Jill's Quilt

 A couple of years ago or less, my daughter Jill bought this quilt kit because of the finished piece on display in a quilt shop. It was a great piece but I thought to myself, my daughter doesn't even own a needle and thread so hmmmm.....wonder how this is going to go together.

 Well, I found out quickly when I offered to do it and she jumped on the opportunity. It really is a wonderful piece even though I'm not prone to kits, but it would have been difficult. There were 5 pieces to each block - A, B, C, D, E,  but each letter had a different size depending on the block; Each block had to be handled individually. I've had the top done for ages, also had made throw pillows out of fabric we bought that matched some in the quilt.

 Well before the pillows wore out, I thought I needed to finish this piece. I did an overall quilt/stipple type pattern which was fine as the fabric patterns were busy.

 We chose the backing to be plain and I thought maybe to use it also as a binding, but no, it was way too light. What to do - I went to the quilt shop and bought a few I thought would work, but not so. Sometimes the best choices are right under our nose and we don't realize it.

 The scraps left over from the quilt might do, especially something dark, many tiny pieces except for this one piece which was used only once in the quilt.

 It was perfect as a binding, cut on the bias, making this strip like pattern easier to work with. And note that this was all that was left after binding this large quilt. Guess, luck was with me this day.

 The binding really was a winner for this piece....

and the final piece. I think Jill will love it. Like I mentioned before, I'm not usually thrilled with kits, but this one was darling and I love both the prints and the way they were combined.

Happy Halloween

I have always loved making Halloween costumes. I used to call it my "silly sewing" because I could make them quick and sloppy, no finished seams, no perfect fit, just some fun sewing. My daughter always wanted to be something that involved net - like a princess and my son always had a cape of some sort...so... easy stuff. This year I made my grand daughter's costume. She's 15 months old and my daughter wanted her to go as Tank - an adorable basset hound who lives across the street.  Audrey loves this dog and is always visiting over there. 

 Most patterns were so over the top and I just wanted something simple - Butterick had the one I was looking for - a dog with long ears and tail - no zippers, just velcro closings.

 We found the perfect fabric which was so soft, you wanted a "binky" out of it just for yourself but oh did it shred. I'm still finding pieces of fur fluffs on the floor and under things I think I will be for a long time.

But was it worth it? You bet, here's our cute little doggie.
Happy Halloween everyone.

And the stockings were hung.....

As is so true with the holidays, there's never enough studio time.  This year I've barely set foot in mine, but I did get to sew a little when making my granddaughter's quilt and stocking.  I know I shared the progress on the quilt with you and just yesterday finished her stocking. I'm happy with the way the quilt turned out, not as soft and cuddly as I would have liked but bright and colorful which babies love.  My friend Dort made a quilt for her new granddaughter and backed it with fleece - what a great idea. That will be my next one. I had limited pieces of fabric for binding so did each side different which I like better anyway. It's hard to see in the picture.

 My daughter wanted funky, non-traditional colors for a stocking, so this is variations on red and green, cute for a little girl.

 I wound up not using the very dark one on the end and the pink with dark flowers that went with it; it was just too strong with the other fabrics.  As always, everything I think will take a couple of hours takes longer - waayyy longer.  My friend always told me this rule - whatever you think it will take double it and add 3 hours" that's about right!

 My husband said to make it really big so we can fit lots in it, think the baby could fit in this one!

 The letters were fused and then stitched with invisible thread along with the addition of "baby rick rack" which is one of my favorite things....

I also did a "hem" stitch using my BERNINA and Lana thread which is part acrylic and part wool and has a strong presence on the surface.  I like the fact you can use it on the top of your machine but also need a large eyed needle like a topstitch # 16.  It's such a pretty effect.
My company is coming tomorrow and lots to do. Have a great day. It's cold and blustery here today with chances of snow showers...brrrrrrrr......

Fun Nursery Stuff

Life has gotten a little crazy around here with my daughter due with her first child in 3 weeks. She's having a girl and we are all so excited.  My handy and very talented husband made a dresser/changing table for the nursery.  The top changing part comes off easily when there's no more need for it.

 I had the job of making the curtains, lined with a room darkener.  I had never worked with that kind of lining fabric before;  it was very different to work with.  I love the fabrics that Jill chose for the nursery.

 Jill made paper pom pons for above the chair. They really add a lot of "pop" to the room.

 And for above the crib, we both made together....

 a fabric bird mobile. My non-sewing daughter called me from a quilt store in Atlanta and asked me if I had ever heard of a "fat quarter" (I laughed hard over that). Her arms were full of all these fat quarters, she wanted to buy out the whole store.

 Think she got bitten by the bug! A quilt shop will do that.

 Jill made each bird using 2 fabrics - tummy and top and all so colorful.

 We attached them to twigs and hung fishing line down the middle for hanging.

 They bounced and swayed ever so gently. I know our new little girl will love it.

Jill made them while visiting here so I haven't seen them hung over the crib but I'll be going there tomorrow - can't wait.

Handy Hubby

My husband John has always been very handy and creative. He was an art major in college so I guess that makes sense. Lucky for me, he loves to make furniture. He has always worked in hardwoods, but this time around I had a different request - to make a new piece and then age it to look really old. I think he nailed it.
He used a softer wood making it easy to distress, painted it (blue undercoat, white overcoat)and then put crackle on it which proved to be a bit overwhelming. He covered some of the crackle with paint, let it dry and then power sanded it to reveal the underneath layers.

Then topped with a glaze.

It's in a bathroom with beadboard. I think I'm going to paint the walls above the beadboard the same blue as the undercoat. And now for some hydrangeas on top or maybe some candles.

Isn't he the best!