Martha MacGyver

poppy pouch

2010-08-10T17:00:00.003-06:00

Another gift for the generous Poppy.

I spotted this ribbon at the Portsmouth Fabric Company. Check them out online or in person. It's one of the best fabric stores I've been in. When I told them this was to be a gift, they offered me the use of their sewing machines since I was on vacation. I passed due to time constraints, and it's a good thing I didn't know I'd have access to a machine ahead of time.

Once I had to have the ribbon I needed to search for some coordinating fabric. These are from the Kaffe Fassett collection.

The pattern was based on one of my Vera Bradley cosmetic bags. To make it a little easier I quilted the exterior fabric on fusible fleece. The zipper pull is made of beads from my stash.

cushion for a cottage

2010-08-09T17:00:00.004-06:00

A thank you gift for a generous hostess, who loaned us her lovely cottage for our vacation-

I'd intended to sew this up before we left and was going to leave it there for her to find when she arrived. The storms that knocked out our power before we left changed my plan.

The hankie was in my stash of vintage linens. Can you believe something so perfect was right here? I added a solid pink fabric and white piping from the stash as well.

After several attempts at putting the hankie on with monofilament thread and the machine, I gave up. The fabric was too delicate and it kept bunching up. I also wasn't happy with either a zig zag over the scallops or a straight line inside of them. The best solution was a simple whipstitch by hand with the monofilament. It's almost impossible to see how the hankie is attached and I was able to follow the scallops exactly.

Sadly, our hostess' time at the cottage is done for the summer. I think it might look cute on a screened-in suburban porch though.

vacation day four

2010-08-08T17:00:00.002-06:00

This is the end, I promise.

We headed back to the beach and spent the entire day there.

The kids met several other children who lived on the coast and knew all about what was living in the plants. We got there at low tide which was perfect for exploring.

All manner of critters were found. Crabs, shrimp, clams, mussels, snails.

And of course, there was much digging to be done.

You have no idea how hard it was to resist a little push after I took this picture.

That's it. No pictures of the 17 hour drive home. You're welcome.

vacation day three

2010-08-08T09:00:00.000-06:00

Ha, I'm like the relative with a captive audience and a boatload of slides!

Next up was Portland Head Lighthouse. Ominous sky. It rained just a bit before moving on.

vacation day two

2010-08-07T17:00:00.001-06:00

Day two was spent in Portsmouth and Kittery, ME.

If you get a chance to go to Strawberry Banke in Portsmouth it's wonderful. There are homes representing eras in Portsmouth from the 1600's to the 1950's. Actresses representing the women of these households interact with the guests. Upon entering the garden of the governor's home, the girls met his wife. She invited them to join her while she weeded. She showed them how to use her special tools and let them go to work. I wish they'd spend that kind of time in our yard. I get about 5 minutes max. They sat and chatted with her for a good 15 minutes. Later she gave them a tour of her greenhouse and I'm now on the lookout for Venus flytraps and Sensitive plants to add to our own pots here at home.

We then headed to a Submarine museum. Guess who liked that place better?

Chris got claustrophobic within seconds. I had no idea just how cramped subs are. I was busy gasping for air. The smell of hydraulic fluids is overwhelming even after years of being decommissioned.

More tomorrow.

family vacation day one

2010-08-07T08:00:00.000-06:00

I promised these to family and friends ages ago. Sorry for the delay guys.

Our first day at the beach in NH.

Look mom, I found you a heart shaped rock!

Look mom, I found you seaweed!

Glenn spent most of his time exploring the rocks.

Who knew there was such a perfect example of the fossil record in NH?

More later.

smock it to me

2010-08-06T11:00:00.004-06:00

This block is headed to Sarah from Common Threads. She gave us three neutral fabrics and asked for texture and a pop of color from our own stash.

I immediately thought of origami and headed to the library to check out every book they had on folded fabric. As I passed over every project listed, I spotted this pattern for smocking in Folded Fabric Elegance by Rami Kim. I was in love. She has several more patterns, but I was drawn to the suggestion of basketweave in this one. I knew I wanted it to be the centerpiece of the block with very simple sashing in the other tones. The green (which looks far duller in the photo than in real life) is from my stash.

Here's the smocking before it's pressed:

And here's the back before pressing. You can see the 1/2" grid of dots I drew. Those are the basis of the technique. From there you follow some simple diagrams bringing the dots together. It's not difficult, just a bit time consuming with a lot of knotting between each stitch. Once I got going, I found a groove and soon didn't need the diagram.

I've got to find some other ways to use this technique. I think it'd look wonderful done in linen as a pocket on a dress or tunic.

big plans

2010-08-05T17:09:00.010-06:00

I've avoiding talking about why blogging hasn't been a priority for a couple of months. You see, my mind has been racing as we've discussed some big changes to our home. Below is our kitchen in all its 1926 expansiveness. Which is to say it's about 8' X 8' with enough room for one person to be in it at a time. The plan below doesn't show a pine cabinet that backs to the stairs, giving me a bit more storage. The mudroom had been functional as long as the weather didn't dip below freezing. In the winter, boots, coats and mittens just freeze rather than drying out. It's also gotten a bit "bouncy" on it's posts (which are no longer anywhere near proper building codes). Let's just say we try not to have too many people in there at once and I ask the kids not to slam the door for fear the thing will fall off the house.

After a lot of thinking - do we add on, do we just fix the mudroom and the seepage we're getting in the basement, do we move (the option I LEAST wanted)? We've decided to add on. Several months ago this was a much smaller project in our minds. I can hear all of you who've started that way in renovations laughing your heads off at me right now. Yes, the project has grown, much of it due to building codes, but the gist of it is below. (The lines in the drawings curve because I set the plans down on the grass to take the pictures. I assure you, our architect wasn't drunk when she rendered these.)

The kitchen will get much larger and will accommodate a very loved 8 foot pine table that we bought soon after we were married (it's been in my studio for the last 7 years because that's the only place it fit in this house). I'll also have a computer center where the kids can do homework and I can see what they're doing (it's next to the cabinet pantry in the plan). The mudroom will be warm in the winter AND have a bench with a place under it for boots and hooks above for jackets. I'll even have a dishwasher for the first time in nearly 20 years.

But wait, there's more! There will have to be a new foundation under this kitchen which gives us another basement room. I'm thinking playroom for the girls. We'll also be able to capture space above the addition for a larger master bedroom closet. Other less glamorous, but important changes include fixing leaks in the basement, putting in a new sewer and sanitation line(the original line failing is simply a disaster waiting to happen), adding a drain in the yard (due to the recent monsoons we currently have a lake back there) and upgrading the heating and cooling system in the house. All the basement work will involve gutting the whole area that's my studio and putting up drywall and new lighting.

I'm very excited and very overwhelmed already. I've spent the last several days purging and packing part of my studio. Every item must leave the basement, kitchen and dining room. I'm sure I'll eventually need to remove all the stuff from our closets upstairs as well when construction gets to that point.

For now, I'm putting the packing of the basement out of my mind because I have to pack my suitcase tonight. I'm headed to NYC early tomorrow morning to meet up with Susie Sunshine, Poppy, and blackbird. At the end of the weekend we'll head to the Hamptons courtesy of Jen with Carol joining the crew. I might get a few posts scheduled tonight. I might not. Doesn't matter, I'm going on vacation with girls.

grandmother's wildflowers

2010-07-23T13:00:00.000-06:00

The baby hexies are finished! I know I said I would post this well over a month ago. Lets just say I severely underestimated the time it would take, and the time I would have available, to finish it.

"Grandmother's Wildflowers" is a take on the traditional grandmother's flower garden quilt pattern. While the technique and all the handwork I did was traditional, the open spaces aren't. I was inspired by a quilt in "Pretty Little Quilts" that had individual hexagons missing allowing the wall to show through.

I have one of my fellow quilting friends here in town to thank for the arrangement. I played back and forth with several ideas, even several different layouts, when Kathy sat down and began moving them in more of a color order arrangement. Bingo! A few minutes later I had them grouped the way I liked. I debated a bit about whether I should add a few more, but decided I'd stick with what I had.

All of these hexies are vintage fabrics that were precut and strung by an anonymous quilter years ago. Like the rest of us, she seems to have had a few UFO's in her stash. I bought them at the garage sale and can now consider them vintage project number 2 that's been completed from that huge find. (The first was the string quilt blocks.)

Every stitch in this mini quilt was done by hand - from basting the hexagons over paper, to the stitches joining the backing to the top. The back is a vintage feedsack. I would not use a feedsack again for a project of this type. The weave is too loose and I had to put in twice as many stitches to secure every loose thread in the weave as I finished the project. The quilt is tied in the center of each hexagon with matching embroidery floss.

And here's a quick shot of my next vintage UFO. More handwork, so it'll be a long time before I can post a finished quilt for this one. I have twelve of these dresden plates to applique to blocks. The long drive to New Hampshire a few weeks ago took care of 3 of them.

Step by step...

thrifty thursday

2010-07-22T18:19:00.002-06:00

Take a deep breath, Carol. One of your favorites:

faux bois

Wish I could say I found the planter super cheap at a thrift store. It came from a great vintage finds store nearby and while it wasn't thrift store priced, it was good enough for me.

My african violet now has a new home.

I wish it looked a little better, this plant has bloomed nonstop since I put it in this window 7 years ago, but I think it's adjusting to its new home.

big star, little star

2010-07-20T10:13:00.005-06:00

I'm officially caught up with the bee again.

Jessica asked for maverick stars - the wonkier the better.

I went with the largest size(12.5) above - and below, the tiniest size she requested (3.5").

I liked the idea of a miniature version of the first one I made. It might make for a fun I Spy game when the quilt is complete - finding the mini me star.

Just to give you an idea of the size difference between them:

As much as I like tiny projects, making sure I didn't cut off those star points and still had enough fabric showing wasn't as easy as I thought it would be. I love how cute it is though.

back with blue

2010-07-20T09:42:00.007-06:00

Long absence, short explanation: summer, busy, storms, power outage, vacation, insomnia, tired.

I do have things to show you though:

Two blocks for Common Threads- Above is Amanda's. Hers was a geometric challenge for me. Took a little sketching first, but I wanted to get those cross blocks to "overlap" in the background. It required more piecing than making two mini blocks and just sewing them together.

Below is Jess's. Hers was done in a manner I've finally grown confident in using - improvisational piecing, I think it's called. I took a quick look at her inspiration photo and just started cutting and sewing. No sketching, no measuring until I was close to the size she requested. The inset pieces of solids are the direct influence of my common threads cohorts. Same goes for the "off" angles and general wonkiness of it all.

