H - A - double L - O - double U - double E - N

Halloween is just around that old creepy corner.  Although I'm not a big fan of the holiday ... except for the chocolate ... I do "get a little pumpkin on" in spite of myself.

The trick of treat banner is an idea I copied from a Pottery Barn catalog a couple of years ago (mine is a larger version), and the bewitched refused to focus wall hanging is one you might remember from last year.  Besides an orange candle here and there, this is the sad extent of my holiday spirit.  Fortunately, no one has complained.  Otherwise I'd have to get my witch on!

Oh, yes!  I do have this quilt as a shop sample where I work.  I'll probably get it back after the holiday.

binding stack

Last night my sewing project was to get some binding made for quilts that have been dropped off or are going to be dropped off at the quilter this week.  I stack the finished rolls on a paper towel holder to keep the binding tidy until sewing time.

The first binding roll is for a brown, outdoorsy looking baby quilt; the next is for a quilt for my new grandson's blessing day; the next is for a quilt which I made for said blessing day which turned out to be too big and now has no home; the next is for a quilt where I used "Seaside" by Riley Blake and the broken dishes block; and the final is for a funky, Anthropologie looking quilt that I made from Joel Dewberry's Notting Hill line.  All will be blogged once they are finished.

my kind of fun

Twice in the past month I have attended a sewing/quilting class where you bring your own project, eat, chat, and have drawings for prizes. This type of fun is exactly why I started quilting!
Had to share with you what I won at the last event.

Luann knit this adorable (lined!) mug warmer, chose gorgeous buttons for it, and wrapped it around a hobnail-esque mug.

Love and LOVE!

baby basics

Two flannel blankets and one little knit hat for the precious newborn grandson.
Just practical stuff, but usually the stuff you need and use the most!

This blanket I bought with the holes punched for crocheting from The Fabric Mill in Provo, Utah.  I'm so happy I didn't cut into the stitches when I snipped the final thread like I did with the last one I made.  Ouch!

This blanket's edge is non-flannel.  Next time I will square the corners since I hate cutting fabric on the bias (didn't) but also hate fighting the curve when its not a bias cut (did).
All items have been shipped and are hanging out with baby.
I sure wish I were!

pirates!

When my blog is inactive, it doesn't mean that I am inactive.  Believe me, my machine is still humming away!  Last month, in spite of spending two weeks in Scotland and Ireland, I finished two quilts to give as wedding gifts (sorry, no pictures) and started two more quilts.  But as for today's post, I wanted to tell you about finishing this little collaborative project.  When my daughter was here a few months ago, I "borrowed" one of her many adorable doodle sketches.  My idea? Turn it into a needlework project!

I used a light box to transfer the sketch onto linen.  See the silver metallic thread used for the earring and sword sparkle?  The only other thread color I used was black (even his bellybutton is black!).  The shaded color on the fabric is simply Prismacolor (important) pencil applied ever so lightly. I love and only use Prismacolor pencils because of their strong pigment and soft lead.

The frame was purchased at the quilt shop where I work and then backed with a scraggly pirate-esk scrapbook paper form Hobby Lobby.

I think the little guy's name is Benjamin.  He loves to play dress-up and is anxious for his next swashbuckling adventure!!  

Later this month when I go to help my daughter's family after the birth of her new little boy, I'll bring this to her ... as well as ask for another darling doodle to take home and play with!

This blog is currently inactive.

car cozy

As you might know, I have a grandson.  As you might not know, this grandson LOVES anything with wheels:  cars, trucks, trailers, trains, motorcycles, wheelbarrows (ok, maybe not that one).  But cars are his #1 go-to toy and have been, I'm sure, for as long as he can remember!   So when I saw the pattern for a car carrier in the Winter 2012 Simple Quilts & Sewing magazine, I knew who needed it.

Last night during quilting class, I discovered some fabrics that inspired me to get sewing.  They are from a Riley Blake line named Boy Crazy.  The fabrics are so cute that I bought some others from the line to make a special pillowcase for Grandma's house (pics to come).
I stitched up the car project in no time this morning and will whip up the pillowcase this afternoon.  Gotta love the easy ones!

The only changes I made to the pattern were to add rick rack to the pocket dividers and to top stitch the yellow road lines.  Oh yes, I didn't use black flannel for the road as the pattern suggested.  I thought it would collect far too much fuzz and crumbs from the floor.
(I just noticed the whisker thread at the bottom that needs snipping! oopsie)

I bought the tractor and jeep from Target, and the green/silver car we had leftover from my boys.  I do wish the tractor had a trailer, but Evan is quite skilled at taping and I'm sure will finagle a way to have it "haul" something.

See what I mean??

