I got the idea for this quilt when I saw some First of Infinity block letters fabric my wheels started turning about how to do some kind of monogram and knew I wanted to put spools with it.

The blocks of the small letters in the fabric finish to 2'' so I needed a 2'' spool. I made my own paper piecing pattern for it and thought I'd share. They are easy to put together, considering it is a 2'' block made of 12 pieces.

Monday, June 9, 2014

Ready to quilt! Boxed In and Forgotten Fabric: Top 1 of ???

I'll start off showing the Boxed In quilt. It is so pretty and sweet. I'm sending it out to be quilted because I don't have time and I'm on a deadline to give it to my niece. The backing is one gigantic four patch. I love it! I'm definitely going to do this for a back again.



the back is a 60'' x 60'' four patch
Second, I'm not sure how I did it, but in between a very busy weekend I managed to cut and piece the Forgotten Fabric quilt. I don't love it but not to the point that I'll do anything more with it. I'm glad it is done but I sort of wish I had just cut squares and done a plain patchwork quilt. Live and learn! Plus, I think quilting will bring it all together. Extra bonus is that I'm glad I don't have to feel guilty about that stack of fabric and I can mentally move on AND I've got a gift for someone that I think was meant to have this.

I love the pattern (Carryall Tote and Throw from Valori Wells) and how quickly it comes together. I need to get out some of my big prints and make this one again. It sings with larger scale prints.

And no more stashing fabric for a project because I think someone else will like it. Only stashing fabric because I like it. I don't want to turn this blog into Craft Crappy.


So what do you think? Is that an ok quilt? Or an embarrassment to the craft? lol!

Sunday, June 8, 2014

Forgotten Fabric Challenge

I came across this stack of fabric recently. It is a stack of fabric from approximately 12 years ago. It's definitely not my style now. I'm not sure it ever was, but hopefully you can cut me some slack since the selection of fabrics in quilt shops was quite different 12 years ago. But somehow, SOMEHOW, I could never get rid of it when I culled my stash. (Brutal honesty—I get very attached to my fabric.) I think it is the blue/purple color because I have always loved that color. Somewhere buried in that mottled, metallic, Asian themed mess, there is some potential in this color scheme. Or maybe I've gone batshit crazy. Either way...



Fast forward to now, and I HAD to do something with it. It either had to go or it had to be made into something. Not something throw away, but something that someone would really enjoy and be happy to have. I first tried to give the fabric to a friend but they didn't want it. (enter hilarious laughter, at me, not her). Then I had an "ah-ha" moment when the perfect recipient popped in my mind. Someone who deserves something a little special from me, is very into Eastern medicine and I've seen their massage therapy practice and know this would fit toward their aesthetic. I hope I've read her right, anyway. I'm going for it. I'm even trying to make it look as modern as I can. (Whoa nelly!)

Please, tell me I'm not the only one who has fabric that you just can't get rid of for some reason. Join me in the quest to use that fabric that is sitting around. I've got soooo much more of my stash that needs to see the light of day. Stuff I actually still like a lot more than this stack. It's wasteful and how can I justify getting so many of the new fabrics that I love if I have so much sitting around. It needs to find its perfect home, hopefully made into something but even donated or given to a friend.

Join me on IG @quiltsforthemaking and tag #forgottenfabricchallenge. It will be liberating. I'd love to see what gems are lurking in your stash and what you make with them, so I don't feel alone in this. Seriously, I'm gathering up some prize of some sort for this. Let's say we give ourselves the summer and see what progress can be made. Who's with me?

Wednesday, June 4, 2014

Boxed In quilt progress



I've got the blocks completed for a Boxed In quilt (from Skip the Borders by Julie Herman) for my new baby niece. After I get them sewn together and a backing made, I need to get it to a long arm quilter because I have no time to quilt it. Life is about to get hectic (in a great way!) with work.

It is so soft colored and pretty and is a sister quilt to the one I made her older sister (here).

Thursday, May 22, 2014

What Modern Quilting is to me

I want to start this post off by saying that I have enjoyed debates I have seen through social media on what modern quilting means to different people. It always makes me think about what modern quilting is to me. This is my two cents on the subject.

In a Nutshell

Like it or not, the term modern quilting has come to represent a particular type of aesthetic. In the most broad way, I define a modern quilt as any quilt that feels "of the moment" and is made using current aesthetic preferences. I hesitate to use the word trendy because that implies some sort of transience or faddishness and not timelessness. Many modern quilts are timeless. At least some aspect of a modern quilt makes a departure from the quilt aesthetics of the past although many modern quilts still pay homage to previous quilt styles. For a quilt to be modern, there should be some quantifiable way in which it feels new and contemporary vs. old or reproduced.