I'm off to pack my bag for quilting group today.

the new 'do

2010-06-08T10:18:00.004-06:00

The girls and I were out at a local coffee shop a few weeks ago. A friend who hadn't seen Ellie in a while commented on her long hair. She asked if Ellie had been growing it to donate to Locks of Love. (The short answer is no. Ellie's been growing her hair proudly after several years of self-inflicted haircuts that nearly drove me out of my mind. Who knew a pair of Hello Kitty craft scissors could do so much damage?) That lead to Ellie asking what Locks of Love was on the drive home. After hearing the explanation she was quiet for a moment. Before we'd pulled in our driveway she announced, "I'm going to do it. You won't change my mind. Make the appointment mom."

So I did. For the next day.

She definitely made the 10 inch requirement.

Done.

Sad as I was to see it go, this is perfect for the summer. She told me last week the bangs are the next thing to go.

thrifty thursday

2010-06-03T18:00:00.002-06:00

I have such a backlog of thrifting to post, but I have to skip over it all to show you what I found last week.

Wooden spools - a few hundred of them.

I've been picking them up for a few years now finding just a few here and there. I'd collected several dozen before happening on this find. The shop manager and I struck a deal for the whole bin.

What, you may ask, am I going to do with them?

Up til now, the ones I had just made me happy sitting in a glass jar, but this bounty has to be put to use.

I'd love to attach them as pulls on a piece of furniture in the craft room or make pegs like these.

I spotted a shelf like this at the flea market years ago and am still kicking myself for not buying it.

Wouldn't this be the sweetest valentine or thank you note?

I have some dollhouse furniture ideas as well, though they aren't fully formed in my head yet.

There were plenty of other toy ideas out there that didn't particularly appeal to me - maybe my kids are too old for many of them.

Some, like the ones below, are quite small. The ones on edge are the diameter of a penny. Perhaps charms on a necklace?

I was a little surprised that I didn't find hundreds of ideas for them when I googled wooden spool crafts. Anything come to mind for you?

love of learning

2010-06-01T17:13:00.002-06:00

June. End of another school year. Hard to believe.

In the whirlwind that has been the last two weeks, I realized my youngest will no longer be a preschooler. She's had the most wonderful two years at a local Montessori school and I wanted to give them a little something to remember her by.

The design is based on the school's logo - a trinomial square. The quilting is minimal - just 1/4 inch on either side of the seams to start with. I added the heart beacause of how much Trixie loved school. Above the heart, the school's initials are quilted in lowercase script. Though you can't see it in the photo, the numbers 1, 2, 3 are quilted to the right of the heart in the rulers. Some of the fabric is from the American Jane collection, though if you have it, you may notice that in the fabric you have, the little girl is a redhead. A little work with a fabric marker and now she looks much more like Trixie. That particular piece was a charm square. I loved that it had a girl and a little rug in it. (Those of you with Montessori schools in your lives will understand the meaning of the little rug.) The name of the quilt is from the school's motto "Where the Love of Learning Begins".

I was able to get a quick picture during the carpool pick up time today - my last one at that school. Trixie's a kindergartener now.

thrifty thursday

2010-05-13T11:44:00.001-06:00

How does that line from The Godfather go? "Just when I got out, they pulled me back in." Or something like that.

Last week I sat at the table in my quilting group and was quietly working on my baby hexagons (maybe a progress update tomorrow) when Bernice walked up to me and asked if I was sick of the hexagons yet.

I said, "Just about". She replied that she had something I might be interested in.

So yes, I've bought another hexagon project (and this one's huge).

I didn't count how many there were total, but these are much larger than the other hexagons I've worked with and I imagine when they are all put together (there are pieces in ziploc baggies for about 30 more) there will be enough for a bed quilt.

I'm posting these now, but don't count on this project getting touched anytime this year. I've discovered that yes, I am a bit sick of them for the time being.

one step closer

2010-05-12T11:36:00.002-06:00

The hexagon diamond top is done! In the photo it's hanging at my weekly quilt group meeting for show and tell. The strips of fabric to the right are vintage scraps that will be used to bind it. The backing will be a combination of yellow and blue solids that I have on hand.

For now I'm leaving the piece alone. I need a bit of a break from it. I'm pretty sure that I'm simply going to trim down what you see, binding it with the blue print and use it as a wall hanging (I'm concerned that some of the original stitching in the diamonds that were complete may not hold up well in a quilt that's used on a daily basis). I do have a little bit of nagging doubt though about not putting a border on it. Instead of tearing ahead and regretting it later, I'll let it sit in the back of my mind for a bit.

I hope to have a better sense of what I want it to be before our driving vacation at the end of June. I can get a lot of hand quilting done on the drive from IL to NH.

cleopatra's table linens

2010-05-07T13:00:00.001-06:00

Okay, not really Cleopatra. They were made for my friend, Norma. She's had the fabric for ages. It was given to her by an older aunt that worked for the state department and traveled the world collecting mementos of her adventures. This fabric was brought back from Egypt in the 70's.

Not sure what to do with it, she showed it to me on a visit to her home several months ago. We agreed that since Norma and her husband do a lot of entertaining, napkins and a table runner would certainly be put to use. With a runner and 10 napkins, they'd even be great for an outdoor buffet. The colors and print just say summer deck party to me.

Now I need to use this post as a reminder to go through my stash and make up some more cloth napkins to replace the ones we've recently worn out.

choo choo

2010-05-06T17:00:00.000-06:00

When I find stuff like this, I wish Glenn was still a little guy. This would have been perfect for his train themed 2nd birthday.

I have no idea how old it is - 50's? 60's. The colors are so sweet. I think it may have been a cake topper.

the kids

2010-05-02T17:33:00.002-06:00

We've had a big weekend around here. After a year of preparation and a lot of hard work, Glenn came of age at our church this morning.

He read his faith statement before the congregation as did the rest of his class. I'm amazed at what all of them put into these statements and how each one was such a clear reflection of who that child is as a person. From what we can tell, Glenn is a bit of an existentialist.

His Godfather, hero and style icon, Uncle Monkey, came in from out of state for the occasion. I know he'll check in here at some point this week and I want him to know that his presence meant the world to Glenn.

Family and friends headed back to our house for some lunch, cupcakes and good conversation.

We're incredibly proud of him.

cath kidston purse

2010-04-30T13:00:00.001-06:00

Just before I went handwork crazy with all those hexagons I got this book for my birthday.

Fun projects and great pictures, but the best part - it comes with PRECUT pieces for making the purse on the cover. PRECUT! Ready to sew. How wonderful is that?

Talk about a quick way to have a sense of accomplishment. I love to sew - I hate to do the prep work (kind of like painting a room). I did add a lining to the bag to give it more structure and included a zippered pocket, but still, the rest was already cut out!

Now if only all the garment projects I have in the wings would magically prep themselves for sewing. I need some elves to come visit me.

thrifty thursday

2010-04-29T13:00:00.001-06:00

A few new additions to my vintage apron collection.

I'll never tire of gingham.

And ric rac. I cannot stand how cute it looks sew on that way.

This one's a sheer little number with lilac polka dots.

Hand finished trim on the pocket.

I've really got to come up with a way to display these. Right now, even though I use many of them, they primarly live in a drawer. Seems a crime to hide them.

itching to do some stitching

2010-04-28T13:00:00.002-06:00

I wish I could say this great piece was mine. Sheila, a quilting friend in town, shared it with me last week, knowing I'd fall in love with it. She said her sister got it for her at the Kane County Flea Market years ago.

While it looks like a dresser scarf I wonder if it was used to drape a sewing machine to keep off the dust.

The motifs are just killing me.

And all that crocheted lace. Oh my.

rebekah's butterflies

2010-04-27T18:34:00.002-06:00

Posting this is such a good feeling. Ever get stuck on a problem and it only seems to get harder with time? I needed to make pink the predominant color in this block and also wanted to include embroidery in some way. Squares and rectangles were in order, but not as log cabins or square in a square blocks. I hemmed, I hawed, I ignored it.

Finally I refused to let myself start in on any other sewing until this block was done.

And now I'm happy I waited on it because this is one of my favorite blocks I've ever done.

It's a little stripey, but it does include squares and rectangles (that section of berry dots on the left will be a square when the seam allowance is used as the quilt is pieced). I was heavily influenced by the tiny strips of fabric used in the blocks I received during my turn last year. Those 1/4" pink stripes thrill me.

The embroidery was what I was trying to work around at the beginning. I had it in my mind to embroider a chrysalis, but sketch after sketch only looked like poop hanging from a branch. Once I gave that up and focused solely on making the block first, it fell into place. The butterfly above is a white one from the motif fabric. Perfect for outlining in any color I chose. The pink sashiko stitches were done to emphasis the predominant color of the block.

It should be in your mailbox in a day or so, Rebekah. Think of it as a graduation present!

the kids

2010-04-26T07:28:00.004-06:00

So, a quick update on the kids.

Glenn has started his lacrosse season this past week. Luckily it didn't start over spring break when this picture was taken. We were at the arboretum and he would much rather have been chasing his sisters around instead of drawing. Unfortunately, he'd sprained a muscle during the break and was off physical actvity for a week. He's lucky I didn't post the picture of him in the double stroller at the zoo the following day. When we got there, all the wheelchairs had been rented, making a large stroller our only option. He likely spent the entire day praying we didn't run into anyone he knew.

Ellie's begun figure skating lessons. She took to the ice incredibly well during a PTA event at the YMCA a few months ago. I had to drag her off the ice when the event was over. She was in the center of the rink attempting to do spins and jumps. I think we may have found "her thing". She's already asked to continue lessons this summer and wants to join a friend in a class this coming fall called "theater of skating". Oh yeah. Looks like I'm going to learn how to sew spandex and sequins.

And little miss Trixie - She had her first piano recital a week ago. Her piece was "The Tooth Fairy". Everytime I reviewed what she needed to do - sit still while you wait for your turn, bring your music to the big piano, etc. - she would finish off the instructions with, "and then I bow!!"

baby hexagons

2010-04-23T09:00:00.001-06:00

The hexagon diamonds have been a great lap project for sitting outside with the kids and as a go to project to take to my quilting group on Tuesday. However, it doesn't exactly fit into a purse and I like to have a small project that I can take out when I'm waiting for a piano lesson to finish up.

Some of the hexagon diamonds for the larger quilt had leftover pieces. Others were colors that didn't work with any of the blocks. I also had a stack of hexagons that I don't think were ever intended to go with the larger diamonds since there were only 6 of each pattern.

