Tulips in Bloom!

Hello Blog Friends!

I have tulips in bloom!  These are growing in a flower bed on the south side of our house.  It is the same bed the daffodils graced earlier this spring (you can see pics of these on a earlier post). 

These are a very pretty dark rose/purple color.  Aren't they lovely?

 

Next post I have some very special quilts to share with you.  See you next time!

Little Princess in Pink and Purple Doll Quilts

Hello Blog Friends,

Remember the Princess in Pink and Princess in Purple bed quilts I made for my granddaughters?  Well, for Christmas (2012) Denis and I decided to give the girls 18" dolls, complete with a doll bunk bed, doll closet and doll clothes.  It was a gift that Denis, Mom and I all had a hand in.  Denis made the doll closet, Mom made the doll clothes, and I made the doll bedding.  We purchased the bunk bed.

Here are the two dolls (making like Vanna White) with their beds and the two doll quilts that I made for them.  Yep, I had enough of the pink princess fabrics left over to make two quilts.  I also made a flannel blanket and a pillow and pillowcase for their little heads to lie on. 

 
The quilts were made of 4 nine-patch  blocks with sashing, borders, and a traditional binding.  The pillowcase was made with French seams, of course.

 Denis made the doll closet to fit the clothes hangers. 

I think the most fun I had with this was posing the dolls for these pictures!

 

Hailey and Bridget were thrilled to receive the dolls and all their gear.  I hear from their momma that they play with them everyday.

Princess in Purple Bed Quilt

Hello Blog Friends!

Today I'd like to share the second of two (almost) identical bed quilts I made for my granddaughters several years ago for Christmas.  (See my previous post for the first one).   To recap, I have two granddaughters, Hailey and Bridget.  Hailey is the oldest of the two sisters by one year.  The girls share a room and got new twin beds in the summer of 2010.  I had made curtains for the windows in their room earlier that year.  I was lucky enough to find more fabric in the same collection, and made matching quilts for their beds.  The fabric is all 100% Cotton Glitter Fabrics (Princess Collection) by Fabric Essentials.

This one was made for Hailey (who loves purple), with a purple H in the center block.  Again, I used my Cricut machine to size and cut the pattern for the center initial block (using the Hello Kitty alphabet).  It is appliquéd with a tight zig-zag stitch for durability.

The pattern for the block is an Attic Windows variation called "Window Wonders" from Quick and Easy Weekend Quilting with Sulky by Joyce Drexler. The pattern utilized a strip set for the vertical centers of the blocks and the fold back method for the triangle corners.  This was a quick and easy quilt top to piece, using only rectangles and squares, and no triangles.  The triangles in the top are a product of a sewing technique and are an optical illusion.
  I quilted it in a large cross-hatch pattern through the center of each block, but not through the center alphabet block.  Each quilt has 34 window blocks and 1 center alphabet blocks.  That is a total of 70 blocks!  I saw nothing but pink and purple for an entire month!  The smiles on their faces, however, was worth every minute!

 Here is Hailey with her quilt.

Here is Bridget with her quilt.

Hailey loves her quilt and was equally impressed (as was Bridget) that it matched the curtains in their room.  Little did they know, however, that they would see this pink glittery fabric one more time.  My next post will solve that mystery for you.

Until next time as you wait in anticipation....

Princess in Pink Bed Quilt

Hello Blog Friends!

Another successful rummage sale is done and over!  Now I can get back to the business of crafting again.

Today I'd like to share one of two (almost) identical bed quilts I made for my granddaughters several years ago for Christmas.  I have two granddaughters, Hailey and Bridget.  Hailey is the oldest of the two sisters by one year.  The girls share a room and got new twin beds in the summer of 2010.  I had made curtains for the windows in their room earlier that year.  I was lucky enough to find more fabric in the same collection, and made matching quilts for their beds.  The fabric is all 100% Cotton Glitter Fabrics (Princess Collection) by Fabric Essentials.

One of the girls likes pink and the other likes purple.  This one was made for Bridget, with a pink B in the center block.  I used my Cricut machine to size and cut the pattern for the center initial block (using the Hello Kitty alphabet).  It is appliquéd with a tight zig-zag stitch for durability.