Old is New is Old Again

This may mean that some quilts made decades ago are still modern in style, because they feel like they belong to the hear and now. This is not a new aesthetic that just developed, but it is being embraced by more quilters (myself included, although I'll never stop loving and making traditional quilts). It's awesome to see it growing and all the new ideas people come up with.

Specifically Speaking

Here's where things get tricky for me: defining a set of visual characteristics that define exactly what that modern quilt aesthetic looks like. This does have value because I don't see another way to more explicitly define the ideas above, but I worry that listing too many specific points becomes limiting and will eventually make what we call modern quilts today into a style we find very dated in a decade or so. There has to be room for evolution and innovation.

Ultimately, for a quilt to be what would broadly be considered a modern aesthetic quilt, these characteristics must be met:

  • novel and/or fresh feeling design
  • bold, fresh, contemporary color usage

Right now, those characteristics often manifest themselves with*:

  • graphic elements (such as geometric shapes or simplified organic forms)
  • visually striking blocks or design elements
  • asymmetric balance
  • minimalist design
  • increased use of negative space
  • less reliance on repetitive block based designs
  • less reliance on a square grid for block layout
  • engaged edges (blocks or elements that are cropped at the edges)
  • free-form improvisational elements
  • increased use of solid fabrics (they increase design clarity)
  • use modern fabric prints (fabrics that meet the requirements of bold, fresh contemporary colors and design motif)

*I see this list as evolving over time as the aesthetic develops.

A quilt will (probably!) not feel modern if it has these characteristics. I'm only pointing out elements will likely make a quilt not characterized as a modern aesthetic—please do not feel like this is some commentary that quilts with these elements are not to be admired or are not valued as a high art form!

  • uses fabric and color schemes typical of or inspired by a past historic period not associated with modern art (baroque, renaissance, civil war reproductions, feed sacks), especially when used in a traditional quilt design
  • lots of batik fabric in a quilt (Batiks tend to not have the minimalist design or clarity that is preferred in modern quilting. The colors mottle one into the other and the design motifs are not sharp and clear. They are gorgeous, just not part of the modern aesthetic.)
  • elaborate and ornate design elements
  • figurative or photo realistic quilt compositions
  • a strongly patterned border fabric surrounding a grid of repeated blocks
  • could strongly or singularly be defined as a cottage style, country style and/or traditional

There are always blurred lines where one aesthetic blends into another. The exact line where traditional quilting meets modern quilting and again where modern quilting meets art quilting is impossible to sharply define. In particular, I see examples of what people had been calling an art quilt that I would also classify as a modern quilt aesthetic. I think of art quilts as non-functional objects, like a wall hanging, that encompass more than just a modern aesthetic. Not all modern quilts are meant to be used in a functional capacity but I'd still call them modern. Maybe there needs to be a sub-genre of modern art quilts.

Final Perspective

Well, these are my current thoughts on the matter of defining what a modern quilt is. There's still lots of room for interpretation. I hope new ideas will get me thinking about another aspect of "what is modern."

Here is something that I know my opinion will not evolve on:

If you love what you make, who cares what style it is!

Sunday, May 18, 2014

Other Slopeside news!

P.S. In case anyone is interested in making your own version of the Slopeside quilt, check back because I will be releasing this as my first ever pattern. Feel free to email me or comment if you want to be notified when it is ready. It is being pattern tested right now because I want to make sure I get it right. It won't be long before it is available!

I just didn't want to post that up on the Festival post so that it would just seem like some big advertisement. :-)

Saturday, May 17, 2014

Blogger's Quilt Festival: Slopeside




Welcome to my contribution to the Spring 2014 Blogger's Quilt Festival! Thanks, Amy, for putting this all together again!

Here is the quilt I've named Slopeside. This quilt is special to me. I immediately loved the graphic simplicity as soon as I sketched it. I've never seen anything like it. It is totally doable without any templates or special rulers, despite the fact that it uses an odd angle.



It is also my submission for the Colorful Colorado Modern Quilt Challenge, organized by my friend Melissa through the Front Range Modern Quilt Guild. All of the quilts submitted will be shown at a show in Berthoud, CO this June. The only requirements for the challenge were that we had to use a recognizable piece of 4 solids we were given, the smallest side could be no smaller than 40'' and the theme was Colorful Colorado. To me, it honors our lively and eclectic state and all Coloradoans' connection to our beautiful mountains. I can't wait to see how all my fellow Colorado modern quilters interpret that theme, too.


So many gems hidden in this fabric, including some miners and the Sleeper House!

The back also uses some crazy, kitschy Colorado toile fabric from a 2010 shop hop. I picked it up at the time knowing that some day I would use it on a quilt back and this was the perfect place to use it. I love the way all the neutrals and print fabrics on the back contrasts the front. I used an oops block from the front to be my label.



