Finished…finally

Although the wedding was September 23rd, Wendy and Dan received their quilt for Christmas.  Three months late but finished. Yay!

Squaring the quilt after it was machine quilted

Adding the binding

My high tech binding winder

I used a toilet paper roll with a ribbon running through it, which I put around my neck.  This allowed me to feed the binding in a hands free mode.  Genius!

Securing the binding to the back using hair clips.

Hand stitching the binding to the back

A close-up of the machine quilting

The label

The words on the label are the words to their wedding song.

The body of the quilt on the bed

Unfortunately, I couldn’t get a photo that included the borders.  Maybe next summer they can hang it from their deck and I can get a good photo.

Here's the original pattern

It sort of looks like the original.  I’m glad it’s all done, I hate having a project hanging over my head; especially one with such an important “due date”.  Now, on to the next project, a nice, small lap quilt for myself.

Thanks for stopping by…

;o)

Adding the final border

I have not done a very good job of blogging lately.  My beautiful daughter got married the end of September and I didn’t blog one.single.word about it although there were plenty of words in my head that day.

I have been working on their wedding quilt for the past several months although I didn’t get it finished in time to present it as a wedding gift ;o(  That makes me sad.  I DID get the last border on it today.

I’ve cleaned up all the loose threads, the backing is purchased, washed/dried/ironed and I’m taking it to the longarm quilter on Thursday.  I’ll be getting the binding ready while it’s away.

Thanks for stopping by…

;o)

Going to Pieces

It’s all about “the quilt” right now, in my spare time, at least.  On my days off last weekend…it rained!  Big surprise for those that know me.  I have rotten luck when it comes to good weather on my days off.  That’s another story for another day.  Today’s story is about quilting.  Well, to be more precise, it’s about cutting big pieces of fabric into small pieces of fabric so that it can be sewed into big pieces again.  That’s what quilters know.  Here are some photos to give you an idea what I’m talkin’ about.

First I start with six rectangles .  These colors are not true but you will notice the fabric alternates light and dark.

Next, I stack them one on top of the other and draw the pattern that I will be cutting.  You have to look closely to see where I have drawn chalk lines.

Once I have drawn the lines, I pin a number to each piece.  This allows me to sew them back together in the right order.  I didn’t number the two pieces in the middle because they will be shuffled once the fabrics are cut.

Next, I cut along the lines.  Remember, there are six pieces of fabric stacked together.

Now that the pieces are cut, I shuffle the top fabric of the two middle pieces to the bottom of the stack.  Can you see what has appeared?

Ta Da!  A heart magically appears.  Then I sew each rectangle back together and every seam is a C.U.R.V.E!  I use lots of pins and I don’t sew quickly soooooo, it takes me about 45 minutes for each one and there are 36 of them.  Each set of six produces a different heart because I drew the template differently each time.

Good thing etiquette allows a year after the wedding to present a gift.

The photos are a little blurry because I cropped them to bring them closer.  I’m a quilter, not a photographer.

Thanks for stopping by…
;o)

It’s a start

September 23 is coming REALLY fast.  I haven’t been sewing as often as I would like, which is nothing new.  However, today I completed the first (of many) blocks…

First block completed 5.3.11

It looks a little skewed because I was standing on my tiptoes to take the picture while the block was sitting on the ironing board.  Like I said,”it’s a start”.

Thanks for stopping by…

;o)

Remember me?

It’s been nearly a year since I posted to this blog ;o(  I got busy.  After returning from Florida last spring, I started working for the Animal Welfare Society in W. Kennebunk as the volunteer coordinator.  In addition, we adopted a dog from the shelter, on top of fostering several cats, kittens, dogs and puppies.  My daughter commented that I had an “insanely busy for being retired schedule”. Consequently, I didn’t do any sewing, didn’t visit any fabric/quilt shops, didn’t even unpack one of the boxes of sewing materials that I transported back and forth to Florida.

That’s about to change!  In August, my daughter was engaged to her longtime boyfriend and set the wedding date for September, 2011.  I promised her a quilt as a wedding gift.  No problem, I have a year.  Yeah, well, now I have less than six months and she finally selected a pattern.  Technically, she did that in February when she came to visit but I haven’t made much forward progress.   I managed to purchase two fabrics at a quilt show but there are a gazillion different fabrics that I need and there are a million gazillion cuts that need to be made before I can start sewing.  Holy Crap, I need to get going.  On top of that, I return to work on the 13th!

