Finished!

Finished the quilt and am on to the last of the burp cloths. I'll be able to get this mailed off on Tuesday! Next up after that is the Daisy Kingdom coat.



Charity

Baby Quilt Stippling

I'm still slugging away at this funky-style baby quilt. I'm doing the stippling, but having some problem with skipping/too large stitches. Perhaps it's because I'm using a fleece backing instead of a traditional batting and cotton backing. I want some warmth to this as it will be for a winter baby and is headed to a northern state. This isn't going to be one of my better machine quilting jobs. Oh well...it's still adequate, just not as small of stitches as I normally like to see on a "working" quilt.

After I finish up the stippling, I have just the binding left to do. I've already got the binding made so that part should go fairly quickly. I hope to be done in another 3 hours or so.

Baby Gift In Progress

I've been working on some baby gifts this weekend. I don't know if it's going to be a girl or a boy so I'm making four boy-themed burp cloths and four girl-themed burp cloths. And in addition I'm making a quilt from loud, large scale, funky prints in irregular strips. Something very quick and easy. I hope to have it all done and wrapped tonight!

Here's an in progress pic. These are the boy burp cloths and about 1/5 of the quilt. I'll post a better pic when the quilt and cloths are done. Excuse my mega-ratty ironing board cover. I really need to avail myself of this tutorial and make a new one!



Here's the quilt top. I need to go pick up some fleece to back it with tomm. and then will be binding it with a red and white striped binding. Will post a pic when done.



Charity

Alphabet Adventures - "V is for Vintage"

If you've followed my blog at all, then you probably already guessed that today would be brought to you by the Letter V and "Vintage." However, I haven't decided what yet. There's so much vintage around here to choose from. Patterns? Fabric? Collectibles? Trims? Sigh...I'm still surveying and making up my mind. Undecided seems to be my chosen mode lately. I'll be back with something vintage. I promise.

UPDATE: I decided to share some vintage children's printed quilt blocks that I found in my thrift store wanderings. I have seen these on Ebay on rare occasions, but never been able to get information about the maker or the date. I'm thinking they are 40s era.

I found six of these little teddy bear blocks. Two became pillows that I sold on Ebay (see below). I have four left. I'm thinking they will probably become a baby blanket by adding in wide piano key sashing.





I have 12 of these Wizard the Oz blocks. Two of each of the design shown below. This will become a larger children's quilt using the fabrics shown in the bottom picture. I haven't yet decided on the block style. I'm thinking perhaps some Log Cabin framing around each of the blocks? The quilt will then most likely be sold on Etsy. I'll post a pic when its done. It will be awhile as I'm going to start on Christmas gifts soon. They will get priority. But I may reopen my Etsy shop in early 2009.





While searching for the pillow photo in Photobucket, I came across this previous creation and thought I'd share it with you as well. This was made by scanning a 1960s-era giant greeting card onto transfer paper and then ironing it on to muslin. It was then framed with a 1930s repro fabric and some scotty dog fabric.



Charity

Alphabet Adventures - "Q is for Quilt "

Next up on my alphabetic creative ventures is the Letter Q and the word "Quilt." Today I decided to pull out my Japanese Lavender Quilt and do a bit more work on edge finishing the fused appliques. The design's branches are done by needle turn applique while the leaves and blossoms are done with fuse-and-buttonhole stitch. I have only about 18 more of the leaves to complete and the quilt top will be ready for basting, quilting and binding. This is the quilt that is headed to Nana's House, a safe house for young girls separated from their parents.

Here is a sample of what the buttonhole edge finishing looks like.



Charity

Alphabet Adventures - "F is for Featherstitch"

Today is brought to by the Letter F and the featherstitch. I have many Works in Progress (WIP) in my sewing studio. I tend to get Creative ADD on a regular basis. I like having lots of things going at once so I can switch between projects when bored. One project I've been working on in bits and pieces for about 5 years is a crazy quilt. Crazy quilts are usually done in jewel tones and black, but mine is in pastels, creams and golds. It consists of twelve 12-inch blocks, which is rather large by crazy quilt project standards. They're quite labor intensive with all that hand embroidery so the technique is usually done in small doses such as needle cases or pillows. This may not get done before I die, but it still gets pulled out and a seam or two done at a time. Since I am not at all a perfectionist, my work is not nearly up to normal standards for hand embroidery, but I enjoy it regardless and that is almost always my goal in my creative endeavors.

