Mail Call

I mentioned in my last post that while I was internet impaired a few goodies showed up in my mailbox. Since these goodies are quilting related, I thought I would share the postal offerings.

My first squishy package (ok, so this one wasn't technically a squishy -- it came in a box, but hey -- the contents are squishy) was from my Mom. No, this is not one of my quilts. Don't I wish I could do applique like the work in this one as well as the foundation piecing it represents. Nope, this one is a genuine article 1930's feedsack (and probably some dressmaking and other assorted cottons) top. I love the colors in this one -- bits and pieces from all sorts of prints. There are some cheddars, some bright pinks, lots of blues, lavenders -- a true scrap quilt all the way around.

So why did my Mom send it to me? Well, my dad's sister gave it to me sometime in the early 90's -- long before I had begun to quilt myself. The top was pieced by one of my great grandmothers (which one? I have no clue -- my instinct says it was my grandfather's mother, who was a farmer's wife. But it could have been my German immigrant great grandmother as well -- though not as likely. I know -- bad me for not asking when it was given to me. I may have been told, but I now don't remember. Why not just ask my aunt? She has since passed away so -- no one left who could tell me). When my grandmother died in 1990, my aunt found the blocks for this quilt among her things (again, this could still mean it was made by either of my great grandmothers). She put together the blocks and backed the quilt as a summer spread and gave it to me. At the time I was living in the dorms so it ended up at my parents' house.

Why did I ask for it now? Close to 20 years after I'd received it? Well, I appreciate it more now for one. And two, well, this might be something of a rescue mission. My aunt, lovely woman that she was, was not a quilter per se. Crochet -- oh gods yes. Embroidery, some. Some sewing. But not really a quilter. When she put the backing on this quilt -- she used what was economical and convenient. Namely a sheet. In a, and I'm sorry if anyone out there likes this but blech, a gods awful color somewhere between brown/tan and orange with neither of the good qualities of either of those colors (and I must say -- the color doesn't look that bad in the photo -- but you will have to trust me when I tell you that in person, it is so much worse).

Aside from my aesthetic sensibilities being offended by the backing -- there is also the problem of damage. My aunt used a polyester thread to put on the backing (which is simply folded to the front, not bound on and there is no quilting or tying -- really, a summer spread). Which has, oddly enough, not torn through the feedsack cream backing of the blocks, but the cotton/poly blend sheet. Oh, and notice the polyester batting stuffed in the folded over sheet to make the "binding". So, one of my summer projects is going to be a rescue mission. I'm going to remove the binding, add a new backing of some 30's reproductions (possibly pieced, but also possibly just a solid color) and add a "proper" (yes, I know folding the backing to the front is a perfectly acceptable way to finish a quilt -- I've used it myself, but given what has happened here, I think I want something a bit more stable) binding out of some feed sack reproductions. I am not going to quilt it -- I'm really not sure how well it could handle longarm machine quilting and I don't have the skills (yet) to hand quilt it. At which point it will be ready for generations 4 and 5 (myself and my daughter) to use and love.

I'm going to have to apologize here for the length of this post -- but if I'm ever going to get all the stuff I want to say up and get caught up, this one needs to be long. And maybe the next two or three as well.

My next piece of love from the post office came all the way from Australia!!! A while ago, I had asked Tracey over at ozcountryquiltingmum how she made her chooks she sells at school fairs. I thought they would be a cute little toy for my daughter. Generous soul that she is -- she offered to mail me one. I am continually amazed by the generosity of quilters and crafters the world over. So here is a photo of the package that arrived. Not one, but TWO chooks -- one for dd and one for me! (I still have to re-stuff them, but that is on my list for today!), a bit of the lovely satin she was using for pillows, I'm thinking it would make some lovely sachets for my closet, (not in the photo because I couldn't wrest it away from the two year old who says 'my puse') a lovely little bag (actually, it's in this post -- the white bag with the Winnie the Pooh applique) and a piece of chocolate (also not pictured as it went almost immediately into my stomach -- I suppose I could show you a photo of my cellulite, but, um, that's not fair to the small piece of chocolate, I've had to work a long time for a body this bad). Thank you, Thank you, Thank you Tracey!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

And finally, for now, (I'm betting there are many people who are celebrating the end of this post) I've had a request from Laurie over at The Wooden Spool for some detail shots of my god daughter's jacket as well as some requests for information (Laurie -- you're "no reply" when you comment -- so I have to do these publicly). So, in order of asking -- Yes, I probably will make another one of these. Probably more than one. My daughter LOVES hers, and when she outgrows it, it will be time for the next size up. She still has two sizes in the pattern before she outgrows it, so I foresee more of them. Also, if you just use the pattern with plain fabric (no quilting) it works up quickly and is still cute -- so it's great for using as baby gifts. Yes, this version is mostly Lakehouse fabrics (last year's version of the DayZ line) with one or two additions from my scrap stash. If you find out that Holly Holderman has a flickr group -- would love to submit the photos! Hope these are the kinds of detail shots you wanted!

