Progress

Adding some borders to the summer queen-sized star quilt...

I now have 8-18"blocks and one 24" center block. There's four with this border (blocks are different color stars though)

One center block on point, with neat mitered floral border.
And 4 blocks with this greenish color border.
Together, the blocks with their shades of sage, lime, turquoise and burgundy are heavenly!

9-12" blocks complete

I have all nine of these blocks completed. It took around 20 hours I think to make them. Now I am using .JPGs of them in my scrapbooking software to arrange the placement and further the quilt's design.

Two of these:
Two of these:
Two of these:
And two of these (but I am undecided if they will have the border or not):
Here's the center block that will be on point:

Some Christmas Projects

I couldn't show these before Christmas for fear that the recipients may see them. And it is kind of a no-brainer who they were for if they happenned to see them.

This is my neice Alyssa, with her new fairy quilt. I did her a pillowcase for her birthday in November, but I don't think she had any idea a quilt was in the works. It's bright. BRIGHT. I had a local woman, Mary Dacey, do the machine quilting so that I'd ensure it'd be finished in time.
My mom got the 60" table runner, as requested back in the early summer. I don't think she expected it though. Perhaps nobody really expected that I actually listened when they subtley made requests. Her runner has 8 matching dark blue napkins too. I learned that the mitred corners look great and are not that hard to do. Use the iron! The fabrics are some great ones I got at a local quilt shop. It's hand quilted too.

Here's a picture of a table runner I did and sent to somebody. It was a big quandry whether to actually give this one away or not. The piecing took a long time and is exactingly perfect, if I do say so myself. I love the Provincial style fabrics. In the end, I let my husband decide if we kept this or gave it away (actually, he chose between this runner and another I was working on and have of course NOT finished!). I am really bummed, which sucks because it's not at all in the spirit of Christmas, but the recipient of this lovely runner sent us something with no appeal whatsoever, and just like every past year, has yet to even say thank you. Oh well, next year this runner will be for me!

My brother met his wife when his submarine stopped in Japan, 10 years ago. The sub was enroute to home port in Hawaii. She was working civil service on a Navy base there doing occupational therapy. Within a year they came back stateside and begun planning a wedding. Since about 2000, they have been living in either NY or CT, and we have visited frequently. We watched as they had 2 girls, that are now 4 and 6. At the end of this month, they are being transferred to Italy for 2 years. She used to travel a lot before they married. So, for my brother & sister-in-law, I made these placemats and napkins in pretty Japanese fabrics, to help remind them of where they have come from, as they venture out into their new life. I just love how they came out. The napkins are in the parasol Geisha girl fabric. There is also a table centerpiece that I failed to get a picture of that is a hexagon with the parasol girls that is done like a kaleidoscope. Real cool. I was kind of in a funk on Christmas and did not get pictures. That's a pitfall to my character...I love to make the great presents but the holiday itself stresses me out so that I cannot really enjoy it. I often just get frustrated and upset that other people do not put the forethought into presents that I do. That's life...

My Son's new quilt-to-be

I am starting a new quilt for my middle kid. He's 3 and a half and is ready to be out of a crib. I have designed the quilt using scrapbook software, as I do many other quilt projects. The wide blue border is really a pieced assemby of diesel train fabric squares. The boy (and why do I allow a 3 year old select his bedding???) wants his room to be with trains. Though a couple months before that he thought he loved polar bears. So because I had already purchased several yards of this adorable polar bear material, we settled on using both. The back of the quilt will be mostly polars, and the bed skirt will be the dark blue, something he won't outgrow in 15 years I hope.

And here's the square that is repeated 24 times... It's rotated to make the pinwheel patterns. The trains and bears are individually cut so as to frame out the patterns.
Thoughts?...

Busting the Scraps

My piles of scrap fabric are approaching the size of the piles of snow we have here!...Here's a very quick - 1.25 hours - quilt top that I hope to finish in the near future for Project Linus. I might even try my hand again with free motion quilting it. Previous attempts haven't been that good, but the practice can't hurt. So many people donated scrap cloth to me last year that I have bits and pieces of more than I know what to do with. Just making a scrappy top doesnt come close to making a dent in the stash whatsoever. Not sure that 25 tops would honestly. This top is not really lovely, but some little girl will be delighted (I hope) with all the flowers.

I spent time last week moving my sewing "stuff" to the basement. The dining room where I did have it was becoming a MESS and a temptation for my youngest kids to mess with. The basement is a tad chilly these days, but it has more sound proofing so that I can sew early in the morning and during naps without fear of awakening the kids. I love being able to race my machine and get things done fast! Here's the before...