Last night I did three seams, two of which are variations on the featherstitch. The first is a short seam in gold floss with grape-like clusters done in the bullionstitch and french knots. The other is a closed featherstitch in white floss with blue daisy loops and some green accents.



And here's the rest of the block.


My favorite resource for crazy quilt embroidery...


I was eating dinner tonight when I realized that it was mostly "F" foods, fettucine (Chicken Fettucine) and focaccia bread. So I snapped a quick pic. LOL!



Charity

What One Does When One's Machine Is In The Shop

One resorts to hand-sewing...


I decided to do some needle-turn applique on my lavender quilt since my Pfaff has gone under the knife and won't be out of recovery for a week or so. I usually do my applique the quick-and-easy way (fuse, then machine satin or blanket stitch). But I hate my back-up machine and since DH picked up SPACE, a wonderful sci-fi TV series (NOT!), I thought I would redeem the time with a little old-fashioned hand-sewing while wittily mocking said series. Hopefully I can finish the applique on this quilt top before my machine returns. Sadly, the free-motion foot I needed (mine had broke from constant hard use) to finish this quilt was not in stock. It had to be special ordered and who knows how long that will take. I have another quilt waiting to be stippled as well. So things are backing up in the quilt department. Guess I'll get good at this hand-sewing thing.

For those interested in Needle-turn Applique, I suggest these tutorials.

Easy Needle Turn Applique 101
Learning to Quilt, Lesson 4, Applique
How to Needle Turn with Freezer Paper
Applique and Hand Sewing Lessons
Applique Basics
Quilt Applique Techniques and Tips
Quiltmaking Fundamentals
Heirloom Quilts, Lesson 3, Hand Applique

More Lavendar Quilt

I finished the quilt top on the lavender quilt except for the second border. I didn't have any purple left after cutting the strips for the blocks. Pretty much cleaned out all my purple quilting stash. That's okay. Afterall, this IS the year of trying to make a healthy dent in my 800 yard stash. So...I will need to go to the fabric store today to find a purple print for a second 5 inch border. The quilt is starting to take on a distinct japanese flavor to me for some reason. I think I will look for an oriental print if possible.

I have done some rough cutting and arranging of applique shapes. These are simply to get an idea and not the final product. The leaves need to be narrowed and more defined in shape. I think there also needs to be a floral blossom of some sort, but haven't yet found a shape that looks oriental to me. I may try a fuschia-ish shaped flower. I will also add more leaves and berries. It looks a little bare to me. After I get the final design perfected, I will cut the shapes. It would be quickest to do fuse and satin stitch for the edges, but I think the design really calls for needle-turn. It will be much more time-consuming, but the end result will be more in line with the spirit of the design.

The next decision after that will be how to quilt it. Since it is going oriental on me, I was thinking about doing sashiko type quilting. Something along these lines.



UPDATE - Found the perfect border today! I wanted something with an oriental flair to it, but everything was too busy and too obvious. Lots of geishas, cranes, fans and such. I was about ready to give up and buy a very blah tan tone-on-tone floral when I thought to check the clearance wall. It's usually junk, but there was a very nice mocha and mauve print with a definite japanese tone to it. And the texture looks very much like traditional oriental textiles. It will be a perfect background for sashiko quilting! And best of all it was on clearance for $3. Off to wash it and then attach it!



Charity

Lavender Quilt Progress

I have just finished the blocks and layout for the Nana's House quilt. I just need to assemble them into rows. Then the rows get sewn together, the borders put on and it will be ready to do the applique design. I haven't designed that yet, but have some gentler Jane Sassaman-ish designs whirling around in my head. But I have to set this project aside for the day and get some house-cleaning and cookie-baking done. After that, I will be working on today's Mother's Day Gift Idea. So look for that post later this afternoon.

I'm open to name ideas for this quilt.


Charity

Quilting Again!

I haven't quilted in forever and the bug has bitten me big time. A little extra time fell into my lap today because my sewing students weren't feeling well and needed to postpone today's lesson. So...I got to do some quilting! I started a little quilt for an orphanage in Mexico, Nana's House. I had been wanting to make a lavender and grey quilt, but grey quilting fabric proved to be quite elusive here in my Valley. So I opted for lavender and mocha instead as I had a large supply of both in my stash. This will not be a "matchy-matchy" quilt, but a scrappy quilt where I throw in everything I have in the lavendar/mocha colorway. I am doing a simple rail fence pattern, but will then applique a large contempo-styled flower and vine motif atop the rail fence background. I got all the strips cut today and 16 blocks sewn. I will need about 120 blocks to make the approx. twin size quilt I have planned.

