Waste not, Want not

The top is finished!  Now on to the back.

The final border.....

And the top is done!

Merry Christmas!
 

Out of Little Scrapes

And it keeps on growing...

Next addition...

Yesterday I visited with my friend Chris and we talked quilting for a few hours while her bread was raising.  She is a great quilter but was wondering if there were some 'basics' to quilting she had missed along the way.  She found "Quilter's Academy" at our downtown quilt store.  After thumbing through it I know there are a few basics I have missed along the way. The first book addresses the quarter inch seam...now how simple can that be to get right?  Let me tell you after years of quilting I still fight with it.

Then we went on to a discussion about the straight of grain and how when buying material it should be ripped, not cut.  So next time you ask for a yard (or whatever) of material ask them to rip it.  You would be amazed at how you can lose anywhere from 1 to 4 inches of fabric by cutting then trying to true up your piece afterward when you get it home.

 So out of curiosity I went out to my favorite bookstore - Amazon.com!  There are a number of books in the series and picking and choosing would be difficult.  There is so much that goes into the making of a quilt, especially if it is going to be quilt show perfect.  Knowing that Chris has Book 1, I think I will order the book on triangles and how to set them....

Happy quilting (continued).

And It Grows

And it keeps on growing!

It is amazing how white fabric becomes a unifier.  

The quilt grows but the bag of scraps still looks as full as it was before this project began!

Happy sewing?
 
 

From the Scrap Bag

It was totally getting out of hand.  It was overflowing.  It looked a mess.  So lets take chaos and do something with it.  Every quilter has that bag or box or container where the scraps go.  Too big to throw away but too small to do much of anything with but the collection just keeps on growing.

So lets make a quilt out of it!  

 The Bag!

 The Mess!

The Chaos!

A Beginning.

And It Grows....

Happy New Beginning!



 

Give Them Eyes & They Swim Away

And here they are!  Finished and labeled and ready to leave home.

 Merry Christmas to all!

A School of Christmas Fish and a Heron too!

Christmas is coming faster than projects are getting finished!  

So what else is new.... A school of fish went from 3 to 5 but they are so fun to make that when they multiplied overnight I didn't mind.  It just means I get to keep one of them.

 Some of the fabric was in the stash already and gosh darn, I had to buy new for a couple of them!  My favorite quilt store actually had a 30% off sale on all fabric.  This is the first time I have ever seen that happen and so I just had to buy some!  

Okay back to the fish.  It is all done with fusible applique.  One of the pieces was of large pointsettas and the other was from a paisely print that was fussy cut to make the fins and tail.

 The fins are outlined with gold metalic thread which is a real pain to sew with.  The strips on the fish are also done with the gold metalic with a blanket stitch.  

Yes, all the fish are blind and are waiting for their eyes.  Top stitching is becoming such an important part of quilting that if you don't have access to a long arm machine or know someone who has one and is really good and cheap then you have to resort to doing your own.

A secret that I have picked up and use on small wall hangings is using parchment paper to draw your design on (if it is simple) then pinning the paper to the quilt.

Worked fine with this fish....

I am not the only one here who is creative.  Bill has been working on a new design on the post out front.  The old sign was getting pretty ratty looking.  So lets take a look at what he has done.

 Designed by Bill, laser cut by a friend of a friend, and colored by Bill.  Isn't he the talented one!  This has been a work in progress for a couple of months.  

 

 

 Doesn't it look grand!  

Happy Holidays.

 

Home Is Where the Heart Is

Grandma/Muttsie/Mom has a new place to call home.  A month ago she took the daring step and sold her house, downsized all her belongings, and moved into a retirement home.  It was brave, courageous, and one of a major life change for her.  As usual this 93 year old lady is pretty amazing.

I just came back from a quick visit with her and this time I remembered to bring a camera with me.  So lets do a tour of her new home.  

 
 The living room is small but cozy.  It is called an Alcove with about 500 square feet.  When you have three floors of building to roam and join in activities you really don't need a lot of space to live in.  She is right down the hall from a fantastic lending library!

The kitchen is small but efficient.  No oven, a two burner top, a microwave, and a refriegerator (for her fruit and ice cream!).  Since she does not cook, Bill built a cover for the burners and gave her twice the counter space.  

Grandma has a choice between lunch or dinner in the dining room.  She has chosen lunch and usually brings back a sandwich or extra dessert for her evening snack.  Lunch always has a soup, 3 different sandwiches, lots of salad greens and toppings, fruit, an entree, and a surprise dessert.  And yes, she has gain a total of 3 lbs. since she moved in (and is talking about going on a diet).

There is lots of wall space left for hanging more pictures.  But for now she is content with the few pictures she has up.  The basket holds the extra blankets for the lucky one who visits and sleeps on the couch!

 And this is the most important part of her apartment.  This is the information center!!!  I caught her early in the morning getting out the daily morning emails to all of us.  She is quite a lady!  

So what else does she do.  While there her friend CaroleK picked us up and took us to the Christmas Forest.  The Christmas Forest is a yearly happening put on by St. Peters Hospital (where Grandma has volunteered for 23 years).  The trees are sponsored by various businesses in the area and then auctioned off to the highest bidder.  The trees are decorated by designers and they are quite elaborate....just down right beautiful.  If you are not in the Christmas spirit these trees will surely put you in one.

Mom/Grandma was really having a good time.  She just forgot to smile!  And this is CaroleK (another Polish lady) who showed us a wonderful time. 

Only two of the many trees.  

Oh, I forgot to mention.  She also has a huge walk-in closet that most of us would die for!

Merry Christmas to all who find their way to this blog!