This is the pattern she selected…

Joker's Wild

This pattern is from the book “Stack a New Deck” by Karla Alexander.

These are the first two fabrics

It’s a start, right?

Wish me luck!

Thanks for stopping by…

;o)

My new note cards

Since I made my first sale on Etsy, I decided I needed wanted absolutely had to have some little note cards to say “thank you” when sending an item to its new home.  Thanks to Candy and her blog…”Candied Fabrics” , I found Cyn at River Dog Prints.  You can check out Candy’s blog and read all about Cyn here.

I dropped a note to Cyn and told her what I was looking for.  She promptly designed these goodies for me…

Aren’t they cute? and they are all mine.  Just.for.me!!!  I love them.  Anyway, go check out Candy’s blog; she makes all sorts of bee u tee ful items from her own dyed fabrics.  Then hop over to River Dog Prints and check out all the really cute items you can get from Cyn.  Feel free to tell them I sent you.

Thanks for stopping by…

;o)

Sold!

Tea Time

Last night I added this item to my Etsy shop.  Less than two hours later, IT. WAS. SOLD!  Woohoo!!!  My first sale and I didn’t really expect to sell anything.  I’m very excited.

Thanks for stopping by…

;o)

Etsy relisted

When I left for Florida in January, I put my Etsy shop on vacation as well.  I have returned to Maine, although it was waaaaay too soon.  Florida was wonderful and we are looking forward to returning after the holidays.

Tonight I finally got my items relisted in my Etsy shop.  Please stop by and check them out.  There is free shipping on the lap quilt if purchased before the end of April.  I have some other items ready but have not had the time to get them in the shop.  Soon, I hope.

Thanks for stopping by…

;o)

Doggie delights

It’s been awhile since I posted anything.  That’s because we are enjoying our winter in Florida, being retired, having no agenda, doing whatever we feel like.  Occasionally I sew but not very often because I’m never home.  I am, however, constantly thinking of things I can make to sell in my Etsy shop when I get back to Maine. I have decided I want to make $$$ to supplement my pension by doing things I love…sewing, quilting and DOGS.  I spent many years working with people and I like dogs better at this stage of my life.  They don’t expect anything, they don’t feel entitled to anything, they just want to love and be loved.

We made some fleece blankets and toys for “Give a Day, Get a Disney Day” and have made more fleece chew toys for the doggies at the shelter.  Sooo, chew toys and blankets are a possibility.

Last week I made a reversible bandana/kerchief for one of the dogs at the shelter.  I think it came out quite nicely.  I made another one for the doggies at home and will finish two more so that each one of them has a new one to wear.  The first one will go to Amber because Guinness already got a snuggle blanket and Ginger got a chew toy.

bandana/kerchief "front"

bandana/kerchief "front" and "back"

This one measures 34″ from end to end and fits nicely on a medium/large size dog.  This is Misty Rose, one of the shelter dogs wearing hers.

Misty Rose lookin' good

She has a beautiful face!

My daughter gave me a good idea for a name but I have to do some research first to make sure it’s available.  These are 100% cotton, completely reversible, top stitched for strength and durability and can be washed and dried with no problem.

Thanks for stopping by…

;o)

A late Valentine

I finished this little wallhanging shortly before Valentine’s Day but didn’t get it in the mail to my good friend, Tulip until later that week. She lives in WY and I haven’t seen her in years.  ;o(

I did some free motion quilting…a loopy meander with occasional hearts.  It turned out pretty well except it was hard to get near the edges.  I’m not sure the best way to handle quilting on such a small project but I think it came out pretty well.  I have another one to make with opposite colors and I will cut one long strip for the binding so I don’t have to piece it 3/4 of the way through.  I would like to try finishing it without a binding but I don’t know if I should quilt just the top and batting, then add the back  (right sides together), stitch around the edge except for space to turn it right side out.  What’s that called anyway?  envelope finish???

I received an email from Tulip after she received it and she was very happy and surprised; that makes me happy.

Thanks for stopping by (and don’t forget to leave a comment)…

;o)