Aprons

I needed a new apron, i've been wearing one that my Grandmother made, forty or fifty years ago. I used that apron as a pattern to create two aprons. It took two half yards of contrasting fabric to make two aprons, and now my daughter and I can cook together with our matching aprons! (Thanks for the fabric Nat)

A Valentine

"Love"
The first for this year, a classic wall hanging. This was made using the "Love is in the air" charm pack from moda (thanks Nat!)and some solid pink and yellow batiks. The white, well I couldn't find my white fabric, so Snoopy is made out of a Lands End no-iron pinpoint shirt (sorry Steve, i'll replace it). There wasn't a pattern for this, I got the idea because of MT and wanted to create a Snoopy, I was looking at the Peanuts fabric that is interspersed with the charm squares, there was one Snoopy holding a Woodstock. So I sketched it out, created a pattern (pattern available!) and began the applique work.
I made two of these, one went to MT and the other I delivered to Bec because i've been wanting to surprise her with something for ages! Look back over my blog, she always leaves such thoughtful comments, I really wanted to give this to her. Okay, so even though CJ was outside, I duct taped it to her door (sorry if that causes problems), took a picture and ran (well not really ran, that just sounds dramatic). Happy Valentines a bit early!

Corn and Beans

I'm working on a Civil War reproduction quilt and I came across a book of quilt blocks, some of which I wanted to incorporate into the quilt. The blocks need to be 12x12 so the quilt blocks in the book are exactly the right size. I started cutting up the Union Square, but there were so many pieces that I quickly moved on to the corn and beans block. I cut pieces for four blocks. They sewed up pretty quickly once the pieces were cut, I laid out the different sections and took a photo, to remind myself when I made the other blocks so that I didn't have to keep refering to the instructions. So once the block was sewn up and trimmed, it measured exactly 11x11. Wow! That's a whole inch off! It's still a beautiful block but now i'm faced with putting a border on them to get to 12 inches or just hoping there will be another project later in life where I can use them. I can't decide.

Fabric for Christmas

I got a surprise for Christmas last year, fabric from one of my favorite places Hancocks of Paducah. I love to browse through their sumptuous catalog and dream of fine fabrics. Thanks to Nat it was a dream that came true. So with a little wise and careful shopping I got 8 1/2 yards of fabric, three 5 inch charm packs and two patterns. All told it is fabric for two aprons, parts of several quilts and wall hangings, one of which i'm working on now. I got a whole bunch of patriotic/civil war fabric that i've been collecting to make a quilt for me (shocking I know). So thank you very much Nat! Merry Christmas!

I'm not a computer

This morning the great MT asked me about the bucking bronco from the John Wayne quilt. She wondered how i'd done it. So, I want to clarify that I made that. No computer sewed that using a program, I sewed it. I found a picture of a cowboy and taped it to my bookcase. Using it as a kind of inspiration I sewed it freehand, I usually wouldn't even have done that but animals are kind of hard for me, I have to watch to make sure that their necks aren't too long, or their legs are in proportion and have the right depth. That being said, no freehanded image is perfect. Here's the outhouse as an example.

Another one for the Duke

Another One for the Duke

A John Wayne quilt - twin size, approximately 60x80 inches. There are eight printed 8x10 pictures of John Wayne, four vertical and four horizontal. The pattern is divided into four quadrants, each identical. The sewing was challenging because the corners don't match. Sections were sewn together and then pieced by only sewing halfway down the block, finishing the next section and then completing that seam. It's very time consuming. It was a really great project, I had fun in the quilting too. There are signatures of John Wayne in the dark brown strips, movie titles, famous quotes and some cowboy illustrations randomly placed but mostly on the larger blocks. My favorite is the outhouse. And as will all my quilts I learned a lot, this time about John Wayne, I think this may be the surprise bonus, more learning.

Giddy-up Santa!

A quilt for Jarrod. He gave me very specific instructions and a drawing. He wanted to the quilt to have a big Christmas tree on it with a Santa. He said he wanted to cuddle up by the tree with the blanket. Well, obviously, I didn't do exactly what he wanted. There is a Santa, but no tree. I made a John Wayne quilt for Jarrod's Grandpa and had a bunch of extra fabric. I used it to make the front, then kept with the cowboy theme and found the cutest cowboy Christmas fabric i've ever seen (it's Alexander Henry - of course!). So - for Jarrod - "Giddy-up Santa" and he had it in time for Christmas.