The pattern for the block is an Attic Windows variation called "Window Wonders" from Quick and Easy Weekend Quilting with Sulky by Joyce Drexler. The pattern utilized a strip set for the vertical centers of the blocks and the fold back method for the triangle corners.  This was a quick and easy quilt top to piece, using only rectangles and squares, and no triangles.  The triangles in the top are a product of a sewing technique and are an optical illusion.  I quilted it in a large cross-hatch pattern through the center of each block, but not through the center alphabet block.



 

Bridget was very impressed with her quilt, and loved the fact that it matched her curtains!  I'll share Hailey's quilt in my next post.

 

Cocoa and Cream Flannel Quilt

Hello Blog Friends,

I've been away from the blog for a few day, spending my time getting ready for a big rummage sale this weekend.  There is sets of dishes, scrapbooking, stamping and sewing stuff, housewares, a kitchen hutch, and lots and lots of misc.  It took quite a bit of time for set up and pricing.

I thought I'd share a quilt I made for my oldest daughter, Kristy, for her birthday in 2012.  She had recently been divorced, and was alone for her January birthday last year.  When I saw the sewn sample of this quilt, it reminded me of her, as she loves snowmen, and one of her favorite color combinations is blue and brown. 

 

 
I purchased the fabric and pattern as a kit from Piece by Piece Quilt Shop in Appleton.  It is made of flannels from the "I Love Snow Collection" by Henry Glass.  Finished size is 56" x 68".  It was made using a panel that required some fussy-cutting.  I had enough fabric left over to make a matching pillow.  You can see a close up of the fabrics in the photo of the pillow.

I used a cross-hatch quilting pattern on the quilt, since I wanted it to remain soft and cuddly (Kristy is a blankie girl in the winter).  I used one of the fancy stitches on my machine for some of the quilting (in the borders and in the corners.)  I chose a stitch that reminded me of a snowflake.

I had fun making this quilt.  I got to work with my favorite fabric...flannel!

Jollie Jiraffe Minkee Quilt

Hello Blog Friends,

Today I am sharing a cute little baby quilt with you, made from cottons in pastel pinks, blues and yellows, as well as with minkee fabric.  This quilt was actually purchased as a kit from Going to Pieces Quilt Shop in Appleton.  I purchased it in 2011 to make as a gift for a friend who was expecting a little girl.

It is simply made using rows of 5" squares.  Even the giraffe is made from squares.  A prairie point for an ear and minkee tubes for the giraffe's mane lend a 3-D quality to the quilt.  Her eyes and mouth are appliqued used black scraps.

This was my first time working with the Minkee fabrics.  Lessons I learned:

• Minkee has a definite "nap".
• Minkee has a tendency to curl, so needs to be securely pinned before sewing.
• Careful pressing is a must when working with Minkee.  A steam iron on the bumps will make them disappear (guess how I learned this lesson?)
• When joining Minkee to a woven fabric, sew with the Minkee on the bottom.

This quilt is 42" x 55".  Solid purple minkee was used for the back.  I kept the quilting to a minimum to preserve the soft and cuddly feel of the quilt.

Tulip Garden Flannel Lap Quilt

Hello Blog Friends!

In my last post, I shared the flannel quilt I made for Denis to use in our chilly lower level.  Well, once I made his, I realized that I needed a nice warm flannel quilt too!  Now we have "His & Hers" flannel quilts.  Both are made from the same pattern, but are quite different in presentation.

I chose to make my quilt a bit more feminine, of course.  While making the rounds of the quilt shops in Wausau several years ago, I found a line of flannel by Maywood Studios (aptly names Tulips) that captured my soul (you all know that feeling!)  I just absolutely had to have it.  The inspiration fabric for my quilt is the larger tulip print in the outer border.  This print is also the flannel I used for the back.  A smaller tulip print in the same fabric line was used for the center blocks.  A pink heather print was used for the sashing and binding and is from Maywood's Woolies line.  A green and cream dot was used for the inner and outer cornerstones (also by Maywood). 