These are the result of those leftovers:

For now I'm just putting them together one flower at a time. (To give you an idea of the time commitment - each flower takes me about an hour from start to finish.) I think I'm going to sew them one to another as below to make a doll quilt.

I wish I'd put something in the picture for scale. A quarter fits nicely on each little hexagon to give you some idea. So far I have enough sets to make 27 flowers. We'll see where they lead me.

nadia's forest

2010-04-21T09:00:00.001-06:00

One more block done. This one is for Nadia and her new baby, Gus.

How can you not love those little animal faces?

Posted here with a little more explanation.

cross my heart, I'm catching up

2010-04-20T09:00:00.004-06:00

As promised, I'm catching up on my long overdue common threads blocks.

These are for Jacquie

They're little - 6.5" square.

My favorite is the little cross below.

I posted them here as well.

why i've gone missing

2010-04-19T17:05:00.006-06:00

Nothing dramatic. No problems here. Just life - spring break, family stuff. It's so easy to just get out and enjoy the sun and warmth and forget all about the computer. I'll try to catch up on the kids' lives for family this week. For my quilting friends, I've managed a few more blocks and I'll post those soon as well.

With spring's arrival, I'm spending more time outdoors with the kids and need some handwork to keep me occupied. (I also think my local quilting group - many of whom hand quilt - has rubbed off on me.) I decided to continue working on those hexagon diamonds I posted a while ago. I love working on this project, but because it's all done by hand and takes so much more time than machine work, I simply don't have as much to post each week.

This is the design wall in my studio with some of the hexagons in my final arrangement. You'll notice it looks like many are missing.

That's because they're here:

I'm hand appliquing each diamond onto white fabric. Because the hexagons were sewn partially by another woman, I was somewhat forced to continue assembling them in the same way. The seams are a bit wonky and none are exactly 1/4". A steam iron and starch did wonders for getting the diamonds to behave and lay flat, but there's just no way they'd all go together neatly with one another. Nor would making a path of hexagons between them work.

So hand applique it is. I've wanted to try a new skill and this is definitely giving me practice. At this writing I have about 7 more to add. Each one takes me about 45 minutes - I'm new, I'm slow. I'm trying not to think too much about how long this project is going to take to finish.

-Especially since I feel I should finish it with hand quilting.

Later in the week, I'll post another related project. I'm a little hexie crazy right now.

keep on truckin'

2010-03-30T17:46:00.003-06:00

Chris sent me this link today. He feels it's the perfect retirement for us. We can combine his dream of long haul trucking with my favorite hobby. Help me.

Watch the video, I love the set up he has in the back of his cab.

dedication gown

2010-03-19T16:00:00.000-06:00

Spring cleaning has begun around here. That means going through the girls' closets to put away the dark, long-sleeved dresses and start bringing out the brighter, short-sleeved ones (even if it means layering them with long-sleeved tee shirts). In the back of Trixie's closet I found this:

It's the gown I made for all three kids' dedication ceremonies. I suppose with the last ceremony being nearly 4 years ago, I can safely store it with their other clothes that I can't bear to give away.

This was my first and last attempt at hand smocking. An easy pattern, but plenty of a challenge for a beginner. I wanted something simple that would be appropriate for both boys and girls since I was making it for Glenn, but had no idea if we'd have more sons or daughters. The sleeves gather with a cotton drawstring. The back has two shank pearl buttons with elastic loops.

The fabric is batiste - incredibly soft, though sheer enough that I put all three kids in a white cotton sleeper underneath. Plus, all three were dedicated in colder months. After each service, I embroidered their initials near the hem.

This weekend Glenn, Chris and I will be attending the Bar Mitzvah of a friend's son born just a few months before Glenn. Hard to believe that this gown is close to 13 years old. I could swear that both boys were still into dump trucks just yesterday.

these are the quilters in my neighborhood

2010-03-17T17:15:00.003-06:00

It's my turn again for the Common Threads quilting bee. You saw how last year's round turned out, so you can imagine how excited I am for this year.

Below is my inspiration quilt for this round. It's called The 'Burbs from Material Obsession by Kathy Doughty and Sarah Fielke.

I've asked the women in the bee to create themselves in fabric.

Below are the flesh tones and background pinks for the blocks.

Each quilter will get a different dress print, but she's free to choose something that's more representative of herself from her own stash.

round one, done!

2010-03-15T16:55:00.004-06:00

My Common Threads quilt from round one is on the living room wall!!

You can read more about it here.

happy gadgets

2010-03-15T10:47:00.004-06:00

Just a quick update to provide a little information about the transfers I used on the dishtowels.

They're an Aunt Martha's Hot Iron Transfers pattern called "Happy Gadgets 3929". Commentor, Anne Marie, says she has seen them online. I bought mine at Hobby Lobby. For those of you with one in your area, the Aunt Martha transfers are on sale this week for $1.19.

I used this set for the towels I made about ten years ago.

The towels are also an Aunt Martha product. I bought mine three to a pack at Joann Fabrics. I don't think I've ever seen them on sale there, but those 40% off coupons come in handy for stuff like this. Sorry, but I couldn't find them on the Joann website.

Thanks for the nice comments and emails. I've enjoyed reading them and using the towels all week.

saturday

2010-03-13T13:00:00.000-06:00

friday

2010-03-12T13:00:00.000-06:00

thursday

2010-03-11T13:00:00.000-06:00

wednesday

2010-03-10T13:00:00.000-06:00

tuesday

2010-03-09T13:00:00.000-06:00

monday

2010-03-08T13:00:00.000-06:00

sunday

2010-03-07T13:00:00.000-06:00

When I wasn't working on hexagon diamonds the past couple of weeks, I had the embroidery hoop out.

The days of the week dishtowels I embroidered when Glenn was in preschool are showing their age. Here are their replacements in a one-a-day installment series.

hexies

2010-03-06T13:31:00.004-06:00

Several days ago Jan asked what we worked on during the Olympics.

Jan, great minds must think alike. Among some other embroidery projects, these hand pieced hexagons have taken over my life.

They were purchased last year at the garage sale. I brought home a box of antique UFO's and among them were these hexagon diamond blocks.

A few were finished, but most were not. I started with the ones that had the centers and next round done. You know, sort of a quick fix to feel like I'd accomplished something. After that came the ones where I had to sew the individual hexies together and then put them on the block in a row. Took a little longer, but it's amazing what you can do when figure skating's on.

I wish I could say that these are done with the precision of Jan's English piecing (I think that's the method she's using). That's one drawback to picking up on a project where someone else has left off. These were done in a more haphazard way. None of the seams are exactly 1/4". They aren't pressed in any order that I could make sense of. Some of the hexagons are slightly larger or smaller than the others. It's definitely a make do project. Nothing a steam iron can't fix, I'm finding.

I'm nearing the end of them. I have about 3 more blocks to go and then I can start assembling them. (There are actually more that I didn't photograph. In the end I think I'll have about 20.) The best route to go seems to applique them onto a background fabric - more handwork and the summer olympics are two years away.

the kids

2010-02-27T18:00:00.000-06:00

You know how women who have curly hair want straight hair, and women who have straight hair want curly hair? Proof it starts young -

They've been begging me to use the curlers on their hair for months. For the record, Trixie lasted about half an hour before they fell out from dancing all over the house.

thrifty thursday

2010-02-25T18:46:00.004-06:00

These are the last of Effie's treasures that I've photographed. There were also some damask tablecloths, but they aren't as cute as this:

The work on this purse is lovely. I can't imagine what a woman might carry in such a tiny pouch (with holes!) - a hankie? The diameter of the body of the pouch is only 4 inches across.

These are probably the oldest items that were sent. The ankle length apron has many holes in it. I think parts of it would look great in a quilt with the hankies. The cap is very stiff either from age or starch. I wonder if both items belonged to her mother, the woman who died in a prairie fire.

I cried out when I pulled this from the box. Within moments I was wearing it. I know Liz had once planned on framing it for her home, but never got to it. Instead of being art on the wall, it'll help cement my reputation on the block as the crazy apron mom.

Next Thursday it's back to junk I've stumbled upon at thrift shops and garage/estate sales.

woof

2010-02-24T20:28:00.003-06:00

I took a quick trip to Mitsua with a friend for lunch and some time in their bookstore a few weeks ago.

This title grabbed my attention -

It's English translation on the spine is "Let's Make School Bags & Goods!"

Okay, don't mind if I do.

Can you tell I bought the book for the pattern on the cover? Trixie needed a new thin tote to carry her piano book to lessons. She loves dogs as much as Ellie loves cats.

I loved the details in the pattern like the buckle embroidery.

All the materials were in the stash from thrifting over the years. I love the old white buttons. They had centers that were deep enough to hide the shanks on the grey buttons.

I didn't vary one bit from the pattern other than color. I've learned that when a child sees a pattern in a book, they expect it to look a lot like that picture and if I vary it, I'm accused of not making the item to which they agreed. We made one concession though - Trixie requested pink, "My new favorite color, mom. Pink, not purple. Don't forget that, it's pink now."

This was a fun little sewing reward for completing my common threads quilt top from round one! Tomorrow it's back to my common threads commitments. The quilt needs to be sandwiched and I have some block challenges that need my attention.

little bit of liberty

2010-02-19T10:00:00.001-06:00

Carol sent me wonderful news - Target is going to be carrying lines by Liberty of London in their stores on March 14th!! My calendar is marked.

In the meantime I have these to tide me over:

Trish sent me a yard of this for Christmas. I love having a friend who travels to London on business.

These were made around the holidays to hold back hair that I'm growing out again.

(The bobby pin blanks are from Hobby Lobby. The covered button blanks were thrifted, but are available everywhere. The Liberty scraps are from the fabulous rummage sale I went to with Poppy.)

While I was at it, I made a couple charms for myself.

(All the jewelry making supplies are from Hobby Lobby. The buttons are doll sized. I used a paper glaze, but think it needs a few more coats to look right.)

I plan to be waiting for the doors to open March 14th.

xin nian kuai le!

2010-02-14T19:50:00.000-06:00

Happy New Year!!

Ellie, Trixie and two of Ellie's China sisters (girls who were in her adoption group).

Getting ready for the Dragon Dance-

I know those little legs.

Good fortune to you all in the new year!

carissa's block

2010-02-12T10:00:00.000-06:00

One more block for common threads. Carissa challenged us to create a block that represented a bookshelf. I asked her to send a good selection of scraps for the spines because I think my stash tends to be more vintage and reproduction. She's a happy, bright colored quilter and I was very worried my block would stick out from the rest without more direction from her.

