A Joyous Event

As eager as we are to arrive in Florida each January, I am equally eager to return to Ohio in April so that I can wrap my arms around the little granddaughters and all other family - mother, siblings, children, all. This year we anticipated an exciting new addition to greet - and now she has arrived!

Our family is thrilled to welcome our newest blessing! Annie James Dillon arrived at 3:44 pm yesterday, April 10. She weighed 7 lbs., 10 oz. and measured 20.5 inches. We couldn't be happier to meet our newest little love. Parents Erin and Jeff are doing well.

Big sister Cate, age 3, is as adorable as ever, and was absolutely brimming with equal parts questions and explanations of all the goings on. 

During the previous week, we'd had the chance to spend time with darling Reagan Jayne. Emma and Glen have quite a growing girl on their hands! At 18 months, she very nearly tops the charts in height and weight.

I missed these little sweeties so much over those Florida months, and while FaceTime is wonderful, it cannot equal the squeeze around the neck and the peck of a sweet kiss on the cheek. I am soaking up all the cuddles I can.

Our Easter celebration was with my side of the family at sister Sandy's - we had 39 in attendance. Both family and friends joined our feast. 

Easter was followed by a 4-day quilt retreat, and gosh was it great! So productive! I am eager to follow up with quite a few posts highlighting the quilts of all the attendees. Several posts are in the works; be sure to return for those!

Here's sneak peak, heh-heh. 

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Jayne

Welcome June!

Gosh! June is here already! I do love a reason - like the start of a brand new month - to make a list and begin attacking projects both old and new. So let's make the most of June!

Have you tried using any of the apps for AI? I dipped my toe into it a little bit in the last month, and this welcome June image is the result of one of my experiments. I could never create an image like that by myself, and I often "borrow" pretty ones from other sources. Well, finally, I can offer one that is legitimately mine along with help from ChatGPT. 

I got to spend the first day of this new month with two of my favorite little people! Cate and Reagan! This business of being a Grandma is really awesome; I rarely miss an opportunity to spend time with them. 

In quilting news, I continue working on Lake Effect. I am very near the point at which I will begin attaching the two final borders to the quilt.

In the poorly-lit early morning, I snapped these pics. Still quite wrinkly, this portion is all attached. I have been mostly working on the border for the left side, and it appears I need to add one more row of hexies.

 For the bottom border, it looks like 3 or 4 more vertical rows will close the gap. I will be so glad to reach this point! It feels as though I've stitched hexies for forever. 

As you examine these photos, I wonder if you can detect a problem? It isn't readily evident, but I know the issue and I surely must fix it.

The left border is 7 hexies wide; the right border is 8 hexies wide. Don't ask me how I made such a mistake. I will blame it on the many weeks of NOT working on this quilt. I forget what I'm doing during those weeks of inactivity. Yes, I will remove the outer-most column of hexies on the right. Maybe they will be needed in finishing these last two borders; I am getting rather low on my options at this point.

What new plans are in store for this month? I have a few ideas; let me share those in a future post. I will also need to do a round-up collage for May, so that will be coming soon, too.

I am linking up with Kathy's Quilts and her Slow Sunday Stitching party.  

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Jayne

Cate's Overalls

A second grandchild post is called for today, and believe it or not, it connects to sewing. 

Back at Christmas time, I made Cate a pair of overalls out of some fabric that her mother had purchased. The overalls turned out just as cute as can be, complete with a row of snaps sewn into the legs for easy diaper changes. Click here for a post about it.

Finally, I have a picture of Cate wearing her overalls! I was unaware that they have been too long all these months. While we were at the cabin in Hocking Hills, Erin dressed Cate in these overalls and they looked just as darling as expected.

They are still a bit long for her, but it was great that Erin made the effort to show off Cate in her fancy, Grandma-made duds. The weather was perfect for a cozy pair of overalls, and she should be able to wear them through these next few months. Cate is always in constant motion, so getting a clear picture of her was challenging. These two are the best of the bunch.

