Chesapeake Bay Wedding Quilt

After returning from a trip to the east coast I felt inspired to make a quilt using plaids which is something I haven't done in a very long time.  I looked at several more traditional patterns and just couldn't get excited about anything that I saw.  I did, however, like the look of Geta Grama's modern dresden plate pattern that was popular about a year ago.  I also got a lot of inspiration and information from Cindy Lammon at Hyacinth Quilt Designs.  I gathered all my plaid scraps and a large box of plaids that I was gifted from my Aunt Beryl.  I didn't have a store bought ruler so I made my own out of cardboard. 

In the beginning

And the stack grows

Circles squared off .  Trying out different ideas for the area between the circles.

Getting ready to baste.  I had just enough room.  At 112" x 100" it is huge.

Sunny Steps Quilt

Introducing my new quilt design Sunny Steps.  I designed this quilt after I received this "Sunnyside" fat quarter bundle from the Fat Quarter Shop (www.fatquartershop.com).  I really like this line and everything else designed by Kate Spain for that matter.  I just love the 3D stacked boxes effect that was achieved.

 Free pattern can be found here

Sunnyside Fat Quarter Bundle

Sunny Steps

Sunny Steps with my sweet dog Airlie

My New OLD Standard Rotary Treadle Sewing Machine

I was gifted this old coffin top Standard rotary treadle sewing machine by a fellow quilt guild member. She has a pretty early 6 digit serial number so I'm guessing she is from the 1890's - 1900ish.  It was in  an uncleaned and somewhat neglected, but fair condition.  I knew nothing about vintage treadle sewing machines and was very excited to get my hands dirty and learn all about it.  I started to clean her up right away.  I first removed the machine from the cabinet.  It was evident right away that the decal was long gone so all there was to do was to clean off the years and years of oil and crud that covered the whole thing.  It took a lot of elbow grease and there is still more that can be done.  What I'm most excited about is how much better the cabinet looks after a cleaning with Murphy's Oil soap, touch up with some Old English and an application of Howard's Restor-A-Finish.  We figured out how to cut and fit the belt with a little help from YouTube.  I was able to figure out how to thread it and within minutes I was sewing.  She works like a dream.

Here is a FREE pdf of the original Standard Rotary Manual

Before she came home to me.

Catalog  Image

Coffin top before

Machine before

Dirty bobbin case with a little Liquid Wrench 

Distressed top before

After

Here she is in action with her ruffler foot attachment.

Pug Dog Silhouette Quilt

I was asked by a friend to make a pug silhouette quilt with three pugs, two black and a fawn to represent their family of pugs.  First I needed to figure out how to make a pug big enough for a quilt.  I found a few images online and read a few ideas and came up with this method.  I printed out an image of a pug onto regular printer paper then traced that onto a clear plastic sheet protector pocket thingy.  I then taped that to something that would suspend it... in this case a music stand.  I set up a light behind the plastic sheet to project the image onto the wall.  I  traced the pug onto a piece of butcher paper that I had taped there.  Once traced onto the butcher paper, I cut it out and pinned it to a piece of fabric and cut out the image.  I appliqued the dogs to the fabrics, added colorful appliqued collars and then quilted it.  Fun project!

San Marcos, Texas

Beautiful September morning in San Marcos, Texas  I happened to catch this shot on my phone camera while walking the dogs this morning.  No photoshop, just an iphone camera... Just had to share!

Boxed Chain Memorial Quilt

This is the third of three memorial quilts that I did for my partner's family.  This one is made using several of granny's black and white blouses and a couple of jelly roll pieces from my stash.  I wish the blacks had turned out looking blacker.   It needs a little more contrast to really build the box illusion.    Oh well, it is what it is and I think it does give the illusion just not as strong as I would have liked.  Overall, I'm very pleased, I love this red color!

In the shade

In the sun...

Lawn Chair Memorial Quilt

This is a quilt that I made using a couple of striped blouses that belonged to my partner's granny Jackie.  She would re-strap her lawn chairs when the straps started to fray so this is an endearing way to remember her.  I used Happy Zombie's free pattern I found here.

Disappearing Four patch Memorial Quilt

My partner's grandmother, Jackie, recently passed away.  She was quite a character and I loved her very much.  This is a quilt made with a number of her blouses.

Memorial Quilt

This is a commissioned memorial quilt for a sweet lady that has lost her father.  This is made with his uniform shirt logos and  Malka Dubrawsky's fabric line Simple Marks that I got from www.fatquartershop.com.  I love, love, love these fabrics and colors.  

A Noteworthy Quilt

After receiving this fabulous Moda "Noteworthy" fat quarter bundle from the Fatquartershop.com I started to think about quilt patterns.  I recently got a new bed so I was excited to make a king sized quilt to put on it.  The following pattern is what I chose.  I do not know the name of this pattern, I saw it somewhere a while back and never forgot about it.  I love the way these sweet colors go together.

Here is a quick visual of how I made this quilt.  I cut my strips 3.5" x 11".  I pieced them light, then dark, then light. For the size quilt I made, I connected 11 strips per row, starting and ending each row with a half strip.   I had to supplement with various neutrals from my stash. This pattern leaves you with almost 500 bonus half square triangles.  Be sure to save these for a future project.

Upcycled Necktie Rug Featured on DIYNetwork.com

Proud to be chosen as an artist for DIYNetwork.com's latest sewing/craft feature.  They chose to use my striped rug and matching stool.  Check out my quick necktie rug tutorial blogged here earlier this year.

Sewing studio make over

We repurposed our old kitchen table base with a piece of pre-laminated particle board we bought and had cut to size at Lowes. Now my cutting table won't have to share space with my machine. The new table is about 3" lower than the cutting table was which is a MUCH more comfortable height. Now I need to organize my stash. It is now a much more functional space. I love it and can't wait to get to work!

Two New Memorial Quilts For A Little Superhero

After a month long illness that landed me in the hospital for 5 days, I'm finally back to work!  Here are the last two of four quilts for a an awesome family that sadly lost their superhero son.  These two quilts are for the parents so I tried to make them match.  One has a superhero theme and the other a jungle theme made from the little boy's clothes, sheets and curtains.  This project has been a real labor of love!  I know they will get many years of comfort from these quilts.

A Little Horseman's Memorial Quilt

One of four memorial quilts that I'm making for a very sweet family that lost their son in a ranch accident. Made with his colorful horse show dress shirts and and horse show t-shirts. This one is for  his favorite horse trainer Miss Debbie.

Disappearing Four Patch Memorial Quilt

My disappearing four patch memorial quilt is all finished!

And it looks great in our garden!

Baby Quilt on a Rainy Day

It was a lovely and rare rainy day here so I used a couple of hours of it to make this baby quilt for a friends boss.