Fabrics to be Used - don't have border prints picked out yet


A start on the blocks


UPDATE: It's 10:30pm and I'm heading to bed, but I got a total of about 60 blocks done today. Almost halfway there. I think I'll just keep making blocks until I've used up all my purple quilting stash. Perhaps I'll have enough to make two quilts. I hope to finish the rest of the blocks tomm. and start assembling the quilt. But I also need to finish up some 100 Projects Skirts, so I'll have to play it by ear. 'Night all!

Charity

Quilts!

I have been busy lately. And so no new posts and no new creations. I've had parties for 3 of the last 3 weekends! We had a 48th birthday party for Craig. Then Casey had a group of about 10 teens over the next weekend. And this weekend my eldest son brought home 7 foreign exchange students. And in the middle of that I had volunteer time at the school, donations to get together for a Silent Auction and a photo booth at the school Carnival to create and run. So all my creating has had to be solely in my head. And for some reason I am fantasizing about quilts.

Fall always puts me in a sewing mood. At first I'm in the mood for working with corduroy, fleece and flannel in wonderful shades of brown, rust, tobacco, russet, avocado, etc. But as the weather gets even cooler, as it does in late October here in Alaska, then my mind turns to quilting! I am dying to have some time to finish up two quilts I have in progress and then start on a fun set of fabrics I picked up recently with an eye towards making a masculine quilt. I picked up about 6 different tartan plaids in traditional Scottish colorways. And then paired them with very funky themed fabrics, dogs, poker, bananas, dice, etc. I know it sounds bizarre and unworkable, but all the colors are in red, green, royal and yellow and they work together in the most charming manner. And I am ITCHIN' to get to them.

But I have to finish up my "promised for others" projects first. If I could stop the stream of parties here, I might get a chance to sew! :( :( But in the meantime, I will post some pics of quilts past. Just looking at them makes me want to quilt again!

Egg Crate Quilt - a folk art version of the Snowball


Angel Kitty - made for my mother-in-law who loves both angels and cats


SawBlade Quilt 30s Repro - made for a friend who likes small prints


Christmas Mitten Quilt - made of 30s repro fabrics


40s Quilt - made from 40s era vintage tablecloths and 30s repro mini prints


Canoe Quilt - a signature quilt made from homespuns for a retiring scoutmaster


Casey's Quilt - My second quilt, made for my second son. It's badly made! LOL! Casey picked the pattern and fabrics


Watercolor Quilt - Watercolor quilts are so much fun to make. They're almost like putting together a puzzle


Scarecrow Wallhanging - Made for a sister-in-law who loves scarecrows


Pig Quilt - Made for a niece who loves pigs. This one was not completed when I took the pic.


Star Table Runner - Made for a sister-in-law. I found this partially assembled in a thrift store. I couldn't believe someone could just throw away such beautiful work. So I picked it up and finished it!


Turkish Cross - This is a variation of the 9 patch. I did in it French Country prints and colors. It is free motion quilted in a wave pattern. My favorite touch is a large rooster free-motion quilted in one corner.


Christmas Trip - This is a Trip Around the World done with scraps of Christmas fabrics left over from years of holiday projects.


I have many more quilts, but that's enough uploads to max out my monthly bandwidth limit and your attention span! :)

Charity

Forties Tablecloth Quilt

I adore vintage textiles and my very mostest favoritest textiles are the tablecloths from the forties and fifties. I have a few in pristine condition that I use. But the bulk of my collection are tablecloths too badly stained or damaged to use. I have saved them for crafting purposes.

I have been working on using blocks cut from these vintage tablecloths to make a mini-quilt. I used 30s reproduction prints for the sashing and binding because they are my second favorite textile! It's a two-fer of my favorite things! And I loved how the quilt turned out.

While I will be keeping this mini-quilt, I will be putting together kits to make your own and selling them on Ebay starting in August. So bookmark me on Ebay if you're interested. You can follow my auctions by clicking on the link in the sidebar.



Charity