Gifting A Pillow

Yesterday, Sharon and I spent the day sewing, and we exchanged our Christmas gifts, too. I can finally share the gift I made for her.

I don't know if I've ever divulged this tidbit about my dear friend, but she loves red. Really loves red. One of the first quilts I ever saw her make about 25 years ago was a red and white Irish chain quilt. The most often-shared pictures between the two of us are red and white quilts. Last week we shared this picture from Instagram posted by our friend, Helen Philipps. That name may be familiar to you frequent readers. Helen has some history with us in providing inspiration. You may remember that her pretty little quilt inspired us to have our Spring Dreams Sew Along this past spring. And now she's inspired this last-minute gift.

So last week, while on the hunt for something else, I found a box of red fabric while searching through my grandmother's sewing stuff. I shared the pictures on IG, but not here. Now you all can see them.

Clearly labeled in a stationary box.

Large pieces with torn edges and 'fluff' - I'm guessing this was used in a Christmas display.

Completely full box. Old fabric; not top quality, but useful, nonetheless.

I knew instantly what my gift would be for Sharon. In fact, it was so perfect that surely some divine intervention occurred somewhere along the way.

I'd been in a bit of a quandary about what to give her. Our usual gifts are wine and fabric. We have both been faced with the reality of the folly of continuing to buy-buy-buy fabric, so I really didn't want to go that route. Discovering the red fabric instantly solved my dilemma. The fact that it was Grandma's fabric was extra special, because Grandma actually hand-quilted the red and white Irish chain for Sharon all those many years ago. I told you it was divine intervention. Full circle, I tell you! *smile*

Another bonus is that I am using fabric from my stash - previously Grandma's stash - and not buying more. I used some very vintage fabric in my Christmas tub for the backing. Remember in the 80s and 90s when vests were fashionable? I had a vest made of this fabric. The selvage indicated that I bought it at Joann Fabrics.

And, yes, wine was involved, too. I found the perfect wine bag while in Myrtle Beach on vacation back in September. It has our favorite refreshment motto on the front!

The secret Christmas sewing is done, and just about all have been gifted. Stay tuned!

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Quilts In The Kitchen

Most every seamstress or quilter has a plethora of holiday pretties to sprinkle around the house, right? I have drawers and tubs and stacks of all manner of holiday items - pillows, table runners, coasters, quilts, throws, wall hangings, candle mats, and more.

Our kitchen island, above, which was the work center for the massive noodle making and candy production described in yesterday's post, normally looks like this, below.

 

And that table runner is one of the easiest, fastest you could ever make. Here's a link, if you want to give it a try. I made this one 3 or 4 years ago after seeing my quilting buddy Sheryll make about 20 of them for her sisters and sisters-in-law. As long as you have two complimenting fabrics, you can make this runner.

Of course, any holiday theme or event will work - I think one of red, white and blue would look fantastic on the picnic table this summer. And think of one for Easter or fall or birthday or well, you get the idea. A quick search of "15-minute table runner" on Pinterest will elicit numerous additional tutorials.

I'll probably be doing lots of brief little posts this week as I prep for the big day! Stay tuned!

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Productive Day With Sharon

I fail so miserably when sewing with Sharon because I rarely remember to take pictures of her projects. I promise to do better.

I can, though, tell you that my sewing day yesterday was anything but a failure! My productivity topped the charts. And it has carried on into this morning, as well. 

I did finish the other Christmas Star, and other than to show how I  built it out to be bigger, I won't say more beyond that until after it has been gifted. Christmas secrets!

The other item on my list was to turn this old canvas feed sack into a tote bag. I have dragged my feet for far too long, and the reveal will also have to wait until after Christmas. But I did finish it, and am getting ready to deliver it later today. More Christmas secrets!

The other thing I worked on that was not on my radar at all, was to make a block with these leftover bits from my Cobalt Stars quilt. I think this could easily become a pillow cover.

Just piddling, at this point. I was more focused on what Kaffe quilts I would make in the new year, so I had books pulled as well as fabrics - dreaming and planning.

Short and sweet, and limited details today, I know. Christmas secrets!