Some of my scraps made it in - a little Amy Butler, some polka dots and a few solids rounded out what I recieved in the mail. I can't wait to see how the whole thing looks with all the other shelves added on. I love the movement and explosion of color in this. It'll be in the mail soon, Carissa.

(Rebekah, I haven't forgotten you at all. I've been hanging back to see if any your blocks have been done with embroidery. Now I have my answer. I'll be finishing up soon.)

thrifty thursday - effie's aprons

2010-02-11T09:47:00.001-06:00

A few more aprons that were in that wonderful box:

This one is hand stenciled:

I use this one when I'm picking up around the house. That pocket holds the phone and a vast number of tiny toys that need to go back in the girls' rooms.

This one is child-sized, though I know from Mary's letter that Effie didn't have any children.

I wonder what inspired a woman who lived in South Dakota to stitch a southwestern themed apron?

autumn

2010-02-10T17:00:00.001-06:00

How on earth did this happen? I could have sworn I posted this back in November. I guess imagining I posted it and actually doing so are not the same.

It's a block for common threads that was mailed to rossie long ago. She challenged us to use a code to spell out a word we liked. I chose my favorite season, autumn.

You can read a little more about it here.

the bangles

2010-02-10T09:45:00.001-06:00

How fun are these bracelets? I had to share them with all my crafty friends. They came in several colors - white, cream, pink, jade green and light blue -and three widths.

I bought them at a shop in the Chicago area that doesn't have a web presence. If you're dying for one, email me and I'll send you the store name and phone number.

mischievous gnome messenger bag

2010-02-08T10:00:00.000-06:00

This bag has been two years in the making. I bought the pattern from Montessori by Hand - long enough ago that she now uses a different name for her business. My eye was drawn to it because I had all the fabrics shown in her photo of the completed project. However, when it came time to use them, I couldn't. I think it was a combination of the brown wool with a lighter cotton with a white background. One says fall/winter, the other spring/summer. I'd never feel comfortable carrying it. (Yes, I'm one of those people who has a problem with white shoes after Labor Day) The pile of fabrics sat month after month.

In an effort to clear my sewing table of projects I'd put aside, this one was finally tackled during a warm spell a couple weeks ago. (By warm, I mean close to the freezing mark.) I pulled out the Heather Ross fabric with the white background and pink/orange/brown polka dots. It still didn't seem right and then I spied the orange and red polka dots leftover from another project. Perfect.

It all fell together after that. The button and ribbon practically jumped out at me from my stash.

It's taken me ages to cut into that gnome fabric because I love it so.

The lining is a Heather Ross stripe sold as a companion to the gnomes.

The pattern is very well written and goes together easily. The zippered pocket in the lining is a great detail that can easily be used for other tote projects. I was also leery of there not being a closure under the flap to support all the junk I carry around. Other messenger bags I've made have not held together at the top very well. Because the straps are placed directly on the sides rather than on the back panel, that's not an issue with this pattern. The interfacing called for is just the right amount of support. The front of the bag has two pockets for a cell phone and keys. There's a larger pocket on the back for a quilting magazine. My embroidery pouch fits inside with room to spare.

One more project off the to-do list.

the kids

2010-02-07T17:34:00.003-06:00

I finally figured out how to get pictures from my phone to the computer. The first two are from August, but they make me smile-

Proof that they really can get along. And that it used to be warm here.

These make me laugh (and feel some pride that I have documentation of him being silly).

Chicken dancing with Trixie at the pumpkin farm in October.

feedsack embroidery

2010-02-05T20:00:00.000-06:00

What I've been doing when I haven't been posting the past few weeks:

I bought the feedsack at "the garage sale" and I'm pretty sure I photographed it for a previous thrifty thursday post. Above is where I'd gotten to a few weeks ago and was feeling like it'd never be finished. I thought I could do an "in progress" post.

Instead, the weather continued to freeze me out of the basement and I got addicted to watching Gilmore Girls in DVD. Handwork was the only answer to that dilemna. Before long I had this to show for my efforts:

All of the words are outlined in perle cotton in either the stem or backstitch. The leaves were filled in with chain stitches. Blanket stitching surrounds the oval.

The inspiration for this was a vintage quilt I spotted in a book (no idea what one it was now) that had advertising feedsacks in every block embellished with embroidery. This one is much larger than those - about 20" wide by 40" long. I'd like to feature it as the center of a wall-hanging sized quilt for my kitchen. That's a project for another day.

hand-me-down thursday

2010-02-04T17:00:00.001-06:00

A few weeks ago a package arrived in the mail for me. There's nothing better than a package you aren't expecting. This one was from my mother's cousins, Liz and Mary. They'd recently helped clean out the home of a dear family friend and thought I'd appreciate some things from the estate. The box was filled with so much that I can't possibly put it all in one post, so I'll share more each Thursday this month.

Included in the box was a letter with this information-

"Re: contents of the box, Use and enjoy! We could not bear to just throw these things away. Nearly everything was made by an old neighbor, Effie ____. She was the banker's wife and our maternal grandmother's close friend. Aunt Mildred and Effie were role models for us. Effie graduated from SDSU with a 4 year degree in about 1921(about the same year women were finally granted the right to vote in the US?!)- an era when women's education beyond 8th grade was thought by many to be a useless extravagance. If knowledge is power, women acquiring both was the real fear, in my entirely biased opinion. Anyhow, her mother died in a prairie fire after hiding the children under the overturned wagon, her father died several years later, it was said, of a broken heart, and Effie was raised by unmarried aunts who had the resources and vision to give her the best start they could, with a university education. I raise my glass to all of these women, salut!"

The strawberry on this is a pincusion and the tape measure is real and slips out of that pocket.

The one above likely held clothespins. The drawstrings cinch it up to keep them in place.

I love the pockets on this one.

The letter went on -

"Effie did fine hand crafts for years for the Methodist Ladies' Aid various church events. They had the classic supper and bazaar every fall, did the church suppers, hosted the kids before summer camp, you name it. I have sweet memories of women like Effie and Aunt Mildred, and the food and hospitality they offered in the the old church basement. They had a reverence for education, especially for women, and a spirit of community service (I don't care if this sounds cliche) the likes of which is rare in any age. That's the proud heritage of the treasures you are seeing. Liz and I strive to live up to the legacy of those remarkable women. Please pass on this history. Love, Mary"

I will.

green tea on a cold day

2010-02-03T18:00:00.001-06:00

I'm done with winter. Unfortunately, it's not done with me.

My studio is in the basement which is a nice, cool place to be in the summer months. Right about now though - I almost dread heading down there to sew because of the bone chilling cold. And it's taking its toll on me.

The past few weeks have been spent doing a lot of handwork upstairs with a minimum of sewing at my machine. When something has to be done down there, I've been saving it for a day that's at least in the 20's. Then I run upstairs to make more tea when I'm finished.

Now I have this little cutie sitting on my spice canisters to greet me when I reach for some earl grey. She's from the Softies book. The only change I made to her is on the tag. It reads "cha" or tea in Chinese.

Maybe I should make a stuffed sun.

thrifty thursday

2010-01-28T20:20:00.000-06:00

Love the funnel neck on that Butterick pattern. The long sleeved version would be great cut off as a shirt.

I see shades of Lilly Pulitzer in the Simplicity on the right.

Meh, but I want 7120's aqua mary janes.

If it didn't make me laugh and think of Mrs. Roper, this one would have gone right back in a donation bag.

Project Runway is on in less than an hour. I'd love to see the look on Nina's face if something from 9026 came down the runway.

shedding a little light on my studio

2010-01-22T20:00:00.000-06:00

I'm slowly working my way through the little projects down in my studio making it a more pleasant place to sew.

This fall, I tackled the space head on - moving most of the kids' toys to their rooms or getting rid of what no longer held their interest. Once that was done, a wall was repainted to a more neutral color from its previous jadite green. I'd had red accents down there as well which included several lampshades. They were fun, but cast a pink glow and made it difficult to work when I was trying to choose colors.

The new shades reflect the current neutral color palette.

(The lamp is from Land of Nod a few years ago.)

There are two vintage hobnail lamps sporting shades like this one.

(Natural linen covers the shade with black cotton twill covering where the linen ends and was glued inside the shade. The beaded fringe is from Tinsel Trading, but I couldn't find it on the current site. I bought it years ago.)

Someday I'll get around to finishing the space and put more pictures up here. Seems as soon as I get near done, I change my mind and start over.

thrifty thursday and a decision

2010-01-21T15:00:00.000-06:00

Wow! Thank you all so much.

I just did a count of your "votes" and option #2 is the clear front runner. I have to admit I'm a little relieved. A quilt like #1 is still in my future, but not on this go-round. I felt like too much of the blocks was lost in the motion of that quilt. What I love about option #2 was mentioned in the comments - it has a bit of a Gee's Bend feel to it and since those quilts were part of my inspiration - it just feels right to go that direction. I'm going to add an extra amount of black fabric to the bottom of each column to see if I can still put more weight at the bottom of the quilt with a larger border there. If it looks funny, I can always cut it off. My challenge this week is to start moving those blocks around until I'm happy with the balance in the design.

It also occurs to me that I never explicity said in that post how much I absolutely LOVE how all those blocks look together - and how amazed I am by the work and creativity that went into them. So to my Common Threads friends - I sincerely thank you from the bottom of my heart.

Now, on to a little thifty goodness:

Does anyone believe that a 2 piece pattern would be flattering on a woman with curves?

I love 5699. I just don't love the undergarments it would require.

Any career gals out there looking for a wardrobe update?

thrifty thursday

2010-01-18T13:00:00.001-06:00

Once I'd gotten over the excitement of that first box of treasures from Effie, another box arrived. In fact, Liz and Mary have sent three packages of treasures that were either collected by or made by Effie.

These are all the handkerchiefs they sent my way.

They said many of the pieces in the first and second photos were purchased fabric that was tatted around the edges by another woman who lived in town.

I love the pink edged one that has a few inches of white on it. I can just imagine the woman working on it, running out of pink and reaching for whatever she had on hand to finish it up.

These were clearly purchased or received as gifts.

On the (very long) list of quilts I'd like to make someday is a vintage hankie quilt. These will be saved for that project.

we value your opinion...

2010-01-15T08:34:00.004-06:00

I'm getting started on my common threads quilt from round 1. I'd been waiting for two last blocks to roll in, but since so many of my fellow quilters generously sent me two, I have more than enough to just go ahead and finish without them. My living room wall has been bare for so long. I'm determined to get this finished before it's my turn to send out fabrics for round two in March.

