Thursday, December 26, 2013

Christmas Cheer

I'm hoping that everyone had a Merry Christmas.  This was a year of aprons for Christmas.  My daughter, Anna, and her friend, Aparna, are learning to bake pies, and I thought they should have their own aprons.  The aprons are from a pattern called "Church Ladies Aprons".  Anna also got the new Inglenook Cookbook, published by the Church of the Brethren.  This is a new edition.  I remember my mother cooking from the Inglenook Granddaughter's Cookbook when I was young.


I love this picture of these beautiful ladies and their pies--a Kentucky Derby and a black raspberry.  They were delicious!

I made an apron for my friend, Jani, also.  Jani is always willing to share her stash with me--and you quilters know what a big deal that is!  I love her fabrics.  As a matter of fact, this "cat" fabric came from her stash.



                                           I love that these aprons are also reversible.

I made poinsettia wall hangings for my friend, Betty Sue, and for my daughter-in-law, Jae.  I bought the pattern at Ruth's Stitchery in Colorado Springs this past fall.  The petals are 3- dimensional, giving a nice appearance to the wall hanging.  The background is flecked with gold, a Stonehenge fabric.


This memory bear was not a Christmas gift, but it was a gift I made for my daughter, Anna.  It is made from a pair of gray pants that she got for graduation for her Grandpa Gentry.  She wore out the pants but hated to get rid of them.  The bear is made from a pattern I got from my friend, Fay.  He is wearing a little flannel shirt like Grandpa Gentry would be wearing.


Even though Christmas is over, I still have a couple of things to make for my granddaughters.  They will be visiting from Colorado Springs next week.  You will have to check back later to see what I am making for them.

Wishing everyone a Very Happy New Year filled with Peace, Love, and Joy!

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Thursday, November 14, 2013

Let's Hear It For the Boys!




A few years ago I purchased a stack of flannel fishing fat quarters (Can you say that 3 times very quickly?) at a garage sale--a great bargain, but I didn't know what to do with them.  For the Boys is a perfect time to use them.  I decided to use them in a rag quilt for my DH's best friend's birthday.  He is, after-all, a fisherman.  I bought solid flannel in various colors for the back, used the prints for the front, and snipped away.  I was very pleased with the outcome.


Here are some close-ups of the blocks:






I used a random arrangements of the solid blocks on the back--much easier than trying to put them in a pattern.


                                           Then, I added a fish to the back to sign the quilt.


I used a tutorial from the Missouri Star Quilt Co.  You can find the tutorial here.  You can use any size block.

I've made many little boy baby quilts over the years--cars, tractors, trains, airplanes, teddy bears, outer space, jungle animals, etc.  I'd like to share a baby quilt I made for my first grandson, Nathan in 2000.  It would have worked for a little girl, also, but it has a blue background and several little boys on the quilt:


The quilt is all hand-appliqued and hand quilted with much, much love.  I think it is the best quilt I have ever made.









                                      What little boy wouldn't love a Mother Goose quilt?

I used a pattern by Bonnie Kaster in the book "The Nursery Rhyme Quilt".  She has fantastic quilt patterns. The Cinderella quilt at the top of my blog is also one of her patterns.  I've also made a Princess and the Pea pattern from one of her books for the director of the musical, which my daughter, Anna, performed in.

This fall I made 2 pillow cases for my DH.  He is a huge Chicago Bear fan.  One is for his bed; the small one is for a throw pillow he uses on his recliner.




Thanks for stopping by my blog!  Be sure to visit all of my fellow bloggers today:

                                                                Everyone Deserves a Quilt
Just Quilt It  (That's me!)

Thank you, Madame Samm and Amy for another great hop!  Now, Let's Hear It For the Boys!

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Saturday, November 2, 2013

For the Boys Blog Hope Schedule



Before you know it we will be in the midst of another great blog hop.  This one is "For the Boys".  The schedule can be found below.  Catch mine (a clue to my quilt) on November 15th, the last day of the hop!


November 6th
 

November 7th
 
 
November 8th

 
 November 11th
 
  
November 12th
  

November 13th
 
  
November 14th
 
  
November 15th 
 

As you can see, it got expanded to include more days for more quilts!  Yeah!  Stop by to see everyone's great creations and get some new ideas for quilts for your boys, too.
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A Wicked Winner!

Congratulations to Bonnie for winning my 2 fall fat quarters.  She has been notified and sent me her address, so they will soon be in the mail, my pretty!



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Wednesday, October 23, 2013

Halloween Spooks Holiday Lane

Trick or Treat, fellow quilters!  I didn't participate in the Holiday Lane blog hop last year, but I certainly enjoyed all of the beautiful Christmas projects. The pattern was really cute and was free from Jillily Studios.  Afterwards, I used the pattern to make a wall quilt for my Secret Prayer Partner at church.  She is a " Mary Engelbreit"  sort of lady, so I chose bright colors and cats and dogs for her gift, and I was very pleased with the outcome.