The quilting is new to me but I definitely see myself doing more of it. I wanted something that had curves to soften up all the angled edges in the piecing, but something that still had structure and regularity. My first idea was baptist fans and I think that would have looked awesome, but I've never done them and they felt too daunting for the limited time I had left to complete this. I snooped around on Pinterest until I saw some clamshells and realized that would be perfect too. I ended up elongating them and that works really well for two reasons: 1. it complements the elongated block and 2. it makes it go more quickly. Win, win!

Friday, May 16, 2014

Quilter's Cheat Sheet Freebie

Like all quilters, I always find myself calculating some of the same measurements over and over, which is hardest while actually at a quilt shop. I finally created a little cheat sheet for myself. I'll be giving them to my quilt guild tomorrow. I wanted to share it with you too!


  • There are yardage calculations for straight grain, double fold binding (which is how I do binding 95% of the time) for a few different binding widths. It even says how many strips you need to cut.
  • There is a quilt size and backing chart which shows the minimum sizes and backing yardage needed. 
  • It's got a yards to inches conversion because no matter how many times I think about those numbers, I always seem to draw a blank when I get to a cut counter.
  • Finally, on the back, there are some calculation guides for creating squares, half square triangle blocks and quarter square triangle blocks.
  • All of that, and it folds up to the size of a business card.
I hope you find this useful! Click on the image below to get the pdf, open that file and print (no scaling), cut out on the black lines, then fold long sides together and then fold short sides together, and voila—you've got yourself a handy, dandy little cheat sheet wherever you go.


PS: I hope to show you more about that Quilts for the Making logo soon!


Tuesday, May 13, 2014

Lone Starburst Mini



I made this Lone Starburst block into a mini for my Connecting Threads stand. (The paper piecing pattern for it is free over on Craftsy!) It is made of some scraps and a color-slubbed chambray. I got the chambray at Snappy Quilts but I can't remember who made it. I love it and should have written it down!


I quilted the heck out of it and really like the effect. I had originally tried some itty, bitty feathers in the center but that had to be ripped out. They were bad. Really bad. This is much better.

I just whip stitched it onto the holder. Works for me!


On a side note...
How do you manage your solids and wovens (or any fabric with no selvedge)? I haven't done much to keep track of mine. I have a solids card of Michael Miller solids to help identify those in my stash, but I've got lots of other brands too. I think I'm going to start just making my own selvedge marks. Nothing wrong with writing down what it is and what color in that area. Too bad I'm too late with that idea for my current stash!


Friday, April 18, 2014

Road Trip



This is my entry to the Modern Traditional Mini Quilt Challenge from Timeless Treasures/Dear Stella. Basically, entry requires making a 20x20 mini quilt that is modern traditional in style, using only their fabrics. (Follow link above for the complete rules.) The deadline is April 30 so I'm way ahead of schedule. Woo hoo!

I call it Road Trip because I used some great car/map prints and it looks a bit like a big wheel. The dark charcoal is sort of an asphalt color too. Vroom!




Check out that quilting! All of that is thanks to some courage gained from Angela Walters coming to give a lecture and class to my quilt guild. She is so fantastic! I did mark the feather in the center with a template but the rest was just freehanded. There is definitely room for improvement but I still love the way it turned out.


I made up the design. I used the Elisa's Backporch Design 7'' Crazy Curves ruler for the curves. It was a birthday present from my parents a couple years back. It was so easy to use. It feels traditional with the centered block, cornerstones and sashing, but modern because it is so graphic and I used modern fabric and color choices.

Wish me luck in winning some fabric through this challenge but even if I don't, this was a lot of fun to make. My in-laws are around to help us so I hope to have some more finishes. I feel like I have so much pent up creative energy!

Thursday, April 17, 2014

My first zippered bag

This is a fairly old project but I'm trying to catch up on blogging on a few things I've made. I haven't had much time to sew since January, but that it turning around a bit now. Thank goodness!


I love this lining fabric!

I used wire cutters and popped off the zipper pull
and replaced it with this cool button.


I made this for a zippered pouch swap at the Front Range Modern Quilt Guild. It was from the free No Guts Boxie Pouch that I downloaded from Craftsy. It went together well, except for one little detail. I want to make those tabs on the ends a bit bigger next time. I decided to add in the coral polka dot stripe and paid attention to how my stripes were cut so they would wrap around and meet up at the seams. It turned out pretty neat--and big. I somehow did not expect it to be quite as big as it is.

It was so easy to do a zipper. I'm not sure why I put off trying it for so long!

It ended up going home with Stephanie. I hope she likes it or at least finds it useful! It reminds me of a Red Green quote, something like if your wife doesn't find you handsome, she should at least find you handy. And, yes, I am a total dork.