Summer sewing

Summer is so short!  I am just realizing that I will be able to (hopefully) have some time here in the fall to sit down and sew without the sound of little feet.  They will be missed but oh the possibilities of getting these projects done.

These are the curtains I completed earlier in the spring.  I got to finally see them hung up in the kitchen!  I like the look of the coffee stained flour sack towel, they turned out to be perfect for the prairie style kitchen.  

My baby girl finished her first pieced quilt top.  It was a smaller quilt so she could get the seams finished and not be to distracted to quickly.  She did a great job and the quilt turned out great!  I quilted hearts on it and finished the binding for her.  Great job baby girl!!

These are some towels that I made for my aunt and uncle.  They camp and fish a lot so I thought these would be a great addition to their little camper!  Patterns are from Sublime Stitching.

We decided to redo the colors in our bathroom.  We found this great set on sale at Kohl's.  I bought two of the striped rugs so that I could transform one of them into a contour rug for the toilet.  It turned out to be not as hard as I thought it was going to be.  

I decided to join the Feeling Stitchy stitch along for July, at the end of July!  I made it into a pillow.  I was contemplating making it and remembered someone I know likes gnomes so I jumped in.  I like how he turned out.  

The new, the old and the future...

Well hello!  FINALLY I got the site to allow me to download photos!  Just took all day for it to work!  

A little about what  I have been doing.  

I have been quilting, but it is a surprise so I can not post anything on it yet!  I did come across a great find at a yard sale we drove by.  It was $10 and I talked her down to $8!  What a steal! 

It looks to me to fit a vintage Singer sewing machine.  I have a great machine that my brother found for me at a yard  sale for only $10 (!!!!) that I thought would fit, but it is about an inch to long.  He found me a Singer 328k in the original box.  Sturdy, pretty little beast!  It works great!  So I have been searching for hints as to what this little cabinet might have held.  It has a knee pedal that was attached to the inside of the right knee area.  Kind of an interesting little thing!

  

It folds out to make a wide sewing surface.  I would like to convert it to fit the Singer 328k, but first I am going to try to figure out what machine SHOULD go in here! It's a little rough, but I think with a little love and care I can make it a great sewing table!!!

Knee pedal!  It is a BOCO Model 66 with a plug for the motor and for the light!  I have never seen anything like it.  I don't think I would like to sew with knee pedal! 

My new love of hand embroidery has been keeping me busy as well.  This is a great tree that I got from Aimee Ray's Doodle Stitching: The Motif Collection.  

http://www.dreamfollow.com/ 

I am starting to really like stitching trees.  As of now I am working on a tree designed by Jenny Hart of Sublime Stitching.  She has a great new way of designing embroidery that is more modern.

http://www.sublimestitching.com/

I  purchased a book called Redwork from The Workbasket.  

http://voguepatterns.mccall.com/redwork-from-the-workbasket----products-11067.php?page_id=1561 

I liked this book because it had a CD that accompanied the book that I could use to stitch out the patten from my embroidery machine.  It also has the patterns available for hand embroidery.  It has a wide variety of patterns that fit a number of occasions.  With a little technical help from a friend, I got the CD to work with my machine and the machine stitched this out:

I like the look, but it is almost too perfect!!  You can tell from the back that it is machine stitched.  In a pinch I would do the machine, but I am really enjoying the hand stitched look now!  

I have yet to finish my daughter's ladybug quilt.  It is in my "to do" pile, along with the tree skirt!  Once I start them, I make myself finish them!  So I am keeping myself out of trouble with sewing and potty training my three year old son!  What fun!  

Happy Crafting!!  :-}

Christmas in May!

Today as the sun is shining and the birds are singing, I am thinking of Christmas!  This week I have finished up some BIG projects and in my stash and projects cabinet I have a Christmas tree skirt I am working on!  I found these great red and white strips on sale at my local quilt shop and thought they would go great alternating with a solid piece of fabric.

 That's when I found this.  It is so beautiful.  The detail is so hard to see here but it is gorgeous!  

Love the white snow flakes!  Actually, I really just LOVE this fabric.  The colors are so Christmas! 

At the Denver Quilt Mart I found this wedge ruler that I have been looking for.  I have only seen it in magazines and I don't want to have to pay shipping on the crazy size!  It is a Phillips Fiber Art Ten Degree Wedge.  It makes a 50 inch circle with 36 wedges.  So I am cutting out 18 red and white wedges and 18 solid Christmas fabric wedges.  I will alternate them to form the circle!  

  

Here is the free pattern that comes with the wedge.  I am not going to make my wedges zig zag, just straight lines.  There was a book that accompanied the wedge that I could purchase that showed how to use this wedge to make butterflies and birds, but I just wanted to make the Christmas tree skirt.  I could use it to make GIANT dresden quilts too I guess!  

Here is the link to the wedge: http://www.phillipsfiberart.com/

While investigating this wedge, I found out they are from Delta, Colorado!  Cool!  Beautiful quilts made with this wedge!!!