That's all for today -- need to run to Target and get a few other things done. I might even get to some quilting time! I still have post office goodies to share (like the two above aren't enough?) and some more of my own work. I also have another photo request or two that I need to get to (need to take the photos first though!). Hope everyone is having a great weekend.

Finally!

I'm Baaaaccckkkk. Finally. I was supposed to have my new modem on Monday at the latest. By Tuesday when the UPS guy had made deliveries to two of my neighbors (one of them has a SERIOUS addiction to QVC) I called to see what had happened to my package of Internet goodness. Turns out that when the nice young woman helped me with ordering the modem (and convinced me to sign up for the extended warranty on the new one so I wouldn't have to pay for the replacement) she failed to actually process the shipping for my modem. Hmmn. Many apologies and a promise to send it overnight. Great -- but, well, it was 5:00 pm on Tuesday. This means that "overnight" will get to me on Thursday. Great. And I said such nice things about them in my last post. Oh well, it got here -- for some reason though it was the same exact model as the last one I had to re-install the software (what? it uses something different than it did a week ago?) and I'm back in business. So tonight, I took some time off of sewing to catch up on my blog reading and indulge my Internet addiction fix. It may take me a while to catch up though -- it's amazing how productive everyone has been in the last week!

As for my own productivity -- well, I have been sewing. And I got some great goodies in the mail. And I took my first ever quilting class -- so stuff to say about that and a photo of the project. And a fun invitation I got. But, my, way too much for one post so instead of my usual marathon posts -- I will spread out the joy a bit and post a little at a time. Tonight's menu includes progress on my June goals.

First up tonight (omg -- I just looked at the clock. Ok, so it's this morning!) is my god daughter's jacket. DONE. DONE. DONE. (well, except for the buttons. But I need to go to the local national chain fabric store and buy some. That is on tap for tomorrow -- but those will be purchased and sewn on this weekend and it will be off in the mail on Monday -- plenty of time to get to her for her actual birthday) I really do like how this one turned out. The crosshatching was a pain, but it was so worth it in the end. I also got to play with some free motion quilting and I really like how that turned out as well. And would you believe, that except for the buttons, this one is entirely from scraps and stash! (this says something about my stash, but I'm not entirely sure what) The picture doesn't show the back of the hood -- but I used some of the orange stripe and the hot pink/orange dot for each 1/2.

I've also been working on some embroidery and blocks for the Christmas quilt I'm making for myself. No pictures of the blocks yet (I've only got one done as a test -- the others are in the partial construction stage so not very photo worthy) BUT I have finished the first embroidery and am 1/2 way done with the second. I found the pattern for this little cutie as a free download from Wee Wonderfuls. When I saw them I just knew they needed to play with the Holly Jolly charm packs I bought on the last shop hop. I chose all of the colors from those in the fabrics and just had fun stitching her and her little dolly up. Her brother is about 1/2 done -- so I should have a picture of him in a day or so. She was so much fun to do and I can't wait to see what she looks like with the blocks I am making. I'll try and finish up a few more of them and get a picture.

Other than that -- I finished the project I started in my first ever quilt class (more about this later) but no picture right now and worked on putting together some more embroidery designs for the Christmas quilt. More of those as they get finished. And while it was a slow week for mail of the techie sort -- I got some other squishies I will share with you in another post. I just realized how very late it is -- and that I am going to need all of my energy in the morning to try and keep up with the boundless energy of my own darling toddler. Is it possible to mainline caffeine?

More Progress...

Have you ever had a project that you know SHOULD be cruising right along but it seems to be dragging out of you? Unfortunately, my god daughter's jacket is going this way. I do love the way it's turning out, I'm just not having much fun making it. I think the problem is that this is the 6th time I've made this pattern. And the second time I've done the raw edged applique technique. It turns out differently every time, but still -- I'm bored. I want something new. I want something selfish. I want to play with Christmas fabric! (Remember the charm square packs?) So after this one is finished, I think the pattern is going into semi-retirement. At least until dd grows out of her current version.