That's actually part of my problem. I have a real need for some quick gratification now and then. But then I like to do intricate projects too so I don't bore with sewing. But without these quickie quilt tops, I'd never have the stamina to complete the more time consuming ones.

I'm currently awaiting some fabric I ordered so I can complete a top for my middle kid's new bed. It has trains and polar bears, which was his request. Sounds a little odd I know, but the pattern and fabrics are really cute, and cute together.

My winter 4-seasons quilt is all done except for the label and will be enroute to it's new home soon.

And I have begun knitting Sophie a sweater. The back is done. 1st attempt at anything beyond a scarf or hat...

What are you sewing??

A new project

One quilt top completed for next year's Project Linus!...

It was just going to be scrappy colored 9-patch blocks. Then I discovered the race-car Santa material I had been given.

New Project

I'm starting a summer quilt for our bed. It's going to take a few months to put the top together because I'm designing as I go, and the blocks are heavily pieced. I plan to have it machine quilted so I don't care so much about all of the seams. Normally I hate to hand quilt something like this. I just love the 30's-40's vintage small prints, especially in lime greens and light aquas. This has some of those type materials. I'm testing my skills with all of the triangle piecing, trying very hard to keep all the points. These blocks are 13" square and take about 2 hours to make once all pieces are cut. Te background is really a cross between sage & lime (photo color is not the best).

new projects & old projects

I find myself at a loss for projects that I can post about, since many of my latest works are Christmas presents. In another month I can post pictures of some things, but not now.

Lately I have resurected this. I started three quilt tops last winter, and stopped before any of them were completed. They are what I call my Legacy Quilts. Each quilt has some of the same fabrics. They are all uniquely different, although made partly of the many of the same cloths. The styles are all distinctly different, but are all facets of my personality as well as styles I love. Someday when my kids are older, they will be for them. Much of the sewing I do gets given away. I wanted to do this so that my family might get to have beautiful quilts in our home, as well as so that my kids may someday have something I made for them when they were small. Before I embarked on yet another project, I decided I'd finish one of these quilts. I presently have the binding half on, and the hand quilting is 98% completed.

I have also been stitching away slowly on my Winter swap mini quilt. Being the orchestrator of the swap, I know who mine is going to. I know, I know...many of you are still waiting for your partners. Hopefully by week's end that will all be out. Here's my snowflake thus far...

I am still pondering how I will quilt it.

For anybody interested, here's the next Legacy quilt I will finish. Look familiar?? It was used for the Four Seasons Quilt Swap button!

Serendipitious Good Fortune

I have been plotting my next smocking project, but dreading the time consuming part of hand pleating the cloth. Plus I want to make something that is not using a checked fabric.

One of my former colleagues Rita, who has donated loads of fabric for me to use for Project Linus quilts, emailed today to tell me she has her mother's pleater I can borrow. I am so excited! I have heard horror stories about smocking pleaters being non-user friendly, but this has to be easier and faster than the alternative.

Now I can use a floral material for a spring dress.

They looked very sweet!

The 3 cousins in their holiday dresses...Yes, finally finished!

And My little princess looking so very sweet, in her first pair of real "Girl" shoes!

Below, she's getting to wear her birthday dress. I waited having her wear it until she could walk so she didn't just drag the ruffles all over the floor crawling. She's been on foot about a month now.

Now, I am plotting my next smocking project... I have a navy check to do Sophie a dress for next Spring. The underdress with ruffles is a pain in the next to get the right length. I had almost sworn I'd never do another one. But when I see it on her and how it flows, and how it holds the dress out fully, I love the way it looks.

The finished Holiday dresses

OK, here is a picture of one of them. There are two.

And I am the ABSOLUTE worst aunt in history. Or perhaps the best aunt but the WORST sister-in-law in history. You see, these are for my 2 neices that live in CT (soon to be Europe). Back in the early summer, shortly after I started the dresses (and not thinking that SIL actually read this blog), I posted some progress pictures. Sadly, she did read the blog and my surprise was busted. So what did I do??

I told her they were being made for a neighbor friend's girls. Hmm... bad SIL and a liar. I really wanted the surprise to be good. One of my neices really loves princess dresses, and those that are fancy. She LOVED the dress I made for my daughter's 1st birthday so I wanted to do one for her. So somehow I have to justify the white lie I told. Hopefully she will understand.

Well, they will be here for Thanksgiving, so I am going out on a limb posting this that she will not be blogging before I see her. The dresses are cute, they took a TON of hours with my perfectionist ways. I just hope that they fit & are liked.

Ask Hubby?

I did what I probably shouldn't have done. I asked my husband which of the 2 runners he liked best, without his knowing who the other would be given to.

He, of course, chose the one I wanted to finish & give away for us to keep.

Hmm...or more appropriately, Humphhfff!