Here is the book that went with the wedge.  http://phillipsfiberart.danemcoweb.com/shop/product/quilts-without-corners/ 
Here is a second book that also went with the wedge:
http://phillipsfiberart.danemcoweb.com/shop/product/encore-quilts-without-corners/ 

Happy crafting!

Done, done, done and done.

I recently did some napkins for my husband's silent auction at work.  I did these 4 season trees using some beautiful DMC variegated embroidery floss. 

I did 4 more cocktail napkins also.  The napkins were not the best cotton ones but I liked stitching the patterns!  I used patterns from Doodle Stitching: The Motif Collection.  http://www.dreamfollow.com/book.html

This is a great book with a wide variety of patterns to fit all sorts of occasions.  

These are the quilts I have completed for my nephews!  They will be so excited to get them!  In the mail and hopefully in their hands on Friday!

                         

Sublime Stitching: http://www.sublimestitching.com/ is having a little contest to see who's embroidery gets to be the newest shown on the website!  I was not sure about how to stitch this.  This is not a patten I would have normally picked to do, so it was nice to have something challenging.  LOVE the french knot hair and I was particularly proud of the girl in blue.  I was the first to post for the contest so I have not yet been able to compare mine to anyone else's.  We'll see how I fair among the experts out there!  Could be a LOOOONNNGGGG shot but I wanted to try something new!  

    

Going to run the Bolder Boulder on Monday!  Okay, Okay not run but wog (jog/walk)!!!  Here's to hoping I don't come in last of 50,000 runners!  

Happy crafting!  :-)

Last September I started a rag quilt using some flannel cupcake material and coordinating colors flannel material.  I cut the rag squares out using my AccuQuilt Go! Cutter and Rag Die Cut.  I ended up cutting out 270 squares!  LOVE this die cut!  It was so much easier to use the machine to cut the squares instead of using spring loaded scissors for each little cut!

I finished the quilt this last week!  It is so warm and toasty!  I have washed it twice and the lint just keeps on coming!  Cutting and sewing this quilt did a number on my allergies.  The fine lint and fibers were EVERYWHERE!  When I finished the project I had to take the bottom off of my machine to clean out all the fine lint!  When washing the quilt the water was swimming with small fibers! I had to take it out after washing and shake, shake, shake!  Still had to check the lint screen in the dryer every ten minutes!  I did this process twice!  When I took it to the Quilt Council meeting I had strings stuck to my shirt!  They are all over my chair where I cuddle with the kiddos and all over the bed comforter!  

LOVE it anyway, I may just need to wash it a couple more hundred times!  Every time I wash it the rags get puffier and puffier, so it's all good!  

The cupcake fabric is so cute!!

Happy Crafting!

Iris

I started working on some prairie style curtains.  They are going to be made of cotton 30 X 30 tea towels. I am going to applique some Iris flowers on them.  The Iris will be outlined in black to make them look like stained glass.  First we are going to dye the towels in a coffee grounds bath to give them a antiqued look.  

These are the towels after dying them.  When I ironed them the steam smelled like coffee!!!

This is one of finished panels for the window.  It is 22 1/2 X 24 inches.  They will be hung with a tension rod.  

Close up of the Iris Flower itself.  I liked the way they turned out.  I started by making a pattern stencil out of cardstock paper.  Then I traced out the stencils onto the paper side of the Heat-N-Bond Lite paper.  I made 10 of each piece, enough to make 10 flowers.  I then cut the pieces out and ironed them (sticky side down) onto some material that I found at the thrift store for .50 cents each a pillowcase!  I cut out the traced and ironed on pieces out of the fabric.  I laid the pieces onto the curtain and ironed them into place.  Then I outlined the pieces in black to give the flower the stained glass look.  After the second flower I was on a roll!    

This is the flour sack towel I hand embroidered to complete the Iris Flower design of the kitchen.  LOVED the curves in the leaves!  The whole project turned out great-until when completed I realized that I altogether forget to complete a whole curtain! 

BACK to the sewing machine!

Good thing I had some practice!  

Happy Crafting!

Quilts in progress...

I have been working on some quilts for family.  I started each one so that I could get excited about it and once it's started it HAS to be finished!  

Started a Scooby-Doo quilt for my nephew.  Simple 4-patch with a solid patch.  Finished quilt will be 60X60.  Hard to find Scooby-Doo material, but I liked this one a lot!!!  I used my new 5 inch square Charm Accuquilt die cut.  I LOVE this cut.  It can be used for so many patterns.  

This quilt is for my baby girl.  She wanted a ladybug quilt.  I used my Hexagon and Triangle Accuquilt die cut.  The Hexagon die is so cool.  I am going to create ladybugs when adding the rows!  You will have to wait and see how it all works out!  She wanted different colored ladybugs as opposed to all red ladybugs.  This one will be about 60X60 as well.  I may go a little bigger but I will have to see how it builds as I piece the hexagons.  

This is going to be a Pooh Bear quilt for my other nephew.  I had a 32X45 panel that I used for the center.  I am going to piece 5 inch squares around the edge.  This quilt will be a 60X60 quilt as well.  

