Greetings Blog Friends!
I'm moving along with the June Queue projects. Here is what has been completed so far:
Project using gathered eyelet trim. Accent decor for my craft room. The pillow front was part of a fat quarter bundle I got years ago. I have since passed on the fat quarters and have been wondering what to do with this one. I used it for free motion practice, then decided it would make a cute 12" x 16" accent pillow for my craft room. I'm displaying it atop my display shelf.
Project using pillow forms. (coordinate with All You Need Is Love quilt). Made with left over fabrics and the pillow forms were $1 each at a recent quilt show.
Project using curtain rods. Window valances for my craft room/office. Fabrics from the Stonehenge It's A Stitch collection. This is the third project to use this fabric line. There is a quilt and a zip top tote bag also made of this collection.
Project using a curtain rod. My kitchen consists of white cabinets, gray quartz countertop, gray vinyl plank flooring, black appliances and red, red, red accents (including red knobs on drawers and cabinet doors). I needed a little pop of color above the window and also to hide the unattractive but functional pot light above the sink. This fabric was a recent purchase on my bus trip in April to Missouri Star Quilt Company. It is from the Scarlet Romance collection by Blank Quilting. I came home with a jelly roll (see next week's post) and 3 yards of fabric. This was one use for some of it.
Project using a garment sewing pattern. Summer robe for Me! (see the detailed post on this here). I love it and have been using it each morning.
And...an update on the room addition construction: Concrete is poured and cured. Our builder will hopefully be able to start actual construction this coming week...if he can dodge the raindrops long enough!
I'll report on the remainder of the June Queue next week. Till then...
Hi Blog Friends...
So, what comes to mind when you read the title to this post? Well, if you are a Baby Boomer, the Beatles come to mind. I can hear John Lennon's voice singing this song in my head right now as I write this.
Anyone who knows me knows that I love the Beatles...always have, always will. I had the wonderful opportunity to see Paul McCartney in concert at County Stadium in Milwaukee 26 years ago and again this past weekend at Lambeau Field in Green Bay. He still looks and sounds great. Denis and I had a wonderful time. Here is Sir Paul at his best...
I have also been working on a quilt for myself lately. The top was finished and the quilt was pinned in May, but had to wait for a couple of weeks for quilting and binding. (A rummage sale and retirement party took precedence!) Well, $400 in my pocket and 1 retired husband later, I'm back to the sewing room and to finishing this quilt.
I picked up this quilt kit on my recent trip to Missouri (see that post here. ). I found this at Quilting Expressions in LeClaire, Iowa on our last day out. It was on sale, with an added discount just for our bus! I also got the backing that day, also on sale, so it was an economical project. The pattern is called Square Lattice Quilt by mckay manor musers. Fabrics features a printed panel and coordinating fabrics from the Love Lives Here collection by Clothworks. The quilt name comes directly from one of the panels. I chose to quilt it in straight line, cross hatch and outline grids. Finished size is 45" x 60".
I'm not completely satisfied with the outcome of the quilt. It was great before I quilted it. Finished product, however, not so great. It is very "puckery" (for lack of a better word). The fabrics were a lightweight, fine weave. I used a walking foot, but this one gave me so much trouble. In retrospect, I realize that I probably should have lessened the presser foot pressure a little. At the time, I didn't even think of it, as I never had had to do it before now. Oh well...Live and Learn. And, as the saying goes, "Nothing handmade is perfect". This one certainly isn't, but I'll keep it and display it anyway. (It actually looks worse in the photograph than it does in person). I'm also considering a redo. Wish me better luck on the next projects...
...next time, a June Queue Update!!
Hello Blog Friends,
It is throw-back Wednesday! Journey with me back to the 1970's with this project I just completed.
I have been looking for a lightweight, cotton summer robe, longer length, buttons down the front. I didn't want terrycloth, knit or fleece. I didn't want a tie front. I guess what I really wanted was something they used to call a "duster" housecoat. Exactly!! But, can you find one in the stores today....No. So, I went to eBay and found a vintage uncut robe and nightgown pattern, found suitable fabric at JoAnn Fabrics, came home and started sewing. The fabric I used is a mint green with a subtle white shimmery dot (best way I can describe that). I added some lace to the collar to make it stand out a bit from the rest of the robe and white buttons to coordinate. I, of course, had to shorten the overall length and sleeves before cutting (I always have found these patterns seem to be designed with the Amazon woman in mind!). I hemmed the sleeves at wrist length, as I wanted them loose (no cuffs or elastic). Pockets are set into the side seams and the hem falls about ankle length.
The pattern's version:
My version:
The sewing went really fast...I completed this in about 10 hours of sewing. I'm really liking this project...just what I wanted, functional and no hand sewing at all. It has been awhile since I did any garment sewing...the 5/8" seam allowance seemed huge compared to the 1/4" I've been using for quilting the past 10 years. And although it has been 15-20 years since I've done any garment sewing, all the tips and tricks I learned in the past came back...it must be just like riding a bicycle...once learned, you never forget!