I quilted and added the binding to the more French-looking runner, but still think that I may hurry & finish the other one too. Feeling a bit nostalgic about the choice, I think I want to make my final selection with completed projects.

5 weeks to go (or 4 since this must be mailed) and at least 4 other projects needing completion, I really ought to get off this computer and work/sew!!

Need Advice

I have been doing a lot of sewing of Christmas presents lately. Pardon the lack of blogging, but I have not wanted the potential recipients to see what they may get. I have one item, though to share. Last Sunday I got up 2 hours before my house normally rises to finish this table runner.

It's not the best picture, but the fabrics are lovely, and it has a French Provential feel. Upon completing it, I immediately fell in love and almost decided I'd keep it for myself. It matches our dining room really well. OK, so now I'm back one step on getting ready for Xmas.

Step 2: Redesign another runner for this person. Here's what I have so far. It still needs to have a few more leaves and the flowers appliqued on. Again, a bad picture but you can get the idea. The flowers will be shades of cranberry and plum.

So here's my delimma...Which do I keep and which do I give away???

Book Blanket Challenge quilts

The 2 Project Linus Book Blanket challenge quilts were taken to the coordinator yesterday. I need not post any pictures of the Caterpillar quilt as there have been many. But (despite) my mother's request not to do this yet, I am anyway. The quilt is way too cute. Back in late August, I went to my mom's house sans the boys for a day of sewing, unbeknownst to her. I arrived with sewing machine, and lots of precut material. We were going to make the quilt we'd talked so much about doing for 6 months. The summer was nearly over and it had not yet been done.

The fish fabrics she had bought for me to make a Linus blanket with anyways. Very cute. When I left that day, the top was complete and I'd left her with the binding strip, backing material and the book "Curious George goes Fishing".

Over the last month she added the appliques. He's soooo cute!. So cute that she may just beat out the caterpillar in the competition in 2 weeks!!

The show is at the Thornton Heights United Methodist Church on Oct 28, 10-2pm (South Portland)

One project Done

Here's baby Joshua's blanket. It's about 20" x 24", intended for a stroller or carseat.

Fall is Here

Joy, Joy!!

My fall swap quilt arrived today from Luisa of Lisbon, Portugal. OK, OK..not a true blind swap in that I knew my quilt was coming from her. I had no idea what it would look like though, or that it would be so incredible. It's different from anything I would make, but so much in a style I love. The appliqued leaves are cut from a pattern that makes the leaves look like they have veins. I think my picture is upside down, oops! So lovely. Many thanks!!

Fit for a Princess, but in a slump

Sometimes I just dread sewing. That is now: Halloween. The boys need their costumes and I am dragging my feet at starting them. It is such uninspiring sewing; I hate it. The crush-pane that Captain Hook's coat is being done in is slippery. In a word, a Pain to sew. I have mostly finished the shirt for Peter Pan, but it lacks pizzazz. Maybe next week my kid will nap and I'll be focused to sew.
On another front, the Christmas dress for my daughter is gorgeous. Sometimes I just amaze myself when I can sew without making huge mistakes, and have it look like this. The collar has a lovely entredeux edging that I did with a wing needle. I am still testing out some of the decorative stitches my new machine has. This one I like.

Sophie's Christmas Dress

It's coming of mere scraps that I have left from anothe rproject, but it's going to be very sweet.

It's not a girl!

My friend had a baby boy so I was forced to put away all of the great pieces of pink fabric that I had pulled out for her quilt. I was really looking forward to sewing for a girl...so much more frilly and fun. Maybe I just wanted her to have a girl so she could experience the sheer joy of a girl, knowing that she's not planning to have any more kids and she already has a boy. Back in April I found this awesome lamb fabric (and she LOVES sheep), and not knowing if it was a boy or girl, I got pieces of the cloth in both pink and blue. Looks like the pink is destined for another project. A long sigh, and I was off to finish her gift. It's a quilt, but it is smaller so it could either be hung on a wall, as she did with the one I made 2 years ago for her first baby, or it could be used for a carseat/stroller.
Here's an interim picture - quilting and binding are not quilt finished. It is modeled after a quilt I saw at Darcie's blog (though not sewn quite as well).

On another subject, my Hungry Caterpillar quilt is done!! It's donner than done. It's ready to go. I love it. Oh wait, I just remembered it needs antennae on one of the caterpillar, but essentially done.

Baby Fairy, Where are You?

Dear Baby Fairy,

I am not sure where you are, if you exist, or what you may look like. But I really need you right now. My good friend & former colleague is 39+ weeks pregnant and I need her to birth this kid! Yes, this post does come of selfish motives. Sure, sure...she wants the alien out of her too, but I have a legitimate concern.