As in Denis' lap quilt, I again used the pattern "Flannel Flinders Too" by Pine Tree Lodge Designs.  I used a solid outer border of my inspiration fabric, and a traditional one fabric binding.  Quilting was kept to a simple cross-hatch pattern through the center blocks, and a straight line all the way around through the outer border.  I also stitched a tulip motive in the outer border cornerstones.

I'm happy to report that my quilt keeps me very warm, indeed!

 

Flannel Squared Flannel Lap Quilt

Hello friends,

I am once again hard at work making curtains, and trying to get them finished up so my grandsons can enjoy them.  In the meantime, I'd like to share another of my finished quilts.

We live in a split level home.  When you come in the front door, you are in a small landing with stairs going up and down.  Bedrooms, kitchen and dining room are upstairs, and a family room, Denis' office, and my office/craft room are downstairs.  Since the majority of the lower level is below ground, it gets chilly down there, especially in the winter.  My poor husband was freezing while watching TV, a movie, or reading.  So, what better thing to do but to make him a nice, warm lap quilt, made of flannel of course! 

Flannel is my absolute favorite fabric to work with.  If I could make nothing but flannel quilts, life would be perfect.  Of course, I know that flannel is not quite suited for every purpose.  It was well suited to this one, however. 

 

This quilt is made from the pattern "Flannel Flinders Too" by Pine Tree Lodge Designs.  (I've linked their name to their website.  This pattern is still current.)   Since I wanted this quilt to have a masculine feel, I chose to make it scrappy and used a variety of different prints in blues, browns, and dark reds.  The quilt features sashing and a cornerstones surrounding each solid block.  It also features a pieced outer border, and a pieced binding from all the fabrics in the quilt.  No fabric went to waste on this one!  The backing is a green heather flannel print.  Quilting was kept to a simple cross-hatch pattern through the center blocks, and a straight line all the way around through the outer border. 

The quilt is 51" x 66" and was made in 2010.  It was easy to and fun to make.  It has kept Denis warm now through two winters, and is also a favorite spot for Betty the Kat to nap (especially when Denis' lap is underneath it!).

Sun Halo

Hello blog friends!

Denis and I were in Sturgeon Bay last weekend, and saw this beautiful but strange weather phenomenon, called a sun halo.  According to Wikipedia, they are formed when light is refracted from hexagonal ice crystals in high and cold cirrus clouds.  The crystals act as prisms, bending the light rays passing through them.

I thought it was really cool, and I was lucky enough to get this shot.  The halo was quite large in the sky, and I managed to get the entire thing in the frame.  This is nothing short of COOL!  (The framework in the lower left corner is part of the 200 ton gantry crane at Bay Shipbuilding Company.  We were on a tour when I noticed the halo and took the shot.)

Pages and Pages in Books

Hello Blogger friends,

I've been relaxing a bit this week, recuperating from scrapbooking retreat.  It was very hard to get back in the groove of working again, and this week seemed especially long for some reason...perhaps it is the cold and rainy weather that has once again descended upon us.

I thought I would share with you the bulk of my scrapbooking work.  Here is a photo of the completed scrapbooks I have made.  They currently sit on the lower shelf of my sofa table, as you can see.

Most of my books are travel related books, however, I do have two volumes of Christmas, one of our wedding and honeymoon, one volume of my Quilt Diary, and one complete volume devoted to my kitty girl, Betty the Kat.  From time to time, I'll pull out some favorite layouts and share them with you.

Daffodils in Bloom!

Hello friends! 

Spring has arrived here in Wisconsin!  An official sign of spring is the  blooming of the daffodils.  Here are a couple of pictures of my daffodil flower bed on the south side of our house.  I transplanted the bulbs from another location in the yard several years ago, and it has taken them a few years to establish themselves. 

There are more buds ready to bloom there in the center, and also notice the white flowers just coming out on the far right.

Tulips are also planted in this bed and will soon come to bloom.  You can see some of their leaves in the picture. 

The bulbs are planted in a narrow area between a pea stone walkway and the house.  Covering the soil is a layer of 1 1/2" river rock.  The spring sun warms the stones, which in turn warms the earth below, waking the bulbs from their long winter's rest.  It is always such a ray of hope for spring's renewal when I see the first green shoots make their way through the rocks.  It is as if the daffodils themselves with their sunny yellow faces are welcoming spring once again.