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Finished Christmas Pillow

After quite a bit of 'erring and arring' I finally set to work yesterday to finish this pillow I had an itch to make.

I had hoped to finish it faster, but that darn math issue popped up and I could not make my brain work hard enough to figure what I wanted. So, some of those 2.5-inch squares that border the pillow are in fact just whacked off where convenient for fitting. Ah, the best laid plans...

Ii is very likely that no one would have even noticed, but now that I've called attention to it, well... I do like how this turned out. Very nice that I made two stars while I was in construction mode; the next star will be placed on point thanks to DH's recommendation. That will look quite nice, I think.

Two treatments on this pillow differ from what I have been doing on pillows lately. First, I tried my hand at free-motion quilting on my older Bernina. What a different set of skills that requires! I attempted wavy vertical lines with occasional little loops along the way. It was fun; I need to practice this more, and on little projects like this pillow, it works very nicely.

Another different treatment involved the zipper on the back. I have no pictures of this one, but I watched a YouTube video on line which I am sure you all would enjoy. It features Sherri McConnell of A Quilting Life, and shows how to add a flap over the zipper which she places on the back of the pillow. Looks really nice, and I found it much easier to achieve a neat finish than what I'd been doing by trying to put the zipper in the seam at the bottom. I will show mine on the next pillow I share here.

One last picture of this one.  I might do several more of these; they work up so fast (if you don't obsess over the measurements of the border blocks). I enjoy trying out a variety of star patterns, so changing things up is very likely a possibility.

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Gifting

 All of us who sew and quilt probably gift from the creations we make; I am no different. Sometimes, the gifting just sorta' happens as a surprise, rather than through any grand plan on the maker's end. Here's my case in point.

A few weeks ago when I finished the last of the churn dash blocks, I pulled out my tub of Christmas fabrics just to see what I could come up with. All I did in that first little session was to make a 16-patch block of 2.5-inch squares. I pressed it, and left it on the ironing board. 

Then I began marinating ideas. I wanted to figure out how to add points so that my 16-patch could be the center of a big star that would result in a block big enough for a pillow front. I was thinking that a pretty star pillow would be a great gift idea.

I could have used available mathematical dimensions for such an endeavor, but who wants to bother with that?!? I just cut some big squares, drew the diagonal lines, sewed, cut, then finally, trimmed to fit my center square. I like how this turned out!

And then, by gosh, I instantly knew that this would be perfect for my mother. It would look great in her home - already filled with a lot of cozy decorations.

The star looked festive and cheery under our tree; I hope Mom has plopped it somewhere in her house to look festive and cheery, too.

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Body Shop

I built a truck yesterday.

A few weeks ago, I decided that I would make a pillow using the red pickup truck motif that is so popular in Christmas decorations. I checked for one to buy at Hobby Lobby, but the only one they had didn't appeal to me, so that's when I decided I would just make one instead.

Then I decided that it would look good on rough and tough fabric like drop cloth canvas. You can see where this is going, right? Sometimes, the simplest project turns into quite the production, you know.

Off to Lowe's to buy a drop cloth. Then to borrow a couple of truck patterns from quilting friend Sheryll.  Then to find the Wonder Under. Then to buy a pillow form.

Above is a progress shot of truck construction work. I really didn't like that goofy front fender, so I trimmed it down a bit. Added later to the above was the black running board, headlight, and white walls for the tires.

Prepping the canvas fabric involved cutting away the hemmed edge. My pillow form is 16" square, so I cut 18" clear across one end. The extra 2 inches were my precautions for the potentially excessive raveling nature of canvas.

I marked the sewing line on the front panel at 16.5" - this seemed like enough of a seam allowance given that the canvas would be bulky and all. I finger-pressed the center point so everything would look pleasing. Then I placed the truck parts and ironed them on. No turning back at this point!

It had been years since I last machine-appliqued, so I figured I'd better do some practicing first. This little tree is the result of my practice. I will use this in something. Cute, right?

Then I settled in to do the truck on my pillow front panel. It occurs to me that my learning curve might have needed additional practice time. But too late now; it's finished and all its imperfections just add to its charm. That's what I'm telling myself.