This is the weekend. I get "unlimitted" (choke, ha ha) sewing time on the weekend. As any of you know, my weeks are rather hellish with chasing a nearly walking baby, my pain-in-the ass middle kid that prefers jumping in bed to sleeping, and the rigors (choke) of a new job. But, again as I said, it is about me, not the about-to-pop mother to be. I have plans for potentially making her something for the baby, but I can't until it shows us it's gender.

I can hardly fathom this still being pregnant at 39 weeks. Mine could practically crawl by that point. Actually, the 3rd one was born right at 39, but the 2 boys came out 1&2 weeks before that. They knew the meaning of "The lease is up: Come out!"

OK, so I have actually started sewing something but I can only do small parts of it without knowing more. I knew the gender of all my kids in advance. It was one of those secrets in life I saw no need in having. It was convenience being able to get clothes & the nursery ahead of time. I know that she is reusing her older child's nursery. I just really don't want to be confined to the boring blue and green again...(boo hoo!>...-just kidding LCC). The nursery is very beautiful. As a mom of a little girl, I so hope she has a girl so that I can sew with some PINK! Oh, yea...I mean so that she has the joy of a little girl & a boy!

So, baby fairy, please....and I am begging because I do not get adequate sewing time during the week...Please make her belly start contracting!!

Smocking Complete

Here's the front of Sophie's Christmas dress...very old fashioned; I love it. Sure hope that there really is enough scraps of this fabric now to make up the dress!

My Baby will be Darling for the Holidays

I had a little material left over from the dresses I have mostly finished making for the neighbor girls. So I have decided to whip (this is where you choke a few times and laugh loudly) one up for Sophie. She only needs about a yard of fabric, maybe a touch less since this is wide. That of course assumes that I don't have to cut anything out twice :-) !!! The dress will be smocked on the bodice. The sleeves will be the creamy heart-floral like the under dresses for the older girls are. I just don't have enough of the red. I will also do a ruffly crinoline-style bottom for the dress of the cream floral, maybe with ivory eyelet too. She'll be pretty and fancy for Christmas, or Valentine's Day depending when this gets finished.

I did the smocking different from the last few projects. At first I was unsure because the diamonds were very simple, maybe even bland. But then I took a giant leap (as recommended here) and added the bullion roses (thanks EST for directions!). And then bland is very Baby-Beautiful. I do like the simpler smocked bodice.


I still have a trillion bullion knots to finish, and a bottom wavy border, but I think you can get the idea where this is going. ...very vintage baby

Other Progress

There has also been tremendously painful and slow progress on the dresses I am making. By that I mean, it is like 2 steps forward, 900 steps back. Makes me cringe at the thought of working on them, but I know I need to get them finished. Both now have finished bottom hems with ruffle, bindings on the pinafore arm holes are finished. This should read "Some dumb bozo put them in once and did a quilter's seam allowance. For kicks her 5 year old son tried on a dress, and she realized the arms were too snug at the pits. The Bozo stood back, rumpled her nose, said a few obscenities, and realized the mistake. Bozo proceded to cut off bindings and start over". The dresses going under the pinafores are making good progress too. 15 of 16 buttons and button holes are complete. And sleeves w/ unfinished cuffs are set in too. There may be collars but Bozo keeps forgetting to wash the material.

On another project (yes, the unfinished list does go on...)
The Snuggly Hungry Caterpillar quilt is looking AWESOME. Pictures will come soon, promise. It's mostly all quilted, all by hand. Needs a few things here and there and it's done. I'm still pondering how to bind it - namely what color(s). Have to procrastinate somehow.

Last Friday my mother andI started another quilt for the project Linus book-blanket challenge. I'd been wanting to do a quilt with her all summer, but it never happenned. She's supplied my dining room (ha ha - that's the pit of a room that has fabric strewn everywhere) with lots of fun materials, but I haven't done too many quilts this summer. I designed a very simple blanket of a bunch of fishy fabrics. The book is Curious George goes Fishing. She's adding a fleecy George onto it. It'll be cute.

More Other...
Still pondering a couple more winter quilt projects. Need to get some good train materials for my son's new bedroom - 3 year old appropriate.

Oh well...dream time is over since the baby is awake from nap and I have work to claim to need doing.

Fall Quilt

All done except for the label...

The hearts are supposed to look like falling leaves as the title of the quilt is Falling in Love with Autumn.
...and the back sans label.

A hippie?

You Are Grass Green

Down to earth and a bit of a hippie, you are very into nature and the outdoors. You accept the world and people as they are. You don't try to change things. You are also very comfortable with yourself, flaws and all. Optimistic about the future, you feel like life is always getting better.

What Color Green Are You?