Since I'll be sashing/bordering the quilt in black, I covered the design wall in black fabric and began toying around with some ideas. Keep in mind that I didn't bother balancing the blocks in terms of intricacy of design or color yet. I just sort of slapped them up there for this initial step.

A few things I'm pretty sure of:

-the black background fabric

-3 rows of 6 blocks will fit the space on the wall very well

-putting a larger border on the bottom of the quilt than on the top

With that said, the first option that came to mind as the blocks rolled in was this - making them into larger blocks that have the color blocks offset at different angles. Drawbacks - might be too busy. A lot of work. The need to make them into larger blocks might make the quilt too large for the space. Benefit - will accomodate variety of sizes in the blocks easily.

Option 2 - Staggered columns of three. I think I'd stagger them even more than this. Perhaps have one column moved several inches higher than all the others. Benefits - accomodates variety of blocks well, easy to do. Drawback - may need to add fabric to a few blocks and I'd prefer to leave them as they were created by the original quilters (though I have absolutely NO problem with my fellow common threads quilters altering the blocks I send you). I may also need to reconsider the border on the bottom being larger because the movement on this quilt is vertical.

Option 3:

Three even rows of 6. Seems so 'meh' to me. However, much of that could be the lack of balance in the blocks since they were just thrown up on the board. I'm also not sure if they should be sashed with black or sewn one to the other with no visual breaks. Drawbacks - different block sizes are very noticable and I'll have to alter them to fit. Benefit - once the blocks are uniform in size, this would be the easiest to put together.

Your thoughts? You can see the space I'm filling here.

thrifty thursday

2010-01-14T08:30:00.002-06:00

It's been a few weeks since I've had time to run to the local thrift shops, but it was worth the wait for my vintage pattern collection -

Anyone want to look like a Pilgrim woman? Me neither. I love the Elizabeth Taylor look-a-like though.

Why don't I have enough closet space to store coats that match every outfit I own?

glenn's quilt

2010-01-12T18:02:00.000-06:00

Remember that quilt I needed to have done before Christmas? Here it is and I'm happy to report, I made the deadline. Didn't even have to sew binding on Christmas Eve. Not that I've done that before... ; )

I'm sure many of you recognize the Lush line of fabrics. I added another polka dot to have one more print and, as you can see, many solids. The solids were generously given to me by a woman in my quilting group who will be downsizing soon and wanted to reduce her stash.

This all started because Glenn asked me for a fleece blanket for Christmas(he'd seen them rolled up at Target and Walmart). Seriously kid, you don't ask your mom, the quilter, for a cheapo fleece blanket for a gift. At least don't assume she'd actually buy one. Instead, I finally pulled out those gorgeous fabrics (also spurred on by Jacquie's Common Threads quilt for her son made with the same line). Jan came over for a last minute consultation before I began cutting and gave me reassurance that I could get it done - I started the cutting on the Sunday before Christmas. To give Glenn the softness he wanted, I backed the quilt with faux minkee. (I say faux minkee because it's not the actual brand. I bought it at Joann's. Their version isn't as plush or stretchy which worked to my advantage.)

Spray basting held it in place very well during the quilting process. In fact, the only place where I had a few tiny puckers was on the front of the quilt. All that's left to do is name it and put a label on the back. In the meantime, it's being put to good use on his bed.

He's happy, I'm happy.

night tree

2010-01-11T18:00:00.001-06:00

Our street, like many others in town, has a tradition around the holidays where the homes display a live tree on the front lawn. Many are lit, but without an outdoor electrical outlet on our home, ours can't have lights.

We started a new tradition this year based on a favorite holiday book, Night Tree by Eve Bunting. In it a family drives to the forest on Christmas Eve to decorate their favorite tree with treats for the animals. We don't have the same diversity of wildlife here in the suburbs, but I'm sure we made the local squirrels, raccoons, skunks and opposums happy.

Trixie demonstrates the proper technique for spreading peanut butter on the pinecones. (I attached lengths of yarn to each before this.)

Glenn rolls them in leftover hamster food. (Sadly, we have no hamster to eat it anymore.)

Ellie's the expert bow tier of the three of them.

I like these better than lights anyday.

gingerbread girls

2010-01-06T17:56:00.001-06:00

I did say that the holiday decorations were put away, but I've still got some holiday crafting to post before I can put the whole thing to bed. Humor me while I catch up.

No stripey Hanna pajamas for all three this year. Glenn was a sport for a very long time, but I didn't even bother to ask this year (or last as I remember).

Instead, I bought the girls fleece nightgowns from the Lands End outlet and embroidered them.

I'd planned to trace a cookie cutter, but like Goldilocks dilemna, the first was too big, the other too small. I sketched this one to make it just right. Once I had the pattern I liked, I cut it from the paper and traced it with a water erasable pen (the blue kind). Due to how thick fleece is, I used perle cotton in a stem/outline stitch so it wouldn't get buried in the fabric.

I should explain that I have a thing about the girls in matching pajamas on Christmas Eve. Growing up my dad would hand out presents to my mom, sisters and me the night before Christmas every year. Inside them were matching nightgowns to wear to bed. I'd have to go through our old pictures to figure out how old I was when I refused to go along anymore (I was the oldest), but I'm going to go with it around here as long as the girls will let me get away with it.

the series

2010-01-05T18:05:00.003-06:00

The Christmas decorations are put away, but I managed to snap a few photos of the other Beatrix Potter Christmas pillows I've made over the years before they were stored until next December.

This one was stitched on linen - with an uneven weave. A bit of a mistake in fabric choice. It would have been fine for a smaller piece, but I thought counting all those threads would make me insane before I finished. Note that all the others are done on aida cloth. The two I've yet to make will also be done on an evenweave fabric.

My favorite so far because of the pinafores. Animals in clothing. What's not to love?

A little harder to see (I had to take the photos in the evening), but all the shades of green look wonderful on this one.

While all the colors in each of the designs makes for a lot of work - the one I just finished had 30 colors, most of which were some shade of brown - I think they all capture her watercolor shading beautifully. Sadly, I could find no name on the pattern to give credit to the artist that translated each of these paintings to stitchery.

Merry Christmas

2009-12-25T13:00:00.002-06:00

As promised - the cross stitch that I've been working on for far too long. All those weeks that I had nothing to post - this is why. Those of you needlewomen out there will understand the time involved in this. There have to be 100 hours of hand stitching in this pillow.

It's one of 4 that I've completed from A Beatrix Potter Christmas cross stitch book. Two more to go. I started it a few years ago and would just get overwhelmed and put it away for months and months. I pulled it out again in October when I was feeling too sick to work on my machine. (Nothing feels as nice as sitting under a quilt on the sofa with the tv on in the background, hot tea or coffee on the end table and some needlework in my lap when I'm getting over being ill.) I guess I'd gotten just far enough to see the light at the end of the tunnel. And it was a long tunnel - there are approximately 10,000 cross stitches in this. Knowing I was at least past the halfway point kept me going and I was determined to finish it up before the holiday this year.

Details - Done on ivory 16 count aida. It measures about 10" X 10". The fringe is chenille, but I don't remember where I bought it. Found it in the stash and I'm all about using what I have right now. Before sewing it into a pillow I backed the aida cloth with muslin.

Hope you all are having a lovely holiday!

the kids

2009-12-24T13:00:00.002-06:00

Saturday was our, now annual, Open House with Santa.

Dear Santa,

I'd like some action figures and itunes money.

I'd like a purple Barbie car and a bathtub for my teddy bear.

I want fame and paparazzi.*

No? Okay, how about a hot tub?

(I wish this was a joke - it's not.)

For Carol - Trixie as one of the Three French Hens in her preschool's Christmas Pageant.

You should have seen their can can!

* Santa's a quick thinker - he suggested that she grow up and find the cure for a disease to become famous.

mei mei's quilt

2009-12-23T21:35:00.003-06:00

It's not the big quilt for Glenn (the good news is that I finished that and just need to run it through the wash). This one's for Trixie's doll bed. I'd like to believe it's for her baby, Mei Mei, but the reality is a stuffed dog will probably be tucked in under this.

It's a miniature version of the quilt I made for Ellie's bedroom when we first moved into the house. Now that Ellie has moved to her own big girl room downstairs, the room and the quilt in it are Trixie's. The trim was done with a ruffler attachment for my machine. The twin size quilt and draperies in the room are also embellished with it. When I was working on those I just made yards and yards to be sure I wouldn't run out mid project. The scraps are finally being put to good use.

The free motion quilting was done using the book, Free Motion Quilting Made Easy, as a quide. I've done a lot of this type of quilting before, but I highly recommend this book. It gave me a lot of ideas and also spells out a lot of tips that I found helpful when I was first learning this technique ten years ago. (One tip that really works is to practice drawing your design on paper before you begin quilting.)

I tried an heirloom technique on the little pillowcase using a wing needle and a decorative stitch on the machine. The wing needle has blades on either side that actually cut the fabric, creating those little holes, and the stitch stabilizes the design. (I also used tear away stabilizer when sewing it.) Had the fabric not been drapery weight, the holes would have been more obvious and a little prettier.

I still have two more gifts I made Glenn to post, but those just aren't going to happen until after the holiday.

Tomorrow, we bake.

crafty gifts

2009-12-22T19:00:00.002-06:00

More things for under the tree. Today's are for Ellie.

I've been on a roll with felt this year. She's getting a colored pencil roll with a matching set for her American Girl dolls. When she's a little older and takes better care of her things, I'll make her a quilted holder like one of these. In the meantime, this went together super fast and it's pink - one of her favorite colors.

The tiny pencils are from the dollar section at Joann's a year or two ago. There were 18 in the set, but a roll that large wouldn't work in a miniature size.

She was also mesmerized by the cross stitch apron that I worked on this season. This will be wrapped up as a kit. The transfer is from an Aunt Martha's pattern set. I picked a thicker perle cotton out of the stash because it'll stand out more on the fabric and hopefully, cover the printed lines better if they don't wash out well. The design was ironed onto a pale pink quilting cotton that'll be sewn into a pillowcase when she's finished stitching.

The beauty of her getting older? I can give her a present that she makes herself rather than killing myself to make it before the holiday.

I'm saving that sort of insanity for the quilt Glenn is getting. Started sewing on Sunday. Tonight I'm hand sewing the final step in binding it. I never learn. At least I'm not sewing the binding on Christmas Eve like I was doing two years ago.

barbie's new wardrobe

2009-12-21T07:00:00.001-06:00

The girls are entering the Barbie phase. Finally, I get to make clothes for them!