In that post from last December, I referenced the little pastel stripe fabric that was still to be made. I did, in fact, make a sundress for Cate, and I have a picture from their June vacation to Hawaii where she wore it.

Cate looks jet-lag weary, but adorable nonetheless. Seeing these little outfits makes me want to get back into the swing of sewing and making more of these. I have all the necessary materials - mainly patterns and fabric - I just have to do it.

So coming up while I continue sorting through boxes and making donation piles, I have come across some interesting finds in the depths of these long untouched boxes. I honestly didn't know what I had, in a few cases. I think they are worth sharing, so stay tuned for all that in upcoming posts.

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Jayne

Cutie Pie With a Cute Dress

In several posts over the last year and a half, I’ve mentioned that DD Erin had a stack of fabrics that she wanted to have made into clothes for Cate. Since she wasn’t likely to do this sewing herself, I was a capable and very willing alternative option. 

These were the three fabrics, and I recently finished up the last outfit from the pastel stripe in the middle.

This tired little cutie pie is wearing her new wrap dress while vacationing in Hawaii! Look at how tall she is! Those long legs and knobby knees! It appears that a 6-hour time difference and touring Hawaii might just wear a toddler completely out.

Below is a repeat pic from this post that shows the lining fabric I bought to go with the stripe. It was purchased in Dade City, FL, at Quilted Twins. That earlier post also shows a front view and back view of this wrap dress. There's also a link to the Etsy shop where I purchased the pattern.

 

After the dress was made, I needed to make bloomers, and had enough of each fabric to make two pairs. I made the pair from the lining fabric first to see if I had the fit right. Then I made the striped pair but went with little shorts instead of bloomers. (That's what you do when you run out of elastic!)

I am so thrilled with how well the wrap dress fits Cate that I am tempted to whip up a couple more for her as we approach summertime. 

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Jayne

New Dress For Cate!

Maybe as much as a year ago, DDErin handed off three pieces of fabric from her small stash. She thought I would be more likely to have time for making clothes for Cate than she would. I've just finished the third and last piece - the middle stripe, below. The top one became a little dress; the navy on the bottom became a pair of bib overalls.

The pastel stripe became this darling wrap-dress, below. While in Florida, I shopped specifically for a suitable lining to pair with the stripe, and it turned out better than I'd ever have imagined. They look great together. But this wasn't the pattern I'd originally intended to make.

Yes, I changed my mind. That's perfectly acceptable, right? Originally, I thought I would make an option on this vintage pattern, but in the midst of planning that one, I I saw an adorable wrap-dress on the world-wide web, I just knew I wanted to try one. It turned out as cute as can be. Click to see the pattern I bought on Etsy.

Here’s a clearer pic of the lining fabric with the fabric Erin chose.  I'm quite pleased with the combination. And - the best part - I have enough of both pieces left over with which to make some bloomers. Now to find a pattern for those...

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Jayne

The Last Snowbird Stitching

Apparently, I took way more projects to Florida than I could ever possibly accomplish. Really, though, I had no idea how to gauge it. I felt it would be better to have too much than not enough, and with that in mind, I totally overdid things! There were tubs that I never once opened, and projects that I never once touched. I definitely didn’t shirk sewing time, either. Going into this 3-month Florida stay, knowing how much time I'd have for sewing was a total unknown. 

This picture shows 4-patch blocks laid out across the dining table in stacks of 20 (except that bottom yellow and blue stack which has 4). Tally that all up and you get 624 blocks. 

And guess what? I made a couple hundred more after this photo was taken. At vacation's end, I figure I was in the range of 800 4-patch blocks. All from the 2.5-inch scraps. 

And what's more??? I haven' finished them all yet! There is no doubt I will have in the thousands when (if!) I get them all stitched up.

In non-sewing news, I wanted to share this darling picture of a certain granddaughter who was none too interested in snuggling up with the Easter Bunny. She was keeping a safe distance, for sure.

