Halloween 2011

Having a 16 & 13 year old makes costumes tricky! No more Jack Sparrow and Cinderella, no complicated costumes to sew. Dylan decided on an undercover cop (no sewing!) & Holly wanted to be a Domo. I'm not sure how to describe a Domo, but her shirt looks exactly like one, just google it! Actually Dear Husband, Holly & I all worked on it cutting out everything, ironing edges under & satin stitching all the way around the outside. The teeth I just did a regular zigzag stitch. She does have shorts on, but will opt for leggings tonight. Off to get the house ready for 15+ teenagers tonight. Our house is the food/starting off point for my kids and their friends. Hope you have something fun planned! :)

Purple, Lavender, Plum, Lilac

What ever shade you like of purple, its probably represented in the pictures above. Suddenly, lots of people want purple & I'm glad to see it! My bedroom used to be purples.

Laura Ashley House Party plum

This Laura Ashley fabric was my bedroom inspiration and I made a whole cloth quilt with this on one side and a quilting weight cotton on the other. Just love it! Someday if we ever have a guest room, it will be purple so I can use all the components from my former bedroom. :)

The top picture is a finished closeup of a patchwork and minky blanket~ notice no quilting~ just patchwork on one side, minky on the other. I backed it with lavender minky fleece. The second pic is a quilt I finished with Tula Pink's Topiary print on the back. I love the Bungalow Stripe in kiwi by Michael Miller for the binding. I'm almost out, then its gone! I enjoyed combining the plums and lavenders with limes. I scroll quilted with lilac thread. The next picture down with fabrics scribbled out is a future baby quilt. There are some similar fabrics, but each one is unique in their own way. I'm glad we have a better selection out there for purple. Not enough in my opinion, but who knows what's ahead??

Girl's World Cover Blanket

I was asked by a customer of mine if I could make the quilt that's on the cover of Girl's World by Jennifer Paganelli. She said she knew I would know which one it was because she saw it on my blog. :) I told her it would be 'easy' to make because the print is a cheater print called Kimberly with the patchwork printed on. The finished size is 70x84 to fit a twin bed. Its pictured on a queen bed. You can see the ball fringe on the far side because it technically doesn't fit this size. We don't have any twin size beds anymore as my son is now about 6' and doesn't fit in one anymore. The backing is Kona cotton azalea and the ball fringe goes all the way around. I recommend a ball fringe with a wide strip that you attach to your item to. I've ordered ball fringe that has a minuscule edge and its a nightmare to sew on. This was a dream! I would call this a coverlet because there is no batting in the middle. I seamed 2 sides down the middle and sewed right sides together, turned right side out & ironed. I topstitched around the edge with white thread in the top, fuschia in the bottom and then attached the fringe switching out the top thread to match the fringe and viola! We're living in a Girl's World!!

Lark is Here!!

Got my Lark by Amy Butler yesterday and despite my lack of energy, I was able to make a huge mess in my sewing room coming up with new combinations. Somehow all this vibrant fabric infused some energy and I was able to have a productive evening. Who knew new fabric was just what I needed?? More combinations can be found on my flickr . I pre ordered my Lark at Quilthome, it should be arriving everywhere else soon!

Embroidery Question

Before

After

I've been stuck in bed with the flu or some other bug since Sunday, so I've picked up my stitching. Okay~ so I'm learning embroidery~ this is my first time trying a chain stitch. I got my book out and in the first photo was the result on the bottom of the stem. Then I went to welovefrenchknots , Bari J's blog about embroidery and clicked on 'How to Videos' and learned the chain stitch! The results are in the second picture & although those of you who have been embroidering for years will see the flaws, I'm just happy to see an obvious chain stitch!! 

HERE'S THE QUESTION: can I pull out the stitching that looks bad from the V of the branches and below or will it unravel all the stitching that is done on that same strand that isn't bad??

If you are beginning to learn about embroidery, check out Bari's blog to learn the stitches and see great examples that other people do as well.

Kat's Nursery

Kat sent me a link to photos from her finished nursery/guest room & thought I'd share it with you. She posted it on 'Rate My Space' so you can see more photos and rate it!! I had the privilege of sewing the crib bedding, pillows inside the crib & quilt on the bed. We started with the Its a Hoot fabric from Momo & coordinated from there.  Kat did the rest including the Sprocket Pillow tutorial from Cluck Cluck Sew. I love how she moved the color and pattern all around the room~ everything is gorgeous! Enjoy!

Fun With Pillow Covers

I've always wanted to make a bunch of mixy~matchy pillow covers and Sarah gave me that opportunity! She is making her daughter's bed into a day bed type of set up. The large bolster is 60" wide! I actually made 2 of those. They look like giant sausages in my sewing room. :) She then gave me various sizes and told me to mix it up with piping and fringe & I thoroughly enjoyed it all! I'm also making curtain tiebacks and bed skirt out of Dana from Honey Child which is also on the bolster. Beautiful set!!

Brandi's Nursery

I had the priviledge of making the crib bedding for Brandi & she sent me photos of her finished nursery! I love when moms do that. It is so exciting to see my sewing come alive and I enjoy seeing all the elements that are chosen to coordinate. My kids are 13 & 16 so my nursery decorating days are over~ so I love living through these wonderful moms who let me sew for their precious ones. Enjoy!