I wanted this so I can have my morning coffee on the new deck that is coming this summer. Also, I am traveling in August with other members of my family and we will be staying together in a rented house. It will be a nice cover up for that, too.
This is an item on the June Queue list...but, I felt it needed a blog post all to itself!
On to the next item in the queue....
Greetings Blog Friends,
After a couple of weeks off from the craft room (one week for rummage sale, one week for Denis' Retirement Party, life has now (sort of) settled into a "new norm"...no longer will I put in long days home alone...Denis is now retired. When I asked a friend of mine how to deal with a retired engineer, she answered without hesitation..."Avoid and Ignore". I'll take it under advisement, Cathy, but so far it's going well.
We have been busy this first week, as construction has begun on a room addition off the back of our house. There will be commotion here now for the next 6 weeks as construction progresses. After that, there will be a family trip to Colorado. I don't expect we will settle into any kind of dual retirement routine until September. One thing Denis is finding out already, tho...he's busier now in retirement than he was when he worked! LOL
Here's the first phase of construction: the foundation wall. What a mess!
After the three quilts I finished in May (and one top not quilted or bound yet), I'm ready for some smaller, instant gratification type projects, although to be honest, none are really instant. But, they are all different and sometimes quicker to complete than a quilt.
Here's a shot of the materials pile: (Yes, some fabrics are leftovers from recent projects! Go Stash!)
One project involves a jelly roll.
One project involves a garment sewing pattern.
One project involves gathered eyelet trim.
One project involves a printed panel.
One project involves a curtain rod.
More than one project involve pillow forms.
Stay tuned to see the results!
Till next time...
Greetings Blog Friends,
Here is another stash-busting project. I bought this quick pillow kit from Keep Me In Stitches during their going out of business sale last fall. I love this fabric, so much so that I have a kit in the stash for a quilt that features paper-pieced Mariner's Compass blocks. It is not in the queue yet, but is waiting patiently in the stash.
This pillow is made from fabrics in the Measure Collection by Windham Fabrics. The quilt will be stunning, but for now I'll just admire the fabrics in the form of this pillow. It measures 18" x 18".
I love the Beatles, always have, always will. I was 13 when they came to America for the first time. The song "All You Need Is Love" hit the charts in 1967, written by Lennon-McCartney. It is one of my favorites. It is also the name of my next project.
Stay tuned for more...."Love Is All You Need".
Greetings Blog Friends,
Today I'm showing you a special project I have been working on...I must confess that for the past month I have been "sewing in secret." This project is a quilt given as a Retirement Gift for my husband Denis. He is a Mechanical Design Engineer working in the paper making industry. In his job, he used the mythical number known as Pi (3.1415926535...) in calculations quite often. When I found this pattern online several years ago, I knew it would be perfect for this life event.
Pattern is by Cheryl Brickey of A Meadow Mist Designs. It calls for paper-pieced numbers, but I chose to applique instead. Each block features a raw edge applique number 4.5 inches high. Instead of "dots", I used an apple motif, and embroidered the stem and leaves. (Denis not only loves the numberical pi, but also loves Apple Pie). I chose a very simple quilting design, a straight line grid. Finished size: 50" x 62".
Fabrics: Light gray Grunge by Moda for block backgrounds and sashing. Numbers and dark inner border is a blender print by Timeless Treasures. Quilters Linen by Robert Kaufman was used in outer border and binding was from the Bear Essentials line by P & B Textiles.
This quilt was made to be used as a wall hanging, so I also attached a hanging sleeve. Denis' first project as a retired person is to make a quilt hanger for his very own quilt. It will be one of many made, I'm sure. The quilt will hang in his office, which is under construction as this very moment.
This quilt features a custom label...created from images found online and printed it on fabric.
Next up...what is in the June sewing queue? (I love the word "queue", by the way). It is so British/European sounding! Until then...
Great Day in the Morning, Blog Friends!
Today I want to share my latest sewing project, but first a little background...remember the bus trip I went on in April to Missouri Star Quilt Company? See that post here. Well, I found some great fabric in one of the shops and bought enough to make pillowcases, five in all.
This fabric is based on the Dr. Suess classic, "Oh! The Places You'll Go". I love this book as a graduation gift, something whimsical for the graduate. The first of five high school graduations is looming on the horizon, grandson Conner will graduate in 2021. After that, the other four grands will follow suit, one each year until Bridget in 2025. Well, you can imagine how bulky 8 yards of fabric is and how much space it takes up in my fabric cupboard! I decided to make all the pillowcases up now, so they will be done when I need them and take up less storage space. All are made with the same main and lower fabric, but each one has a different color for the accent strip between the two.
I plan to pair each pillowcase with the book and some CA$H as my gift for a job well done.
How is that for planning ahead and being prepared? I think I'll give myself a gold star for that!
A new project new time...till then...