I will post after pictures of all the quilts.  Now that they are started I can get to working on them!  BUT not after attending the Denver National Quilt Festival!!  

http://www.quiltfest.com/activities.asp?id=35

I am so so excited!  I missed the Pueblo Sew and Stitch Festival this year so this will definitely make up for it!  Can't wait!  

Happy stitching!  

This and That...

 I have been working on some hand embroidery projects that are finished now.  This blanket is for a baby shower later in the month. I used just a straight blue color to tie into the color scheme of the blanket.  This is the cutest little boy set from Aunt Martha's Little Boy's Quilt #3910 Iron on Transfers.  

I found these owls on the internet and copied them to make a little owl edging on my pillowcase.  I used browns, pink, and a little blue.  This was fun because they each had their own personalities and expressions!  

This is one side of the pillowcase:

 This is the other side of the pillowcase:

This little owl is my favorite one of all! 

I am working on a new quilting program called Quilt-Pro 5.  It is a program especially made for MAC computers.   I looked at the EQ-7 program but it seemed to have some bugs that needed working out if used on a MAC windows VMware Fusion program.  I have been playing with the program but it is complicated!  I had to have the manual RIGHT next to me to figure it all out.  I did design a quilt/comforter for my mom's bed.  It is going to be 109X109!  I am using big squares to create the design with a hand embroidery pattern of flowers in the middle.  I hope to get cutting on this soon.  I like the program because it gives me all the material measurements, binding measurements and other information for finishing the quilt out.  I love that it tells me how much material I will need for a project!  

Still working on my flannel cup-cake rag blanket.  All I have to do is sew X's on each square then sew them together.  I guess it is so monotonous that I always put it aside for something more challenging.  Maybe I should slip in Top Gun and sew for a couple of hours!  :-)

Had some requests from family members for a couple of quilts and some other projects.  I also have had some requests for Cricut covers.  I am planning on doing them all in one day so that I can cut and sew using the pattern and get them checked off the ol' list!  

Summer is just around the corner!  We are planning on making it to the Denver National Quilt Festival at the end of this month.  I am so excited!  Then off to the Bolder Boulder to WOG (walking/jogging)!  Next is my baby boy's birthday, my baby girl's birthday and pre-school graduation!  Birthday parties, Chucky Cheese, swimming in Salida and The Lady Bug Shop!   YEAH!  

Happy crafting all!  :-)

New embroidery projects

I worked on a couple of patterns from a book by Aimee Ray.  http://www.dreamfollow.com/book.html  

I got the newest book called Doodle Stitching The Motif Collection.  The patterns are new and modern.  It comes with a CD that contains all the patterns in the book.  The patterns can be adjusted by size to accommodate any project.

Mermaid for blanket, stitched the edge with wave decorative stitches.

Wall hanging embroidered in hoop and kept there for hanging.

Red work using Aunt Martha's hot iron on transfers.  http://www.acmenotions.com/nanki.html

Our local Curves needed a wall hanging.  I used my Cricut to cut out the letters and then appliqued them onto the this beautiful material.  I free motion quilted around the lettering and then applied the binding using my machine.  

Lots of stitching going on here...  My mom asked me to count how many projects I had to do.  I counted eleven then I found three more that I am currently working on!  Happy stitching!  :-)

New find!

I was able to acquire some awesome old antique handmade hand towels and some runners.  They are gorgeous and have some meticulous hand embroidery.  Whomever did these did a wonderful job on the pattern and stitching.  If only I could know the maker of these projects!  I love looking and the tiny stitches and wondering who the person was!  

Colorado Gift

A lady from my mom's work is moving to Texas.  The staff was trying to think of a gift to give her so she could remember Colorado...  I suggested a picture frame with some hand embroidery.  I created this and everyone signed it.  I picked up a picture frame from Goodwill and refurbished it.  I painted the frame black and antiqued it.  It turned out good I think.   I hope she likes it and remembers Colorado!

No idea how to make this picture stay rotated upright!  :-)

New treasures

We took a little trip east to work on my father-in-laws baby cows.  I got to go to one of my favorite quilting shops.  http://www.quiltersdepot.net/  I love this little shop so much!  I got some goodies.

The calender quilts packet is so cute!  I cannot wait to get to the different months projects!  The picture does nothing to show the beautiful orange swirl fabric.  I also picked up some cute little Christmas tree lights material.  

I also got some t-shirts from my sister-in-law to make a t-shirt memory quilt.  There are some classic t's in this bunch.  My husband is trying to steal some of them!  I will have to hide them from him until I finish the quilt!

I got a chance to go to my favorite thrift stores too.  I picked up a great light box for my embroidery patterns.  It cost 99 cents!!!! It is a Crayola Light Box.   Cannot beat that!  The batteries cost more to get it to work.  Crossed my fingers and the light bulb was working great!  

I picked up some old metal zippers in hope of creating some 3-D flower creations.  I hope to make these:

Into these:

http://www.cutoutandkeep.net/projects/zipper-flowers