What I've Been Doing Lately

Fashion Formula Skirt pattern by Kay Whitt

Jennifer Paganelli twin quilt set

I've had lots of different projects I've been working on. I took some time off to have some surgery (hysterectomy) & realized that I needed to wear either drawstring, loose skirts or dresses. I sewed up some skirts using Kay Whitt's pattern from her Fashion Formula Skirts booklet which I LOVE! The strip skirts only require 8-9" strips, so you can easily use up some half or quarter yards you have laying around. I used Anna Maria Horner's Field Study in the aqua/yellow combo as well as a mini check from Michael Miller. The second skirt is all from Queen Street (Jennifer Paganelli). There are lots of other variations to try & I'm really looking forward to it. There are lots of drawings, so there was never a confusing part as I was sewing. I didn't do a good job distributing the gathers with the first skirt, but learned for the second one. I also bought some of her dress patterns- the Diane Kimono & the Bebe dress which Kay modeled so beautifully at Quilt Market. I also have the Monique dress, but haven't tried it yet. You can find all of her patterns here

Next up is a twin size quilt I finished along with matching pillowcases (not pictured) & pillow shams in Jane from Super Fly. As always, I love mixing Jennifer's fabrics & I used Crazy Love & Super Fly with some blue and green additions from Honey Child & Queen Street. It feels so good to be back sewing again and to immerse myself in this creative world again!

Fresh, Spring Crib Bedding

Oh, how I loved working with these pretty spring colors for Yasmin's crib set! I used Danielle in papaya for the base of the skirt with a patchwork of Jennifer's past lines (also in the blanket) from Honey Child, Flower Power, Poodle, Pretty Please, Queen Street and the newest, Crazy Love. She also ordered pillows which are on my flickr. One with pom pom fringe (too fun!) and one with piping. Hope she loves them!

Quilt from Recycled Crib Bedding

The best of Jennifer Paganelli fabrics

Marie in blue from West Indies

random patchwork twin size

patchwork sham to match

I was given an exciting opportunity recently to take a crib skirt from a previously made (not by me) crib set and make it into a quilt. Amanda contacted me because she had seen my work on Jennifer Paganelli's blog (thank you, Jennifer!) and thought I might be interested in taking on this project. I said, 'yes, yes, yes!!!!' couldn't wait! The print from the skirt is Nicole in blue from a discontinued line called Mod Girls. There was also a fitted sheet in the Eliza Stripe that she wanted to incorporate, but since I had some that was brand new, we decided to use my stash for that.  I pulled from my extensive JP stash to get all the colors from the main print including Bell Bottoms, Flower Power, Pretty Please, So St Croix, Poodle,  Queen Street, and West Indies. The backing is Marie from West Indies and the binding & sham ruffle is the Eliza Stripe. I free motion quilted in Aurifil thread using a variegated fuchsia thread in a scroll pattern. I hope Amanda and her daughter enjoy it as  much as I enjoyed making it for them! 

Practical Bag

I made the Practical Bag by Tanya Whelan last week for Holly. She needed a beach bag to match her bathing suit for beach day at school. She chose Jennifer Paganelli's Queen Street fabrics & this pattern was so easy to sew together! This would be a great summer project to teach your kids to sew. There is no interfacing, buttons, or zippers. I would have liked a pocket, but you can definately add that easily. It takes a yard for the outside and a little less than a yard for the inside, so if you have a fabric stash you can easily make this on a whim. This may be the pattern for teacher gifts this year.

And Here's the Matching Bag . . .

I made a bag to match the quilt. I strip pieced the front flap and back pocket & used "Jodi" on the sides, Dolin in the front and fussy cut Madeline for the top of the strap and used Maeve for the underside from Queen Street. Pockets are Kat Stripe & Casey Scroll & Sally used in the flap from previous Jennifer Paganelli lines. Back and inside pics on my flickr page & will be in my shop tonight! :)

Orange and Fuschia Queen St Quilt

Just finished this beautiful color combination quilt inspired by Jennifer Paganelli's new Queen Street line. The large floral on the ends in the top photo is called Madeline and it inspired the color palette. Tangerine, Fuschia and red is an electric combination. I thought a couple shots of yellow would break up the combo a bit. Since the Madeline print is essentially a stripe, I used 12" strips of coordinates for the back. I outline quilted the blocks and freemotion quilted the Madeline section of the quilt in fuschia thread. The binding is Siobhan in fuschia. Will be available in my shop soon~ a baby or lap size 34x61. I'm working on a diaper bag to match . . .

New Patchwork Bible Cover

You will just have to excuse me whilst I cover everything with Queen Street! I ordered a slimline Bible because my study Bible is like taking a suitcase everywhere, so this beauty can fit in my purse. Ever the online shopper, I ordered this thinking it was going to have a purple leather cover. It was more like blue with ever so slight purple undertones. My daughter said it looked like a boy's Bible! I got my Queen Street fabrics in the same day and made it look like a girl's Bible, don't you think?? Get to take it for a trial run this morning! Have a blessed Sunday!

Queen Street Baby Blanket

This size blanket falls under the 'instant gratification' category. Couldn't wait to sew this up and see how it all looked together. I used 8" squares in a 4x4 pattern with medium pink minky on the back. Will be listing it in the shop tonight. Other pics on my flickr. :)

Love Love Queen Street!

Jennifer Paganelli's fabrics never disappoint me! I got Queen Street in the mail today from http://hawthornethreads.com and did my usual~ what do they go with?? Everything!! Lots of my Casey Scroll coordinates as well as all her other lines. My favorite print is Dolin which is the upper left in each picture. Its an amazing vintage looking print. Then there's the dots~ Siobhan~ a modern touch. I can always use more dots!! Then the romantic damask~ Ellen, groovy Madeline. She covers all the bases. I am already cutting some out!!!! (More combos posted on my flickr)