BUT -- having said that, there is progress. I've got the two fronts laid out. One has been cross hatched, the other is pinned and waiting for me to sit down at the machine. Then both are getting a bit of experimenting. I've already tried it on the back and I like it so far. The cross hatching I'm doing totally avoids the largest daisies in the jacket. (these are actually left from a panel I used in other projects) Instead, the daisies are getting free motioned following (kind of, ok, so not really) the daisy print. I'm really liking how this is turning out (even from the back) -- but I really dislike doing the cross hatching! Now I have to decide if I want to continue the piecing to include the hood -- or leave well enough alone and use some larger pieces of the orange stripe and hot pink and orange polka dot I have and piece the hood from those. Hmmmn.

Other than that little bit of progress, I've been trying out a new skill. I've been admiring the embroidery work of May Britt at Abyquilt, Anne at Quilting Bebbs, Leigh at cinnamon sticks, and of course Tonya and beginning to re-think my position on handwork. While I'm not quite ready to do anything as fun as Tonya's threadies or her crusty, I do think I could do some simple embroidery. In fact, the Christmas quilt I am thinking about may have an embroidery or two (or three or four, haven't decided yet) in it. Soooo -- I should probably practice first hunh? Well, yeah, that was what I thought. I found this cute little kit at Borders when I was cruising the craft books. Seemed like a way to try it out, with some cute iron-on patterns (the ones in the kit are by the same lady who does these fun and funky embroidery patterns) and a couple of tea towels included for practice. So, I took the plunge. So here you go -- my very first embroidery. Some cute flowers and an Eiffel Tower in honor of Tonya (and yes, it does need to be ironed).

And another shot of a close-up of the stitching. Nothing fancy, just stem stitches. And I followed the advice in the kit about using all six strands. I won't do that again -- it's ok, but it just seems too bulky to me. I did enjoy it, and it was a great sit on the couch project. Full steam ahead then for my Christmas quilt embroidery, and I have a nice little embroidered tea towel as a practice exercise. Now I only have one question -- what does one do with a tea towel? And an embroidered one no less?

Spring has sprung...

After crazy weather for most of this winter this weekend had unexpected sun and warm weather -- and I saw these peeking up in my neighbor's little front garden

My dd's pleas for "ouside" FINALLY were answered with "yes". So not much quilty going on here but dd did get to wear her new "jacky" (complete WITH buttons -- amazing since I tend to put off any hand sewing until I absolutely have to do it). So the final photos of this project include an adorable (if I do say so myself) model

We had fun playing with the soccer ball, swinging on the swings and generally getting muddy because of the rain we have been having -- but the same rain turned the grass spring green and oh was it nice just hanging out.

Of course, my little one did not think the hour or so she had at the park was anywhere near enough -- or that she needed lunch and a nap before going back out again -- if mommy wouldn't help her with the coat, she could take matters into her own hands

Mommy (mean person that she is) however did manage to prevail. (she did get to go out later -- but that was AFTER nap time, much needed despite the pleas of the not quite two year old).

I did manage to get SOME quilty stuff done this weekend -- plotted out my next project, selected fabrics from the stash, etc. But I will write more about that later. Another beautiful spring day here and I can just hear dd beginning to wake up from nap -- and expecting "ouside!"

First Post

I've been surfing quilting blogs the past couple of months and have been really impressed by the talented folks out there. I've also been thinking about how nice it is to have some feedback on projects in progress and contact with other quilters and crafters. So -- why not add one more voice to the mix? This will be my all things quilting blog -- a place to post pictures, talk about progress (or non-progress as the case may be) and to just have an outlet to talk about my favorite fabric obsession.

One thing I have noticed is that quilt blogs include pictures! So, to join in the fun I'm posting a picture of my most recent project. A fun little jacket for my daughter that I have been meaning to make for the past year or more. Luckily the pattern goes up to her current size. I made the "scrappy" version which involved tearing up strips of fabric and tacking them onto a muslin foundation then "quilting" it together to create the fabric for the jacket. Then I used a minkee type fabric to create the lining so she'll have a nice little spring jacket. Which reminds me, the next time I decide to use either fleur (which I THINK is the name of the stuff I used) or minkee or anything else of its ilk -- I need someone to do a sanity check. It is wonderful when finished but I am still trying to sweep up all of the fuzz and I have at least one black shirt I don't think will EVER be the same!

I still need to add buttons, but she's already grabbed it down from the table and put it on wanting to go "outside!" Unfortunately for her, that is going to have to wait until our weather is a bit more predictable. And luckily for me, I still have time to make the second jacket out of just flannel and fabric that is sitting on my ironing board waiting for me to have a minute to sew. Speaking of which -- insomnia is raging, hubby is at work and my active toddler is soundly asleep. I hear my sewing machine calling!!!