These are from a vintage pattern one of my quilting friends gave me. It dates to my childhood.

This combo is for Trixie.

And this one is for Ellie.

Trixie specifically asked for pajamas for her Barbie.

These were made with a vintage dotted swiss and a reissued Vintage Vogue pattern:

That teeny yoke has a lining. Gah. I hope the Barbies like these pj's because they aren't getting another pair.

(There are snaps hidden under the plackets on both the pj's and the dresses. I'm not crazy enough to attempt buttonholes that small.)

ring pouch

2009-12-18T19:00:00.000-06:00

This came about as a solution to gloves and rings not playing well together. Every winter I have the same problem when we get dressed up and I'm wearing a nice ring (or even just my engagement ring). It's too cold to leave my hands uncovered and I don't want my rings just sitting in my purse or evening bag. And while I prefer mittens in the winter, they just don't look nearly as lovely as gloves for a nice evening out.

The solution:

Super simple to make - I used wool felt and cut 3 pieces. One is 4" by 2 1/4". Two others are 2 1/4" by 2 1/4". Stack them up aligning three edges. Edgestitch all the way around. Trim with pinking shears. Add a buttonhole to the flap (or just cut a slit since it's felt and won't ravel). Sew on a button. Done.

You'll have a pouch with two compartments to store two rings so they won't scratch one another. It's small enough to slip into a tiny evening bag.

They go together fast enough that you have plenty of time to make some if you still need stocking stuffers for the holiday.

Fabulous jeweled ring from the private collection of Ellie MacGyver.

thrifty thursday

2009-12-17T21:04:00.005-06:00

I posted this as I found it almost a year ago. It was a kit that never got stitched up. No idea how old it is. Just a premade linen apron with a printed cross stitch design and several skeins of white floss for $.75 or so.

And now-

Here's a little sneak peak of why I've not blogged so much even after I was feeling better. Those of you stitchers out there, now how time consuming a large cross stitch project can be. Every spare crafty moment over the past couple of months was spent finishing this up-

I'll share the whole thing next week.

mail's here!

2009-12-16T21:00:00.003-06:00

I've been busy with a lot of elfin activity this week.

Trixie made some big leaps the past 6 months with learning to read and she's now very much into writing notes to all of us here at home. You might remember some mailboxes we made last Valentine's Day. They didn't survive terribly long, but were popular with the girls. For Christmas this year, I decided to make something a bit more lasting for Trixie.

Her official letter carrier bag:

The body is navy felted wool, originally sold as a "skirt length". The letters are wool felt with twill tape trim under them. The bag is bound with double fold bias tape and has a cotton webbing handle.

These are the mailboxes she'll deliver to. The grommets will hang on 3M hooks on our bedroom doors. They're all made of wool felt. I used a regular business envelope as a template, but enlarged it by one inch each way to accomodate larger mail. I also added two inches to the height of the flap so it could be folded over to make the portion that supports the grommets. "POST" was satin stiched on the machine and the the bottom portion of the envelope was glued together since I couldn't get it on the machine without sewing through all the layers.

The last part of the set is a cigar box filled with all the stuff we get sent from charities: greeting cards I'll never use, stationary, return address labels and Easter Seals to use as stamps. I even have some preaddressed return business envelopes from credit card companies in there and leftover envelopes from old boxes of valentines.

I think this mail will be far more fun to open than the usual bills.

and the winner is...

2009-12-15T08:32:00.003-06:00

Diane of Persnickety Quilts!

Congratulations, Diane.

Thanks to everyone who stopped by and threw her name in the hat. I loved seeing a few people delurk.

Diane, I'll see about getting the quilt off to you this week.

balance (and a giveaway)

2009-12-01T19:54:00.005-06:00

I didn't mean to worry anyone being gone so long. Thank you for the e-mails of concern, I'm fine - really. Real life has just taken more time than usual and stepping away from the computer gave me some breathing room.

Sewing also took a backseat for a long time while I recuperated from being ill most of October. Chris left his job of 13 years and started a new one (a very positive, but stressful change). We then took a wonderful trip to New York (without kids!) in early November. By the time I'd caught up with kid stuff, laundry and just getting back in the groove of being home, a lot of time had gone by without any completed projects. And really, this is a craft blog. If I don't have any projects to post, there's no point in my blathering on. Now that I'm back to sewing a bit, I'm trying to find a good balance in my life - between the "real" stuff and the time I spend here and visiting other blogs. Seems I haven't figured it all out just yet.

But enough about that. I'm glad you're here and to prove it, I have something for you:

I bought the majority of fabrics for this quilt about 2 years ago - the summer before I started blogging. I loved them, but couldn't decide on a pattern to use. They sat in a pile all this time - reminding me of one more thing I needed to finish. As the months went by, I sort of fell out of love with them, but I didn't want to just put them in the stash by color since they went together so nicely. Friendship Braid is the pattern I finally settled on (from Quiltmania magazine) and got to work cutting and sewing.

I was so happy with how it all went together technically - very proud of those matched corners! However, even when the top was pieced I didn't love it anymore. I had enough of one fabric left for binding and a good green in my stash for the solid backing. The only thing I had to go out and buy was the batting. (It's one of the new bamboo battings which I liked working with very much, but it is expensive compared to my usual cotton batting.) Jan even gave me a great idea for the quilting. It reminds me of a moving blanket:

So I'm pleased with how it turned out. It's a nice size for a baby or a small lap quilt (approximately 44 X 51). But I don't LOVE it for me. I think it should live with someone who will love it.

Here's the deal: Leave a comment and I'll put your name in a hat on December 14th. It will go to the name that gets pulled that day. I'm hoping that will give me time to get the winner's address and mail the quilt before the deadline for USPS cheap shipping for Christmas. Keep in mind that I make NO GUARANTEES this will arrive by the holiday. And if you live out of the country, I'm sure it won't arrive in time.

So go put your name in and thanks for being patient. I'll try to figure out how to make this whole blog thing fit into the rest of my life.

p.s. "Hello" to my local quilting friends! I told you finding this wouldn't be so hard : )

the kids

2009-11-07T15:00:00.002-06:00

A week late, but here's Halloween:

Ellie went as a character she created for her comic book, "Super Kitty".

This was the final costume choice after many, many other ideas. It started with Princess Leia about a month ago. I was thrilled - I already had a pattern from when Glenn was Obi Wan Kenobi, she had the perfect hair for the buns, and I could make Trixie an ewok suit (no one loves a theme more than me). As soon as I showed her the pattern, she informed me that was not the Princess Leia she wanted. No, she wanted to be the bikini-clad, Jabba the Hut's slave version of Princess Leia. Over my dead body. I rejected several other inappropriate choices before we both agreed on this one. I made sure to pick a sparkly fabric for the cape to appease her a bit. I also love the mask, which I'm certain my mother wore to a costume party in the 60's.

The first letters I drew for the "SK!" on the back were rejected. She was quite clear that they needed to have VERY POINTY ends.

Trixie got this number as a birthday present. There's really no topping spandex and tulle.

I realized that this is the first year I didn't get a photo of Glenn (or force him to take one with his sisters) before he took off with his friends. He did the bare minimum that would still get him candy - a werewolf mask with his regular clothes.

One for the kids, one for mom, one for the kids, one for mom...

bag o' badges

2009-11-06T15:00:00.001-06:00

Have you seen the American Express commercials with the frowns and smiles?

I picked up this bag on the Target clearance rack this past weekend. (It's from the Converse One Star line.)

Shouldn't it have its own spot in one of those ads?

Now it's happy.

Now it's fit for a grown up who's still a girl scout at heart.

Small bits of hand sewing like this are all I've been up for lately.

I promise not to wear it with the skirt.

thrifty thursday

2009-11-05T16:45:00.002-06:00

This treasure was found last spring. I moved it directly into the basement studio and promptly forgot to take pictures of it. When I would remember, it was always evening and the light down there is bad enough during the day...

Forgive the poor picture quality, but here she is.

A White sewing machine in the cabinet from the late 30's.

It's hard to see, but the foot pedal is actually a knee controlled pedal that's mounted on the right side of the cabinet.

The machine looks like sculpture to me. I love the light and the shape of the stitch regulator. (Which would also be a great screen name.)

When the machine is set up, the top portion of the desk opens up, adding counter space to the left and right. It splits where the left sides of the drawers are.

These are the attachments that came with the machine. (I have them sitting on some leftover foam to keep them from rolling around each time I open the drawer.)

The original instruction manuals were in there too. I also bought this book recently and hope it will prove invaluable with tips on how to use all this stuff.

It runs, but I need to have a technician come out and service it as well as replace the cords which have dry rot. Until that happens, I'm not too comfortable having it plugged into the wall.

I thought I'd put this one up today because I'm finally getting my sewing mojo back after not feeling well for about a month. Next week Chris and I head to NYC to visit my brother-in-law and his girlfriend, B. We'll also get to see with blackbird and K. A stop at Purl Patchwork and my other favorite haunts should have me inspired and raring to sew when I get home.

selvage cuff

2009-10-28T19:00:00.001-06:00

I could have sworn I posted this project over the summer when I made it. When I put up the Waste Not, Want Not quilt I was going to reference this as my "starter project". A quick look at my archives and then my picassa account proved it didn't exist in blogland.

So here you are, the project I used to get my feet wet before starting the selvage quilt.

Like a lot of you who have accumulated a decent amount of selvages, but are afraid to just begin, I decided I should do something with less of a commitment.

A simple rectangle of muslin is the base (just as with the quilt blocks). This is where I played with how closely I could edgestitch my strips and how I wanted to balance plain and printed pieces. You can see on this project I chose to elimate any of the actual fabric print.

After the selvage piece was put together, it was sewn right sides together with another piece of muslin with an opening on one long side for turning. Do the usual thing - clip corners, turn the cuff right sides to, and press that baby flat. I closed the opening with two rows of edgestitching, added some vintage mother of pearl buttons and snaps for the closure.

My cuff measures 3" by 7 1/2" when laying flat. I'd suggest a narrower width for anyone wanting to make their own - 3" is too large not to take the widening of the forearm into account, so my cuff is tight on one edge. I also have a small wrist, so you'll probably want to add some length the other way.

A dear friend arrives tomorrow from Dallas. I'll be taking a little break to have some girl time with her.

the kids

2009-10-25T09:00:00.002-06:00

This year's visit to the pumpkin patch:

Trixie wound up chosing a more reasonably sized one. Ellie's outweighs her. Next year there'll be a new rule - you must be able to lift your choice.

