Tuesday, July 31, 2012

WIP - family tree by sarah jane

WIP .  .  .  .

I've been working on this family tree wall hanging by Sarah Jane from her Children at Play line.  Sarah Jane has the cutest illustrations!   She has a whole room full of coordinating fabrics in this line. 

Check out this recent doodle on her sketch pad, she's naming it "Mora and her magic bunnies".  SO CutE!!!



My daughter-in-law embroidered all her ancestral info on this sampler, and asked me to quilt it for her. 



I decided to quilt around all the figures instead of meandering through the whole piece like on Sarah Jane's website.  



But I still feel like I need to quilt a tight meander in the light pink, surrounding all the figures, which will make them pop even more.



A quilted running flower through the border adds a nice finish.




Second grand-baby born:




linked up to:


Monday, July 30, 2012

baptism quilt

My friend made a baptism quilt for her 8 year old grand daughter, and asked me to quilt it for her.


She's a beginning quilter, so she kept the piecing simple and used 8 inch squares.  (you could make it simpler by using a layer cake, 10 inch squares pre-cut).











The quilting symbolized water and waves.  I like Tallgrass Prairie Studio's tutorial on Organic Line Quilting



Quilting is slick with the nifty Sweet Sixteen from Handi Quilter.



A stripped binding gives it the modern look.





The back has some nice personal touches.








Linked up to:

Skip to my LOUShow Off Mondays at Kampen Lane Designs, Sew Can Do


Wednesday, July 25, 2012

re-organize

A couple years ago, I was getting tired of my bedroom desk being the "catch all" for every piece of paper or project that didn't have a designated home.  I decided to do a little organizing.



I purchased this file cabinet from Pottery Barn, and organized a bunch of files inside for all my current projects.  All problems are solved when you purchase from Pottery Barn, right?  warm fuzzies?  I put this nifty basket on top to catch any scragglers.  


It seemed to work for a little while.



The past few weeks, I've spent a lot of time in bed, recovering from a medical procedure.  I am a "side sleeper"  so 50% of my time in bed I've had to look at   THIS:


 The "catch all basket" for scragglers had over flowed back onto the desk top.  As I layed there looking at this mess,  I was humiliated, appauled, disappointed in myself.  "I" am organized!  "I am simple"  I pride myself on that!  How could this happen???  

I realized that I was missing a few things.  I am a great believer in using the ABC method for organizing.  
A - things I use every day have a designated place with the easiest access
B - weekly items a little less assessable
C - monthly items on the bottom or top shelf

A few reasons why my previous organizing project failed:
1.  I'm not going to bend over on a daily basis to get into that file cabinet for my "A" items, even if it is from Pottery Barn.
2.  There was no place for my "B" items.   A second level of filing is needed.  If it's not easy and convenient, it's not going to happen.
3.  The basket for my "A" items ran a high risk of failure . . . not enough organization to it.

SOLUTION:


I purchased this shelving unit from Target, to house my A and B items (much easier access).

The square basket from Target will house my A items, nicely organized with clear file folders (see below).

My B items will go into the Classic Stolkholm Magazine File boxes which are now on sale at The Container Store.  


They are labeled with my busiest projects that I'm housing in that area.


My new found love are these clear file folders from Office Depo.  They also come in colors, but I usually prefer clear.  They "contain" all the different projects such as my recent trip, waiting to be documented.   




 The Pottery Barn file cabinet will continue to house my "C" items.  


 The top basket, hopefully will stay empty, just for decoration :)

MISSION ACCOMPLISHED.



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Everything has a home.


Wednesday, July 18, 2012

WiP - Reunion @ midnight

Been working on several projects this week, hemming pants (seems like I'm always hemming pants), kitchen towels, placemats . . . and another college quilt. . . 


Sewing strips together of "Reunion @ midnight." 




I'm linked up!

Monday, July 16, 2012

reunion and lucy's crab shack kitchen towels

I love making a kitchen/guest bath towel for each line of sweetwater fabric that comes out.  They add interest in what ever room I choose to put them in.  

I'm perfecting the kitchen towel tutorial I use, for my own selfish reasons.  I want a fast, clear path when it comes time to making the next.  



The fishing line method to making ruffles is MUCH faster.  Just sew a zig zag down your gather line, running over a strand of fishing line.  (leave a good 5 inches hanging out the start).






Position the beginning of ruffle on towel and clamp in place, including (especially) your fishing line.  Pull the fabric until the gathers match your desired length.  Then clamp the other end.  Even out the ruffles and pin in place. 



 Draw a pre-measured line to save time.  Sew ruffle in place.  Pull out fishing line.   Work your project so that you rarely have to cut the fishing line.  I've been using the same spool for 25 years!






I've been watching a robin's nest outside my sewing room (aka dinning room) window with 3 baby birds the past few days.  Each day they have a bit more fuzz and seem a little more anxious to stretch their wings and "fly the coop".    A little gift to let me know I'm loved from above.


Linking to:

Manic Monday and  Little Quilt Monday

Monday, July 9, 2012

pacific coast

There's nothing like a spending a week in quiet, serene places, to rejuvenate the soul.



majestic redwoods:




this one is about 800 years old!




 open spaces, lots of water, boats:







 pacific coast:






. . . a little ironic to see this flock of nesting white pelican in the famous "Bodega Bay", where Alfred Hitchcock's "The Birds" was filmed.



love light houses . . .



I wish I had the self-confidence of a pelican 








It was a bit colder than we thought it'd be, we broke in "apron strings".

Wednesday, July 4, 2012

Apron Strings

Apron Strings on Lake Tahoe.






I have loved this pattern by Sweetwater since it came out.  

I wanted to make this quilt for a college twin size bed (extra long).  Thank you to the ladies at Elaine's Quilt Block, in Salt Lake City, they helped with the adjustments.  This fun quilt store sits at the base of the beautiful Wasatch Mountains and has some great deals that come to you if you sign up for the emails.  Also, the first person there each morning gets to pick "the bolt of the day", which is discounted at 30%.

The pattern calls for 1.25 inch strips.  I used a jelly roll @ 2.50 inch strips.










I sewed 2 triangles to a pre-cut square of the bella white.  



After both were sewn to the white square, I cut down the middle.  This process seems to cut down on bias issues.










quilt stats:
80" x 68" unwashed
fabric is Reunion by Sweetwater
Bella White
quilting is straight line and meandering squares on the border
batting is Warm and Natural


















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