Back to sewing - I am going to take some of the 2.5-inch scraps with me to retreat, just in case the other projects make up faster than I expect. I have 2 projects cut out and ready to begin on Monday morning, so we shall see what sort of success I have working on real projects and not scraps.

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Jayne

Garment Sewing

Before I ever thought I'd be making quilts, I had a good many years of experience making clothes - my own clothes. I would venture to say that by the 9th grade, I was making most of what I wore to school and church. Mom still sewed for us girls, but I was capable by that age to tackle most of the patterns that appealed to me. 

And while I've not really dealt with garment patterns very much in the last 30 years, I still have a couple boxes of old ones tucked in the back of the closet. When Cate was born, I took out all the little girl patterns I had and sorted them by age/size. I brought one pattern with me to Florida to make a little summer dress for our girl.

If you recall, daughter Erin gave me three pieces of fabric and asked if I would make Cate outfits from them. I have two of the three done, and this stripe is all that remains. I am using the pattern shown to make the white version in the bottom left corner. It is lined, so I will need to go shopping (darn!), but this little dress will be on my agenda while here in Florida.

I don't know this pattern's history or how I came to own it. I do not recall ever making it for my girls. It may have been given to me - back in the day sewing friends often handed off patterns when their children had outgrown that size. Who knows?? I sure don't. Anyway, the sizing has me rather mystified. When the patterns were by months, I had a good idea of the size to select, but do these numbers indicate years? 

Whatever. The instructions from Erin were to make the biggest size I could with the amount of fabric available. Good plan. If it's too big, then Cate will grown into it.

When Erin and I were collaborating on this project, the pattern had been tossed over on the coffee table - look who was interested in it!! Our Cate! Wouldn't it be great if one day she had an interest in sewing and/or quilting?

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Secret Santa Sewing

Only one truly secret bit of sewing for me this year and that was for one very special granddaughter! What fun to sew for her!

Way back in the spring or summer, daughter Erin handed off a little stack of fabrics that she suggested would be suitable for little outfits for baby Cate. This stack intimidated me a bit as they were much more loosely woven fabrics that the normal quilting cottons I am accustomed to sewing.

The light fabric on top has already been made up into a little sleeveless dress, but I think I waited too late to make it as it was no longer sleeveless weather and she was nearly too big for the size I made. 

The dark blue on the bottom of the stack is what I made for Christmas. When Erin gave me these fabrics, she specifically said she thought the blue would be perfect as a little pair of overalls. Yes! And I think I absolutely delivered on that request!

The loose weave of the fabric gave me some problems, but nearly every single seam was given some sort of finish to prevent raveling. I zigzagged some, folded others, and pinked even others. In the few months that this will fit Cate, it oughtn't give out from frayed seams.

The other problem I encountered was the need to sew snap strips on the legs to simplify diaper changes; always avoid the fuss of undoing the whole outfit if possible, right? The snaps were easy enough to acquire through Amazon; they were delivered in short order.

The picture here sorta' shows the stiffness of the snaps, but on the baby it should look perfectly normal. I am waiting on a picture of sweet Cate wearing her new overalls. I expect one to be forthcoming any day now.

So just one fabric remains to be stitched for our girl - the pastel stripe. To me the fabric says 'jumper' so I will probably go that route. I need to get cracking on it! Our Cate is growing, and there is only a yard of fabric - no time to waste!

I might not have a pic of Cate wearing her new duds, but I do have Cate pics - by the hundreds! Let's just go ahead a share one here. *smile*

 

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Small Stuff

 I've been in a bit of down time, lately, as my lack of posting here would indicate. I did plan to have several quilts quilted, and loaded Floral Explosion onto the longarm many days ago.

I made one pass across the quilt and had three thread breakages. wahhh! I believe the tension needs adjusting, and I just have refused to go back to make things right. My mindset isn't right, at the moment. Soon, I will be ready to face it. I hope!

Sharon came on Tuesday of last week, and I did accomplish one project that had been on my radar - a new pillow panel for the center of our bed. I wanted one that would pair nicely with the fall-winter look of Dusty Trails.