We did manage to grow three pumpkins in the backyard this season. Two were attacked by critters early on. One medium sized, but still green, pumpkin is safely housed in the basement waiting for it's big debut next week.

a bunch of barrettes

2009-10-23T10:00:00.001-06:00

I made these a few weeks ago and never got around to posting them:

They're a great way to use up ribbon scraps - each barrette only uses about 3" at most. The barette bases were bought at Hobby Lobby. The first picture has the kind with the spring hinge, the ones below are are the clip kind (you can see them better in the third picture). A little bit of adhesive like E6000 or Amazing Craft Goop on each end holds the ribbon in place. The ribbon is folded around to the back of the barrette about 1/4" on each end. To keep the glue from sealing the barrette shut, I clipped them onto wax paper while they dried.

Instructions for these can be found in Button It Up:

I think some of those liberty scraps on a covered button would be great for my hair.

thrifty thursday

2009-10-22T15:00:00.001-06:00

I don't think I can count these as true thrifty finds. How about "awesome finds that were reasonable priced at a cute local boutique thursday"?

A shoe rack that's perfect for my closet.

And a vintage shopper that holds bolts of fabric in the studio.

Love those red wheels.

resurfacing

2009-10-21T12:45:00.004-06:00

Well that break was not supposed to go on for so long...

A lot happened around here in that time. A few days before my last post, I woke up with a sore throat. That disappeared and was replaced by complete exhaustion - just in time for the workers we had scheduled to come finish up some house projects.

While I slogged through the days, crown molding was added to most of the first floor.

Four closet doors were replaced by nicer, louvered ones. All of them needed to be painted. Do you know how long it takes to paint a louvered door? Far too long. I was feeling better by last weekend. Well enough to paint the doors, install the doorknobs and have a lovely time at Poppy's Halloween party.

(These lead to my closet, I won't bore you with pictures of all of them)

On Monday I woke up feeling great. I shouldn't have been so excited though. By lunchtime, I felt like an anvil was on my chest. Breathing was a chore and I got scared. Going to the ER frightened me even more because I was sure I'd catch something else just sitting there. A visit to the doctor the following day resulting in this:

It looks like I have virally induced asthma. The good news is that the rescue inhaler made a huge difference and I didn't have the flu (either kind), bronchitis or pneumonia.

I've got a few pictures in the draft file of things that were completed before I got hit with all this and hope to have a few more posts in the coming week. I have to excuse myself now, there's a lot of crown molding to be painted. (I'm not going to push it. I just want to get the foyer, which is not heated, done before this 60 degree weather disappears until spring.)

In the meantime, I'm going to enjoy the new details in the house and the ability to take a deep breath and yawn.

opposites for Amy

2009-10-13T08:10:00.003-06:00

I've posted these blocks over at common threads today.

They're for Amy, one of our new members. She's working on a quilt top that's inspired by Kaffe Fassett and will need MANY to complete it.

We had a choice of several sizes ranging from 2" square to 12.5" square. I opted for the largest and smallest. The directions were straightforward and easy to execute once I decided on the order of colors for the squares. My favorite is that little dot on the 2" block.

My Waste Not, Want Not quilt is also posted over here, on Karen Griska's blog. Thanks Karen! And hello to new visitors!

thrifty thursday - part six

2009-10-08T12:01:00.000-06:00

This is it, the last of the finds - a bit of a hodge podge.

The holiday area had one flashback after another for me. I remember making those little angels in Girl Scouts. These are attached to that piece of chicken wire to make them into a mobile. However, I've cut myself on it about 3 times, so they'll be set free very soon and turned into individual ornaments. The little basket is filled with sewing notions - you can just barely see the tiny shears poking out over the edge. I made clothespin ornaments when I was little too, but none as elaborate as the town crier. I think tin soldiers were as fancy as I got. The red, upside down heart, is a cookie cutter covered in ribbon with a little wooden angel glued on it. Super cute, super easy project for gifts. That little horse and cart caught my eye too. Chris' family is of Polish descent. I'll have to show it to Basia and ask her if she knows anything about this sort of decoration.

I had these when I was little too. Now the girls have them. They came along at a perfect time. I just pitched tons of play cardboard food boxes that they insist on ripping into or leaving on the floor where they get crushed. These have survived for the past 4o years. Hopefully, they can survive my girls.

I've saved my big splurge (as far as rummage sales go) for last:

A vintage machine. The color is somewhere between blue and green, though online I see it described as robin's egg blue. Whatever the name, it's lovely. Even more so, now that I've cleaned it up. I still need to make a new handle for the case - the leather is long gone.

She's also waiting for a tune up, but one of the women manning the sewing area tested all the machines and I know it runs. The fabric had a stitching sample she'd run on it. The box contains a few accessories - mostly bobbins and another thread pin. Do I need another machine? No. However, I'm going to consider myself well-behaved in that I didn't throw myself at the featherweight they also had for sale (at $400). I'm justifying this with the fact that we have three people in the house who know how to use a sewing machine. Surely, there will be times when more than one will be running.

The irony that Oprah has run a show on hoarders the morning I decide to post all this is not lost on me. ; )

thrifty thursday - part five

2009-10-08T11:30:00.000-06:00

Back to the sewing/craft area:

Some borders that never found their way into a quilt. I thought Ellie might want to turn them into something. At a quarter, I'm not out much if she doesn't care for the colors.

Poppy and I went through a whole pile of these handpainted pieces - also a quarter each. I picked out these two and, of course, we found a poppy to go home with her.

I need an embroidery pattern that uses a lot of greys -

Covered button kits, hooks and eyes, snaps, but mostly awesome old packaging -

(Snap lady is giving me the creeps though - she has those eyes that can follow you.)

thrifty thursday - part four

2009-10-08T11:00:00.000-06:00

Bridge napkins. So sweet. Probably tucked away in a drawer for years. I love to pick these up for lunch napkins at home. They're the perfect size for kids. I think every single one in this picture has already been used. (No, I don't iron them after each washing, they go right into the drawer a little wrinkly, but folded and soft.)

A few little hankies for a future quilt project. The more of these I collect and feel how very fragile those sheer fabrics are, the more I'm convinced this quilt is going to have to be a wall hanging (even if I use a stabilizer on them) rather than a utitily bed quilt that will get frequent washing. Has anyone else tried this?

A few scarves for the wardrobe:

I love vintage Vera scarves. The script in the ivory silk one caught my eye.

thrifty thursday - part three

2009-10-08T10:30:00.000-06:00

You knew I wasn't leaving there without a little fabric, right?

A few repros(mostly fat quarters):

Some wool for felting, a yard of cordorouy and a floral lawn to make summer tops for the girls:

A mix of vintage and new that just appealed to me:

Some are scraps, some are fq's.

And the find that set my heart aflutter -

Liberty of London scraps. Each print has about a half yard of fabric in it, cut into 6" strips along the grain.

What to make? Headbands, covered buttons, little pouches...

thrifty thursday - part two

2009-10-08T09:30:00.000-06:00

I cannot pass up wooden spools of thread. Some gets used, some just looks pretty in a large jar in the studio.

Another item I can't resist. Cheap, plastic thimbles. Did anyone ever use these giveaways? They're incredibly uncomfortable to wear, but I like to look at them.

Buttons, buttons. The red ones at the top and bottom are my favorites. I'd like to start working them into some quilts. There were so many more I'd have loved to buy, but this was one notion that wasn't priced dirt cheap. I chose carefully and imagine that since we weren't there right at opening, many of the truly special ones were scooped up early on.

A few odds and ends - some needles in an old package and cotton lace that might find its way into a quilt one of these days. I just loved the packaging on that fabric mender. The notion at the bottom was purchased solely because it had the directions in it. I have another just like it, but had no idea what it was for. Now I know - it's for making bound buttonholes. Haven't tried them yet, but since I have two, I'm happy to photocopy the direction page and mail the second one off to the person who claims it first in the comments.

Plenty more to go today.

thrifty thursday - part one

2009-10-08T09:03:00.003-06:00

As promised - a post about the rummage sale to beat all rummage sales. In fact, there's so much to show you that I have to do a series today. Actually, I have to do a series because I still can't get more than 4 photos to show up per post. (If you have any idea why this might be - please email me and let me know. I've given up and simply use it as an editing device.)

Before I start, let me just say that I wish I'd taken pictures during the day. This rummage sale had tents and buildings and maps of where items were located. Volunteers had on aprons to identify them. They were cheerful and ready to direct you to the proper building or room. There was even a free bag check so you wouldn't be burdened with early purchases all day. Police were there directing traffic. It was truly an organizational marvel. I enjoyed that as much as the shopping. I know, I'm weird. Let's just say that my hat is off to the men and women that put this show on each year.

On to the purchases:

Poppy and I hit the sewing craft area first. She is a very patient companion. Not only did she not complain once while I rummaged through table after table of notions and fabric, she even spotted these for me -

I'm thinking that last one would not be the least bit flattering on anybody other than a stick thin child. I can't imagine how many women were drawn in by its promise of 2 easy pieces.

If you're catching this post early in the day, I'll be adding more throughout the day as I have time.

I thought I'd get other projects up this week, but we have workers here this week and my days have been taken up getting things ready for them - painting doors that need to be hung, emptying areas of the house that they'll be working in...

the kids

2009-10-03T09:00:00.000-06:00

It's all about Trixie today.
To start with, I forgot to post her first day of school picture.

And this has been a developing story around here. See what's missing on the bike? (And the look of terror on her face?)

She did it!
The training wheels are back on most days because the ride to preschool is a mile long and I can't run close to her for that distance. (Ha! I can't run that close to her for more than a block.) She also needs some serious work with the concepts of braking and yeilding to pedestrians.

Having a little fun at quilting with Miss Karen.

need a boost?

2009-10-02T12:39:00.003-06:00

I suppose this could be a thrifty thursday post, but I was so anxious to have this ready to be used I can actually post it as a finished project!

Trixie has been too big for a high chair for a long time(she was also the kid that climbed out of it when I wasn't looking, making it an accident waiting to happen). I'd gotten rid of the portable booster we had for the other two when they didn't fit on previous dining chairs very well. For some reason, I never bought another one. Trixie would just kneel at mealtime(which she didn't seem to mind in the least) until a friend's son, came up with the idea of using one of their old car booster seats , so Trixie wouldn't have to kneel when we visited for lunch. (Adina, I still think that boy is a genius.) When we came home I pulled one of our extra boosters that I use for carpooling out of the garage and put it into service in the dining room.