I loved this pattern and thought it would make a great Halloween wall hanging, as well.  Here is my "Halloween Spooks Holiday Lane" rendition of the pattern:  First, I found a tree to support my project.


                                         Then, I found a friend willing to hold it up for me:



The trees are grey, but they didn't stand out as much as I would have liked against the black houses.  I machine appliqued around the houses, using orange for the black houses to set them out from the sky.  I found the buttons I used at JoAnn's.  I looked on line for some ideas for trees and the witch; then, I drew them free-hand on my fusible webbing.



This was my first halloween wall quilt, and I am really happy with it!  Thank you, Jillily Studios, for making it available to me.

I'm working on a table runner to be included in a basket to be auctioned off at our church's district conference.  It isn't complete yet, but I wanted to share it.  I made one like this a couple of years ago, but I have lost the pattern.  I traced over my first table runner for the applique patterns and measured it for the backing and borders.  I need to finish machine appliqueing it and then quilt it by this weekend.





Today's schedule can be found here, so if you are working your way backwards,  fly on over and see the other ghostly projects for today:

                               
Thursday, October 24th
Just Quilt It  (That's me)


Now, for you trick or treaters who are still with me, a give-away for fall--2 fat quarters of fall fabric, one brown and one orange.  Just leave a comment for a chance to win.  I will ship anywhere.  Happy Halloween!



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Tuesday, October 1, 2013

SEW and SHOW blogs

I'm excited to be part of a "sew and show" quilting community.  We are given a pattern or a topic and encouraged to participate by signing-up.  On our assigned day, we get to show our project(s) to those following the hop.

 Being part of this community has really stretched my talent. It is made up of professionals and new quilters, alike.  It has encouraged me to complete projects by a certain date and given me great ideas for future projects.  Participating is a win/win situation.  We learn new techniques or patterns, get to view other quilters' interpretations, and we encourage each other to succeed.

Thank you, Madame Samm at www.sewwequilt.com for organizing these fantastic hops for all of us!
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Monday, September 16, 2013

Pin it!

Oh, I hate being the last day!  The standard has already been set soooo high with sew many great pin cushions!  How can I begin to compete...er..... share what I have done?  And, if you are doing this in order, I'm being followed by the expert!   Anyway, here it goes.  I've been throwing ideas around since I signed up for this hop.   I knew it needed to be an original pattern, and I do much better following someone else's guidance. : )

Anytime, is the right time to sew, so I decided to make my pincushion a clock pointing to every hour, yes, every hour because anytime IS the right time to sew.  I'm always looking for a pin cushion at my machine, so why not make one that attaches?



I calculated how large I needed my pin cushion to be and got out my compass.  I made the circle on a piece of yellow fabric.

 I used the compass to divide the circle into 6 parts, then further divided it to make 12 equal parts.

                         Next, I used my machine to embroider the numbers and the hands of the clock.



                               I didn't trust my freehand sewing, so I added the arrow tips by hand.


                                            Next, I pinned the lace around the edge of the clock.


 I sewed a circle the same size, right sides together.  Next, I cut an X in the back and turned the clock right-side-out.




I stuffed the cushion with filler.  Then, I cut a smaller circle out of a plastic lid and inserted it into the back to keep the pins from sticking through.  I added a little glue to hold the plastic in place and close up the X that I had cut into the back.

Next, a pink ribbon was added, pinning it to the back first; then, stitching it in place.  Decide where on your machine you will attach it so you can decide which direction to attach the ribbon.  Velcro is used to hold it closed.  I made certain that it didn't interfere with the mechanism of my sewing machine.


                                I think it will work very well.  I will always have pins or a pin cushion in reach.  

Thanks for visiting my blog and taking a look at my project.  You are almost done if you are following today's list.  Thanks to Madame Samm and Kristen  for setting up our hop.  If you still need to visit today's sites, they are listed here:
September 17
Just Quilt It  (you are here)

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Aren't Grandchildren the Best!

My DH and I are visiting in CO from Illinois for a couple of weeks while our son and daughter-in-law are in Italy.  Oh, the fun we are having with our granddaughters, Julia and Lauren.

                                      We did a science experiment--we made rock candy!  Yum!




                           We ordered pizza and watched "The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe".



We baked pies--Julia made chocolate cream,






and Lauren made Kentucky Derby.




The girls made chocolate chip pancakes for supper--no help needed from Grandma--I fried the sausage and baked the bacon.




 We've practiced the violin and the cello.  Well, they have practiced, and I have enjoyed listening.  Plus, we have been to cello and violin lessons--along with acrobatics.


We still need to go out for frozen yogurt, do some crafts and sewing, and make home-made noodles.
I'll be tired when we leave next week, but I am certainly enjoying the time I spend with them and the memories we are making.  Thank you, Luke and Susan, for going on vacation and leaving us with your precious daughters.

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