Scraps

Now that I have my fabric organized I am taking all of my scraps and putting them into long strips by their color and value. My plan is  to make one big-ass quilt by making small  squares and  placing  them together in an order that will look like a burst of something.  I'm not so sure if that makes sense but it is just the beginning. I believe this will be a winter project.

Anxiety



Every year before I begin a new school year I start to "freak out" and organize and clean anything I can get my hands on.  This year I took my fabric and folded it by color instead of it being rolled up. I just love the way it looks and I feel better already.  I guess... I thougth... I would share this with you.

"Char" Pillows

My dear childhood friend Charlene cross stitched the birds and put them into frames. I'm guessing 20 years ago. (I have always had a fetish for birds)  Over the years my tastes have changed and I did not know what to do with the birdies.  Knowing that Charlene made them I knew they would be with me for life as anything home made and heart felt should.  Right? So I made them the center piece of each pillow and they seem to be very happy with their new home. The blue gray quilt seems to be happy too.  I know I am. Thanks Char!

Father's Day

Sometimes we spend days looking for those special colors to make a quilt. Maybe we need to take a look at our surroundings and we will find those special colors. Along with those colors we may find that one special person.  A father.

Blue / Gray

I had ordered some fabric from Denyse Schmidt and found it to be so different than the batik I normally use I needed to think out of the box and make a new plan of attach. I thought I'd use it and make a new quilt for our bed making it look more like an old quilt. So I took a ride up to my favorite Hancock's near Midway Airport and found some other fabric to compliment it. The weather has been in the 90's and humid and it has given my one big massive headache. Away we go into fabric land.

Pillows

I began to look around my house and everything seemed so blah blah blah for summer. So I found some old pillows covered in dull colors and recovered them in these cooler prints which changed the whole look of the room. They seemed to "happy up" our living space. I feel like summer has arrived and I love looking at them. My girlfriend just painted her living room and she is ready to cover her pillows to give them a happy change! It makes me feel good that someone follows my design change. I know pretty hard to believe!

Oh and not to "dog" anyone out. The measurements I received for Hannah's quilt were given to me by the father. He measured the mattress and not the over hang which is what I wanted. Therefore the cool, hip quilt I made ended up only fitting over the top of the bed. A word to the wise do not let your hubby's measure the bed. (Sorry cousin Ricky just had to say it) Back to the drawing board. Whatever...

Turquiose

I have been telling my Cousin Ricky and his wonderful wife Lisa that I wanted to make a quilt for their wild, fun, energetic, heart felt daughter Hannah. So I had in my mind pink. I think I always do because that is my favorite color and I like to work with it. When Lisa told me she is into turquoise I thought, "What is THAT? Is it Arizona turquoise and if so that will suck to work with because I just spent a day in Santa Fe and I am over THAT turquoise. Or is it ocean turquoise? Mmmm.... Water I LOVE that. So I gathered some colors I thought might go together then I went on the hunt for "turquoise". I new I needed a little something to pull it together and the lady at Joann's found just what I needed. So I bought it and you can see it showing through and how it made the rest of the blanket look "turquoise". I decided the pattern I would use would be stripes then cut them into shorter ones and sew together. It is a Denysee Schmidt classic. When I finished I had just enough to make four big squares then I would cut from there. After looking up the size of a full bed I knew I did not have enough. So I called Lisa and had her measure. AAHH This morning Lisa sent me the measurements 53X72! Perfect. I knew I had just enough to make into a "Happy Hip Hannah Quilt".

Bob the Builder

I could not find a table to put my big-ass new sewing machine on in my plant room. It seems as thought my dining room was always getting eaten up by the sewing machine and fabric. Ugh. We wanted something simple and that is hard to find. So after moping around on a rainy day Bob decided to tackle the project himself. I know that is very scary to some of you but I had complete confidence in "Bob the Builder". He went to Home Depot and bought the top and four legs. It was a little wobbly at first but our neighborhood inspector came over and suggested braces. So when Andy the inspector speaks we listen. He put the supports on today and the wobble is gone. In the background is Kylie's second scrap quilt to be put on her top bunk bed. This will pull the room together and make her happy. That is a good thing. I love my new room with my work table. I am going to stain it a mauve color or weird green. I need something that draws me in to be creative. If only it was that easy. :)

Table Runner

I am starting to use my new sewing machine and it rocks! I decided to finish a table runner and just let it rip. It is fun to try new stitches and it is almost liberating because you don't have don't have to think so much. After a day in the jungle it is really relaxing. Just let the machine do its thing. Kind of like rock n roll! We all know you can never have too much of that!

New Needles

I just purchased a new sewing machine. It is a Huskavarna 835. It has all kinds of new features that I am having a hard time to get used to. Oh well it is time for a new challenge and maybe this will inspire me to try new things. It is so much bigger than my other one and seems like a I am driving a bigger car. As I read the directions a new project will emerge I can feel it in my bones!

Doggies Everywhere

This quilt was made for a man from Texas named Ken. He found me on my website and from there we made a plan. He emailed me the pictures and I printed them on fabric photo paper. Then we decided on a background color and away we went. When it was time to find another color for it I would email him options then he would pick them out. It was quite a fun process and I learned a lot about myself. Hope it is making the dog lover happy!

Winter Blues

I took a knitting class at a really neat place called Loopy Yarns on the south side of Chicago. After a few weeks and a little drama I finished my scarf and hat. It was very stressful for me because I had to pay attention. Knit five pearl five over and over and over and over. Ugh So I felt like I needed to have some needle success and ended making a granny afghan. I just could not stop once I started! So there it is. I made the squares larger which gave it a bit of a modern twist but it really is drab. That's OK it pulled me through January and February. Amen to that!