Then I spotted this at the local thrift shop on Tuesday for $2.00.

Check out that harvest colored plaid vinyl - a blast from my past.

I know I had a chair like this growing up - not sure if the vinyl is a match, but the chair's design is. I'd have left the vinyl alone if it hadn't been worn through in several places. I needed to remove the metal arms to buff off a little rust with steel wool as well.

And now, with some oilcloth from the stash, it's good as new. Trixie says she much prefers the pink to the old colors.

(I'll post my score from thrifting with Poppy late next week. It'll be worth the wait.)

thrifty thursday

2009-10-01T10:00:00.001-06:00

I'm out thrifting with Poppy today.

Not sure I'll have this kind of luck again:

One thing I don't seem to have luck finding would be vintage quilts - even cutters. I was in a local thrift store checking out the consignment section when I spotted these folded up on a table. I held my breath as I headed over. Surely they would be horribly stained or torn. No, they were in good condition. Time to check the price and realize I couldn't justify the expense. The few times I have spotted a vintage quilt the price tag was hefty. When I looked and saw $35 for each I grabbed them so quickly I startled another shopper. And it was 10% off consignment tags that day!

The quilts are hanging in the community room where my quilting group meets. We have a line for show and tell each week where we all bring in quilts we've found like these, or projects that we've completed.

I love the fabric in this block:

I don't have any history on them. They were hand pieced and quilted with flannel on the inside. I found that out repairing a few small spots on them. If you look carefully at the picture you can see that they appear to be exact replicas of one another. I haven't checked every single block, but it does look that the placements of each fabric are the same for both quilts. I'm guessing that they were well used because the binding is gone and the edges have been turned in and machine edgestitched in place. The repair was nicely done, but because they aren't in pristine condition I'm thinking I can cut them for future projects without too much guilt. The ladies at my quilting group have given me their blessing for this. ; )

waste not, want not

2009-09-30T16:24:00.002-06:00

I've been saving selvages for months now and with the donations of my quilting group, I finally had enough to get to work on this:

The pattern is from Quilting on the Selvage Edge by Karen Griska, though I scaled the pattern down to make it more of a wall hanging size. I think my finished dimensions are around 30X30. The interior blocks are 4" finished and the black inner border is 1" finished.

I auditioned fabric after fabric for the back and wasn't happy with any of them. It finally occured to me that I could use the longer selvages for that and enjoy that part as much as the front. (I do confess to needing more than I had on hand which led to grabbing fabric out of the stash that still had selvages intact. They aren't intact anymore.)

I was going to use black for a hanging sleeve before I decided to just go for it and use selvages everywhere I could.

The sleeve-

And even for the label -

(Thanks to Karen for help protecting my privacy.)

The top was a blast to piece. A few notes if you're interested in making one:

I used muslin squares as a foundation for the blocks as explained in the book along with my edgestitching foot and moving the needle over to lay down one selvage after another. Next time, I'll keep my needle as close to center as possible because I had problems with the foot catching the tiny edges when I was free motion quilting. A woman in my quilting group also suggested a small zigzag which is something to consider for future selvage projects.

Make sure you overlap the strips well. I had a few pull loose and had to hand applique them back down after the quilt was assembled. Not the end of the world, but a bit of a pain.

The blocks do get thick. Just press the best you can when you join them.

Because the blocks were thick, I didn't use a foundation when joining the strips for the backing, but I did choose to use a regular cotton batting rather than flannel for the interior of the quilt.

I also ripped most of the selvages off the fabric. (Yes, I'm a ripper, stop gasping. It's from my days of working at Laura Ashley when we'd rip the fabric to the lengths people wanted to buy.) And yes, it does distort the fabric a little. It all goes back into place with the iron. That didn't cause me any trouble.

My muslin was not washed ahead of time which I think helped it all get very crinkly after laundering. I love that look.

I usually quilt with a 70sharp needle. The next selvage quilt will be done with an 80sharp. I didn't break it, but I did have skipped stitches while free motion quilting and it always seemed to happen when I hit an area thick with many layers and seams. I think a larger needle would have helped. Slowing down in those areas helped as well.

Long story short - my machine quilting on this one is not my best work, but I'm so happy with how it turned out in the end that I don't really care. Plus, I know how to make the next one go more smoothly.

3 little mittens

2009-09-25T08:18:00.004-06:00

The kids' Christmas ornaments are done.

The patterns are by JBW Designs - Red Mitten Collections I & II.

I didn't look carefully at the sizes when I decided to make these as ornaments and very quickly figured out they'd be larger than I would want for the tree. I rethought the plan and instead of doing them in the traditional cross stitch size, used the pattern for petit point on linen going over one thread. The quarter will give you a better idea of size. (Done as recommended in the pattern, they would finish up around 3" by 4 1/2".) These are probably the last thing I will ever do in petit point. My eyes can't take it anymore.

This one is Trixie's. I picked the pattern with words to commemorate her learning to read this year.

Ellie's was chosen for the script since she'll learn cursive in 2nd grade.

Glenn's was the most masculine of the lot.

There's a darling fourth pattern that I might make up in a larger size to display framed.

They're all backed with this scrap from my stash. I crocheted a chain with a strand of embroidery floss for the hanging loops. When backing them with fabric, I used a tiny stitch length to be sure all the linen threads were caught. The tops were left open for turning and then hand stitched closed after folding in the raw edges.

If my kittens lose these mittens, having no pie will be the least of their worries.

library tote

2009-09-23T08:01:00.004-06:00

I'm still working away on projects even though it's been quiet around the blog. For some reason, I've lost my routine here and can't seem to figure out a good time to catch up and post.

I'm trying to work through projects that have sat half finished or are just piles of fabric pulled for a reason, but never started. The pajama top pillow seemed to give me a little momentum.

This one was next:

Nothing exciting, just a basic, very large tote. There are actually two of them. I needed some large bags for trips to the library that will fit oversized picture books and the puzzles that Trixie likes to check out. They also needed to be very smooshable so I could cram them into my purse or keep one inside the other when we don't need to use both. For that reason, they aren't structured with any interfacing, but they are lined with some pockets inside for the paper receipts the library gives at checkout. Those usually wind up lost or wadded into a ball at the bottom of whatever other bag I was using and then I miss due dates too easily.

The fabric was bought at a garage sale in the neighborhood. In fact, the sale was put on by the people selling Jan's new home. The lining is out of the stash and the webbing was from the quilter's garage sale. (It seems I've made the straps too long. They're perfect for slinging the bags over my shoulder even with large items poking out of the top, but the bags drag on the ground if I just hold them in my hand. I'll probably be grateful for them in the winter when I have to get them over the bulk of my coat.)

I do have some fabric left with the following letters intact:

scrap 1- x,y

scrap 2- e,f,g,j,k,l,o,p,q

scrap 3- same as scrap 2

scrap 4- x,y,z, x,y,z, a,b,c, a,b,c,e,f,g,h,d,e,f,g,h,d,e,f,g(i-m are on this scrap, but there is very little seam allowance below them.)

I loved this fabric when I saw it and hate to see any of it go to waste. If you want any of the scraps, I'm happy to mail them off. Just email me with what pieces interest you and your address. One other note about the fabric - I'm not sure what the actual fiber content is, but I know for sure it isn't 100% cotton.

Edited to add: The scraps have been claimed :)

hand me down pillow

2009-09-18T12:01:00.000-06:00

In a former life, this was a little pajama top of mine 40 some years ago. Ellie wore it not long after we brought her home. I stored it away carefully for Trixie, but when I pulled it out, the matching pants and the back of the top were horribly stained. No amount of soaking took it out(where on earth do those mystery stains come from?). It sat in my sewing room for a few years until I came up with a solution that didn't detract from all the beautiful work in the shirt.

I carefully removed the stitching that attached the front and back shirt panels (cutting through the sleeve at the top) and then appliqued the front to a matching piece of kona cotton in pink. (Edgestitching worked just fine for that.) The bottom of the sleeve was folded in on itself to give a nicer line at the side - I didn't want the sleeve to jut out too much from the body of the pillow.

Once that was done, I cut out around the top with a large seam allowance. That piece was put face down on another piece of pink cotton. Using the edgestitching from the applique as a guide (so the backing cotton was on the bottom as I sewed), I stitched around the entire piece leaving an opening on the bottom for turning and stuffing. Once stuffed, I just slipstiched the opening and was done.

I know this idea's been used for teeshirt pillows for ages, but it seems like a cute way to enjoy a favorite baby shirt if you aren't brave enough to cut it into pieces for a quilt or if it has great details like this one.

thrifty thursday

2009-09-17T21:01:00.001-06:00

Phew, it's still Thursday in my time zone. Lost track of time today.

Just a quick picture of a vintage chenille bedspread I found last weekend. It's on Ellie's bed (made up by her too - note the large sheet wrinkle that's killing me now, though not enough to have retaken the picture).

It's a double or queen size which is why it goes to the floor on her twin, but it's in such great condition and has the perfect colors for her room. Her duvet gets too hot in the summer, so she'll enjoy this for a few more weeks before the weather turns. Next spring we'll have an alternative to her heavy bedding.

$20 seemed like a steal to me.

happy birthday ellie!

2009-09-16T19:27:00.002-06:00

She turned 8 today and (FINALLY - in her words) got a DS. The day has been properly celebrated with a playdate, Hawaiian pizza, and ice cream cake. The cake included an oreo crust, chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream, whippped cream, m&m's, mini chocolate chips, and a small chocolate chip cookie on top. The only thing that might have made it more to her liking would be if someone sprinkled colored sugar on top.

In even more exciting news and serving as definitive proof to me that she's getting older -

Ellie made her first quilt over the weekend!

She chose the fabrics in her favorite colors - blue and pink. All of them feature kittens in the print. I cut them to size for her (I'm fine with her using my machine, but the rotary cutter in her hands scares the daylights out of me). She did all the piecing and made the decisions about fabric placement. I also layered the "quilt sandwich" for her, but she machine quilted it. She sewed the binding as well, with help from me turning the corners. This is the first craft project that she's actually completed. I'm crossing my fingers that this lengthened attention span continues.

On Tuesday, my quilting group day, I picked her up at lunch and brought her to our group so she could show it off. I have never seen her so proud of herself and those lovely ladies showered her with praise. She ate it up.

It's properly labeled as well.

"My First Quilt, Eleanor _______, September 2009"

Sorry for the extended absence. Life just gets in the way of blogging sometimes. ; )