The cozy folds in half and rolls up quite nicely, even with the bulky cars inside. After I took this photo, I angled the ribbon ends and applied Dritz Fray Check - a sewing staple!  

Happy vroom-vrooming to Grandma's little darling!

jelly & jam quilt

Sadly, my employer is not well.  I will be working Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday to help out in the shop while she recovers.  Because I'm leaving Thursday to spend a few days in Sacramento, I decided I needed to get my latest quilt posted before my next quilts are back from the quilter (pressure!)

This one is for my niece Ana who is currently away at college in Rexburg, Idaho.
A long way from home.
In a wasteland.
In need of comfort!

I think you'd agree that because quilts are a labor of love, they are a perfect way to let people know that you care about them.  And I do love the practicality of them, too.

I'll never forget one day seeing a pick-up truck loaded with furniture with a beautiful vintage quilt being used to wrap one of the items in the bed.  That, my friends, is taking practicality a little too far.  How I wished I would have motioned for the drivers to pull over and had offered them money for it.  I would have taken the dear home and appreciated it like it had probably never been appreciated before.
I reasoned that the people probably would have thought I was a psycho, so I let them travel on.
But I still think about "what if"and dream that someone rescued the gem from her abusive owners.  Where's QPS (Quilt Protective Services) when you need it!

The main fabrics I used came from a fabric roll I had in my stash - Fandango by Kate Spain.  The quilt pattern is a Fig Tree & Co. named Jelly and Jam and made from one jelly roll, sashing fabric, and border fabric.

The backing is a soft homespun.  Perfect cuddling fabric!  I was happy to find it in pink.

As it is 2:40am and I have a b-u-s-y week ahead working and trip preparation (don't forget to sprinkle in bills, laundry, upcoming Father's Day, LIFE), I'd better run for my pillow now!

I can explain....

*cricket chirp*
repeat
repeat

I know what you're thinking.....
Is anyone out there????

I promise that I have some really good excuses as to why I haven't been around this past month.
Let's begin...

We drove 1600 miles round trip and attended my daugher's college graduation in Logan, Utah (yay, Nat!) and helped her pack up and move out of Cache Valley FOREVER, and....
I frolicked for 10 glorious days with my darling eldest daughter and her 2 year old son (aka, Grandma's Boy) while they were here visiting and....
I prepared and delivered a presentation to DUP (Daughers of the Utah Pioneers), and....
I added a day of work each week to my fun little quilt shop job, and....
I drove over 1,000 miles to and from Sacramento to visit my dear mother, and....
We enjoyed a calorie laden Memorial Day BBQ with friends... and
I attended my son's seminary graduation last night (I just randomly threw that one in).

Just so you don't doubt me, I'm going to give you some proof  ...

My girls on the Quad at Utah State University.

Graduation dinner at Texas Roadhouse.  Nat rode the "celebration saddle" while we all sang to her.  Perfect for the Equine Science graduate!

No trip to Utah is complete without feasting at Chuck-A-Rama.

Our day at Disneyland was SO STINKIN' HOT!  Evan's face says it all.

Jealous? You can't help it!

We stayed three glorious nights here at the Wyndam Resort (thanks MOM!)

A completion of four long years of EARLY morning religion classes. My son is second from the left.

People.
I missed three weeks of quilting class.  Ultimate proof that I was busy!!!

But today was the day that I dusted off my abandoned sewing machine and reacquainted myself with a needle and thread.

First, I finished the last of my broken dishes blocks.  These were made from a 10" stacker of Riley Blake's Seaside fabric.  I had cut each square into four 5" blocks and then using this method, made half-square triangles.  I had then sewed four HST's of the same fabric into one broken dishes block. After all 100 small blocks were made, I then combined four random blocks together to make 25 large blocks.

And here I've stopped. I'm not quite sure what I'm doing next (any suggestions??).
This dilema is a hazard of starting a project without a clear sense of direction.
For now, the blocks simply exist to make me happy.

ON to my next accomplishment:
These three quilts are donation quilts for Project Linus that someone had dropped off at the shop where I work.  They were unbound, so I volunteered to finish them up.  It's funny how I had just been thinking that I would like to do something service oriented using my quilting know-how when these magically appeared. No coincidence here, I think.

As you can see, I used a couple of baskets in my "photography" (term used loosely!).  That is so when my husband looks at the stacks of baskets I have stored in the garage and asks, "Do you really ever use these?" I can answer, "Oh, yes I do!"

pillow cheer

A little something to brighten the day for my dear stepdad who is convalescing....

I know it's not much; but hopefully these pillowcases, in a simple way, will let him know that I'm thinking of him.



Tutorial from the blog Notes from the Patch linked here...