Sprig

Sprig

Making the doll quilt I made last week, made me think of making some more pieces that are small. It was fun, not time consuming and gave me almost instant gratification!

I am easily distracted when it comes to sewing. I was looking for one thing and stumbled on the leaves that were given to me last fall. They are all almost the same size and are cut from a variety of fabrics, some pretty and some not so pretty.

So now I dug out the rest of my vintage fabrics and the wheels started to turn.

It can get overwhelming and I have 2 different "ages" of fabric. Vintage which I call the fabrics of the 30's through the 60's and antique which are more dark colors, probably late 1800's through the early 1900's..... think reproductions.

I bought this book back in 1995! I think it is proof, good design is good design no matter how old it is. Janet gives you some easy tips to either copy her design or make your own. She tells you to start with a bird because it is easy, of course I did not listen.

You will never find me making a cat quilt and you will most likely never find me using these colors! Yet it appeals to me. Simple, fun and something you can make your very own.

I had a piece of an old quilt that was leftover from some pillows I made. I bought it as a piece of an already cut up quilt top. The fabric was so soft and the quilting was beautiful. I liked honoring her work with mine on top.

I made a mug rug using this design (in my header on the right) and a postcard. So there must be something about the way this looks that appeals to me. It happens to be doll quilt size but the proportions of the leaves are not in keeping with doll quilts.

What I liked about making this quilt.....
Everything except the floss is vintage
I didn't feel the need to make my embroidery perfect (it's not!)
I loved hand appliqueing the leaves without thinking about turning it on the line, they are all different
I love all the pretty pinks, even the ones that are a little dingy
I was hesitant about the yo yo and the rectangles but am glad I put them in
Just touching the soft white quilt made me happy and was nice to sew through
I thought about the woman who quilted those tiny stitches, would she be horrified?
I started this and finished it in 1 day

So now I am deciding if I will put a binding on.....it feels kind of nice without it but looks a little raggedy. It will be a vintage fabric so that may be a deciding factor.
I will be making more of these. Watch for a bird quilt!

Kelly

Sewing Day

I finally got all my nine patches from the swap that Barb, from Fun With Barb held last Fall. It was such a fun swap and I got a great variety of fabrics in this quilt. I did make some more on my own as I wanted it a little bigger, this one will go on the couch for naps.

While this was not the original pattern I chose, I sewed them all  wrong at the Getaway in February and decided I was not going to unsew them. I really do dislike sewing long rows together, it is pretty boring.

On my design wall I have another group of swap blocks also a swap that Barb organizd. This is a randomly pieced quilt so it is taking a bit longer than I thought.

When I haven't sewn in a while, I want to make everything that is floating around in my head. Not that it is practical but things get pulled out, willy nilly. These blue fabrics are going into the quilts for the twins now that we know they are boys. It's pretty bad when you are stacking up your boxes of scraps. A cleaning is in order!

I came upon this vintage Economy Patch quilt that I absolutely loved. Sorry for the bad pictures, it is very bright here today.

It is damaged and needs repair. There is one fabric in particular that has disintegrated. Part of me feels the needs to rescue it.......

but as I look closer at it much of it is coming apart. It was hand pieced and hand quilted with no batting and no binding.

The fabrics are very vibrant and have wonderful designs. It does need a bath too.
So would you cut it apart and use the fabrics or keep it whole and try to repair it? Does anyone know if I wash it now, would I be sorry?

Kelly

Happy News!

This makes 3 new grandsons this year! Yeah!!

Kelly

Vintage and New

I have had little time to sew in the past 2 weeks. It does make me feel a little anxious when I have to go for a long time without a needle in my hand!
Yesterday I whipped up this little doll quilt in just a few hours. It felt good to sew, accomplish something and break every rule I impose on myself. The rules I broke were to stitch in the ditch. I don't like the way it looks but I felt this would be ruined with quilting all over it. I did free motion around the center motif. I could not find a fabric that I liked for the binding so I did it pillowcase style, another technique I don't like but for this it worked. The pink fabric with the diamond shapes is driving me crazy because it looks off kilter. Most of the fabrics are by Tula Pink.

This quilt was the inspiration for my quilt. While I love it, I want to make quilts using fabrics that are current today. Many years from now I want someone to say "oh this was made during this time period, you can tell by the fabrics".

If you are even remotely interested in quilting, you know there is a little mini quilt revolution going on, they are everywhere! I can see the appeal, something quick and fast and easy to hang in a small space.

I was happy to remember that I had some vintage/antique doll quilts in my pile of quilts.

So I dug them out to see if they would inspire me.

I think this one is the oldest of the 4 I own. It is all hand pieced with no quilting or batting. When I bought it years ago is was filthy, I did wash it even though it is in a very fragile state.

I am wondering if a child repaired this, I hope so I find it charming!

I have a huge library and never, ever feel guilty about buying a book. Even though I bought some of these 20+ years ago, I still find inspiration in them, even though my taste in fabrics have changed.

Did you hear?

Finally Pyrex got the message that we love vintage Pyrex and maybe they could make something cuter than a plain glass bowl! Lynne L I had you in mind when I was buying these! They are celebrating 100 years of Pyrex.
To keep up with the vintage vibe today, did you know fifty years ago today Stop In The Name Of Love came out?  Man do I feel old, but LOVE that song.

Hopefully now that things have calmed down around here I will be back to posting more regularly.
Have a great weekend!

Kelly

The Good and the Bad

First the good......baby Finn is shaping up to be a very good baby! I have been busy going over to my daughter's house to give her a hand and keep them fed, driving her to Dr appts and in general making sure she gets some rest during the day!

LOVE this!

The bad is I have not had a minute to sew or do anything creative. In a few days or weeks that will come back, right now I am just enjoying our newest family member.

One of my must do things was to bake these spool cookies for our quilt show. We have sewing themed cookies for sale that are just darling. I hope if you are local you are planning to come. The dates are May 1 and 2, 2015 and you can get more information HERE. It will be held the same place as 2 years ago at the Ludwig's Fire Hall right near Ludwig's Corner. Hope to see you there!

Kelly

Silent Friday

Happy 1st day of Spring, we have 5" of snow!

Kelly

Pink and Purple

Thank you for all the congratulations and well wishes on my new grandson, Finn! So far he is such a good baby, let's hope it lasts!
Yesterday I went over to help my daughter and brought a dinner for them. Maddy asked me to make her a new pouch for her markers.

When I got home she texted me and asked me to send her some pictures of pink and purple fabric so she could choose which ones she wanted. Many texts later, this is what she came up with.

She specifically asked for a pocket inside and a blue zipper. I added the tag so she will remember who made it (-:

I added the purple sparkly ribbon tag and a little butterfly charm to help open the zipper.

I was surprised to find this at JoAnne's today. Lotta Jansdotter fabric. It seems like a lot of the designers are going to the chain stores. It wasn't a bargain at $12.00+ a yard!

I thought I would give you an update on the auction I told you about here. They raised over $12,000 and my Sew Together Bag took in a bid for $170.00! There was a bid for $180.00 but she was too late. Needless to say I was very happy it did so well. So a nice lady in Belgium will be enjoying the fruits of my labor for a good cause. Congratulations Martine!

Kelly