The back is envelop-style, so the remaining 18" of my original cut was divided into two parts that overlapped for a neat finish. I sewed it all together, trimmed and zigzagged the seam allowances, and turned it right side out.

Voila! My pillow doesn't look half bad.

I have a lot of canvas drop cloth fabric left over. I suspect I will be coming up with future projects for this versatile material.

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Christmas On My Mind??

We have a week of October remaining, yet I find that I am doing a post today about Christmas. The stores begin their Christmas marketing as soon as the back-to-school items have been cleared away, so I guess we quilters can plan ahead a bit, as well.

When we quilted Friday morning at Terry's, three of the group were binding things. The only one I took a picture of was Jan's. It is a Christmas quilt which she told us originated as a kit.

I share three pictures not because of the extreme beauty of Jan's quilt - although it it quite stunning. I share because of the antics of Terry's dogs, Millie, the darker one, and her pup Cooper. They couldn't get enough! I seriously believe they were of the opinion - if dogs have opinions - that this was their new play mat or something.

So, if you can look away from the dogs and check out the quilt, you will notice that a Christmas plaid is used in those Jacob's Ladder blocks. All of us thought this plaid was a great option for the quilt, and one that we would not have considered. It truly is a beauty.

I worked on this POTC block. It, too, is made with Christmas fabrics, and heaven only knows what I will do with it, but it's nearly finished. I have amassed about 6 of these completed POTC blocks now - none of the others are Christmas. What will I ever do with them?

Joining in on the Quilt Festival (mentioned in yesterday's post) has introduced me to so many nice quilters from all over the place. The network grows! I had fun yesterday answering emails and finding new blogs - which means access to more inspiration.  *wink*

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Christmas-y Creations!

ately, I've been somewhat focused on a few little items for Christmas. While I was digging around in the bin of Christmas fabrics and related whatnot, I came across 2 UFOs that I didn't even know existed! How is it that a person can make something halfway, then put it away for say, 10 years, and then when it is unearthed not recall anything at all about it??? There has to be some mysterious force at work here.

Ahem - well, enough of theorizing, let's look at those mystery projects!!

This single, unfinished hand-pieced block resided in that bin which I turned into a candle mat. In trying to solve the mystery of this piece, the clues show up on the back:

Childishly traced pieces and childish cutting. Something tells me that I was giving someone a little project to work on while Mommy was busy!  Erin or Emma?? Haven't a clue, truly. But a little girl cut them out, that's for sure. The stitching is mine, not a child's. Cutting was as far as we got with this little girl!

Another find in this Christmas bin was a holiday tablerunner. The stars are paper-pieced. It's been ages since I've paper-pieced anything, so again, not much to go on to figure out how long this has been around. But, I finished it up and will use it on the coffee table in the front room.

Do you recognize this fabric?? It's Roman Holiday - in woven, home dec!! I have absolutely been in love with Roman Holiday since it came out however many years ago; I wish I'd bought way more of it than I did. Who new it would be scooped up so quicky by quilters?? Well, here's a cool story. In May, when I went to Berlin (Amish Country/Ohio) with Kay and Sherrie, I saw a table draped with this in Mrs. Miller's Dry Goods store. I went on a hunt for the fabric and found it in the basement where all the bargain fabric is located. I bought the entire bolt - maybe 12 or more yards! I cut it in half; one half went to Sharon in July for her birthday, and the remaining half I kept for myself!! I hemmed it earlier this week and threw it over this round table. In this picture the tablecloth is doubled; but when I extend the table for Christmas, it will fit perfectly!

Last but not least, I made a stocking for Erin's boyfriend. He will be here for Christmas and she asked if I would make a stocking for him. This was the reason I was digging around in the Christmas bin in the first place! I found the pre-quilted red and the cotton checked fabrics, used an existing stocking for a pattern, and created this. It looks a little wonky, but it'll serve its purpose, right?

Are you all getting your houses ready for Christmas?? Most people are probably done by now...not me!!

Happy Quilting, Friends!