Freddy's House

I started working on my version of a Freddy's House quilt back in 2002 when a pattern appeared in Quiltmaker magazine.  I worked on it diligently for a while and then set it aside.  Once in a while, I would get out the blocks I had worked on and look at them, thinking that I should get back to piecing it.  I would buy fat quarters of fun fabrics and add them to my stash, still not sewing anything.  And then last weekend, I started working on the quilt blocks again.  I'm up to 17 blocks with only 31 to go!  Yikes - maybe I'll make the quilt smaller.  Here is a sample of my blocks:

I've been printing some of my favorite photos onto fabric to use them as doors or windows.

Perhaps by posting my blocks, I'll be inspired to continue working on the quilt! 



Vintage Sunflower Quilt

I acquired this vintage sunflower quilt some time ago.   It is a gorgeous quilt with remarkable applique and hand quilting.  My first thought is that it was a Marie Webster design.  Marie Webster's patten appeared in a 1912 edition of Ladies Home Journal.  You can see a photograph of the Marie Webster Quilt by linking to the website of the Indianapolis Museum of Art.  http://www.imamuseum.org/art/collections/artwork/quilt-sunflower-marie-d-webster.  Marie Webster's quilt has some spider web shaped quilting.

If you look at the Marie Webster design, you can see that mine is different.  In particular, look at the stems.  After some searching, I found a quilt similar to mine on The Quilt Index.  Sunflower Quilt

It appears that my quilt is based upon a Mountain Mist pattern and was made sometime between 1930 and 1949.  Here is another similar quilt.  Sunflower Quilt

You'll note that my quilt does not have a border as do the two shown from The Quilt Index. 

Here are some additional photos of my quilt.  The quilting is in the designs of sunflowers and leaves. 

One Hour Wrap Skirt? You've Got to be Kidding!

Over Thanksgiving, my niece and I were looking at a copy of Stitch magazine.  She saw a photo of the Biker Wrap Skirt and suggested that I make one for her.  I checked out the magazine - the pattern was online as a PDF download.  The instructions for the waistband confused me and the pattern printed on 8 1/2 x 11 paper that you were supposed to tape together.  And, there was no pattern for the applique which is why Sarah, my niece. liked it in the first place.

So, I motored over to JoAnn's and bought a pattern and fabric.  The pattern envelope said that it was a One-hour skirt.  Obviously, the person who decided it would only take an hour to sew didn't count the layout and cutting of the fabric, interfacing, seam finishing, and making buttonholes.  Even if I hadn't decided to make my own applique for a pocket (which I made too), it still would have taken me hours.  Here's the pocket:

The waistband was tricky - it wouldn't have been if I hadn't tried to fit it upside down on the skirt the first time....

There are two buttonholes in the waistband.  I had to practice making them - nine attempts before I actually made them on the skirt.  I sure hope this fits Sarah - she can move the buttons to make it bigger or smaller.  Oh wait, I mean that her mother can move the buttons!  Here's the finished product.

No one else is getting a skirt for Christmas - at least not Christmas 2009.  I need to make quicker projects.  I hope you like my Not One Hour Wrap Skirt.

Cute Birdy Christmas Napkins

I love birds.  When I found these napkins, I decided I had to make some holiday napkins with cute birds.

Cute Chickadees!

The set I'm selling on Etsy has two chickadee and two cardinal napkins.  I actually have another cardinal napkin but, my machine went crazy (it couldn't be me, could it?) and while the cardinals look great from the front, the back has some bird's nest threads.  Oh well! 

Where Have I Been?

I haven't posted for quite a while.  I've been traveling for work and haven't been able to devote much time to crafting.  I'm back at it now.  Here is my latest creation - a machine embroidered bath towel:

I made some special order towels for an incredibly patient buyer on Etsy.  I ruined one towel and one washcloth in the process when my embroidery machine decided that it had a mind of its own and messed up the design.  I think the final results are cute. 

And one other special order for serendipitytreasures.  Ali, the owner of Serendipity Treasures is one of my Etsy friends.  She has lots of vintage hankies - and I have to say that I now own some of them.  This towel is named for Ali's dog, Hero.

 I hope to be able to sew or embroider (or both!) today!

A Finished Quilt Top!

The last time I saw this quilt, it was in pieces on Janet's design wall.  She sent this photo today with the title, "I finished it!"

Gorgeous!

This quilt is made from a variety of Kaffe Fassett fabrics.  Janet does beautiful work!  You would think I would be motivated to work on one of my own.  Instead, I'm going to watch the Colts play football.

The Sister Challenge Part 2

My twelve blocks are finished!  They measure 14" by 15". It turned out that I didn't need to add any other fabrics.  I did have to use some of the lights as darks, but since my choices were pretty random, it didn't seem to make a lot of difference.  The block is a Court House Steps variation.  It is rectangular instead of square.  I have to admit that I initially thought some of the design combinations in the fabric clashed.  Here are the blocks laid out on my bed.

I used a bright red fabric for the center of each block for consistency.  I was organizing (I use that term loosely) my stash and found 2 yards of a bright red batik for the sashing.  Here is a glimpse:

I like it!

This picture shows the difference in the look of the blocks with red sashing vs white sashing (my bedspread).

Red Wins!

Do you remember the robots and owls from my first post?  They are in there. 

Not overly obvious from a distance.

Take a closer look

Owls and robots make me smile.

If I'm lucky, I'll be able to cut out the sashing and do some sewing today.  I have to admit that the fabric selection was a real challenge.  I decided not to worry too much about the different fabrics sitting next to each other.  I think I was able to make each block without repeating a fabric in any individual block.  The red is going to tie it all together.