 Just to see what you think, here's a quick reminder of the quilt.

I also have pulled fabric for regular pillow cases to use with this quilt and the pillow above. I think they will all work nicely, and as I complete things, I will be sure to share here.

I really haven't been very focused on sewing and quilting lately. Consequently, that also means that blogging has suffered. I do take these spells of inactivity (moreso lately, it seems), but hopefully I will be back in productivity mode before too long.

Over the weekend, we had a special little guest to fill our every waking moment. Yes, Cate had her first solo overnight at Grandma and Grandpa's. We were in heaven. It was work, though, and we appreciate that raising kids is for the younger set!

Have you been more productive than I have? I read several blogs and follow several IG accounts. There are some fantastic quilts being made - just not by me, at the moment!

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Growth Chart Delivered

Checking things off a list remains one of my all-time most satisfying feats, and this past weekend I checked a huge item off my list of UFOs (UnFinished Objects). The growth chart I quilted and bound for our granddaughter has been handed back to Erin, who started the project. As Cate was getting ever closer to standing without assistance, she knew she'd need help finishing it in time, so Mom was called to action. And you know I was glad to oblige.

Approved by Baby Cate.

Approved by Cate's mama, Erin.

The colors are so muted that the entire chart barely show up in pictures. It is over 6 feet long and will be hung so that accurate measurements can be marked. 

This somewhat closer view shows at least the binding which which nicely frames the chart. Below are a couple of pics from when I was stitching  the binding last week.

 

The kids were here Saturday and Sunday for Erin's class reunion on Saturday night. We were thrilled to babysit and loved doing the whole bedtime routine. Cate is an easy baby - she barely whimpers when going down for the night. Of course that is aided by having a full tummy and having been absolutely worn out from a day's worth of activities at Grandma and Grandpa's house - different toys, different spaces both indoors and out, and so much more. 

Moving on to the next UFO, I must sew the quilt top we Frienzies worked on a couple of weeks ago. We are getting together tomorrow for lunch, and I would love to hand this off to whoever is going to take to into completion.

I'll end with one more picture of Cate. She's always the star of show. Just two weeks shy of her first birthday, she has six teeth, eats a wide variety of big-girl food, and began walking about a week ago. She gets around pretty handily already. It took all four adults in the house to keep her corralled.

Happy Quilting, Friends!

 

PS: I will link with the slow Sunday stitching crowd over at Kathy's Quilts.

Cate's Style Show

 We - DH and I - grow more head-over-heels in love with our granddaughter Cate every single day. We are lucky enough that we see her on nearly a weekly basis, and are grateful that we have that proximity. It's just over an hour-long drive from our house to theirs.

And it just so happens that I have pictures of Cate wearing a couple of sweet little outfits from her adoring grandparents. *smiles* We're gonna' do a little style show for you.

Cate is now just over 7 months old, and has grown enough to wear her first custom-made dress and bloomers. I found some ancient patterns in the back of my sewing closet last fall and made this little combination for her. It has plenty of room for more growing, even though the pattern I used said 3-6 months.

Not all the outfits are home made. This spring, DH and I just happened to be shopping in a state lodge gift shop where we saw the cutest little swimsuit and of course, we agreed that Cate needed a swimsuit. We succumbed to the impulsive urge to get her one. 

Just look at our little bathing beauty!

There will be more homemade clothing in the near future. Daughter Erin sent three pieces of fabric home with me this past weekend.

Erin says she envisions little summer dresses out of the top two fabrics, while the darker fabric could be something for fall and winter - like overalls or a one-piece romper. Yes, I can surely make this happen! I'd be delighted to stitch up some duds for our Cate. 

Any day is a wonderful day when we get to see our sweet baby girl. Grand-parenthood has been as glorious as we always knew it would be.

 ADDED LATER: Here's a link to when I made the little dress and bloomers.

Happy Quilting, Friends!