It's Back!

The Boondoggle is back! I'm so excited. Mom quilted my quilt and sent it back. So now I can show the border. It goes around three sides and I added just enough to cover the queen bed. I chose a King Tut variegated thread for the quilting. Mom struggled with it shredding and breaking, so I will probably go back to the other threads. The variegated was beautiful though and now I have to make some bias binding for the edges. This will probably be put up intill the new year. I have 4 quilts now that need binding and need to sew on the binding so that I can bring them to my stitching group to work on. I find that I enjoy handstitching the binding on when I'm with my group. I get more done and feel like I can do it without thinking too much about it. Thanks Mom!

T-Shirt Dress

T-Shirt dresses are so fun and easy to make! I used to make them all the time for my daughter and nieces and decided to teach the No-Pattern skirt class with a few extra projects thrown in. This is basically a ruffle that is sewn to the bottom of the shirt. Measure the best place for the ruffle/skirt to start and cut straight across the bottom of the t-shirt. Gather your fabric as you would for a skirt and pin it to the bottom of the t-shirt. If you have a serger the next step is your last! Serge the skirt to the t-shirt. If you have a sewing machine, sew the skirt on and then zig zag the edges.

The diamond in the middle of the t-shirt is a idea I had from reverse applique. The matching fabric goes under the drawn design on the t-shirt. Sew the inside lines with a straight stitch and zig zag around the edges to finish the shape. Clip the center of each sections, making an X and after washing a couple of times the edges will curl up and show the underlying fabric.

Quick Gifts for the Holidays

A Tea Towel and Wine Bag are quick and easy gifts for the holidays. The designs are from OESD and the lettering is from my Brother 4000D. I always figure why pay for letters if you can use what you have in your machine! I think my Brother has quite a few options. I buy the letters that are unique and add something to the design or theme. These designs sewed out quickly. I also used the directions on you tube to finish the edge of the towel and top of wine bag. The directions were originally for pillowcases but I used them for these gifts and was very happy with the results. They look so finished inside that I wish I would have taken a photo of that too. Here is the link to the you tube video. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MrYWCma9wgM

Fall Banner

Fall is my favorite time of year! I couldn't resist using it in a embroidered project. The designs are from Anita Goodesign and the fabric patches are from a church banner I made years ago. My friend Nadine offered the linen for the embroidery and away I went. I love coming up with my own layouts.

Fall Candle Ring

WOW! It's been 3 months since my last post! I've been working on classes for the fall and am posting a photo of the Fall Candle Ring class. It is embroidered leaves with heirloom stitching on the cloth base. I had a great time coming up with the idea and it is a wonderful addition to the fall classes. I have to admit that I love the fall season and am especially looking forward to the cool weather.

The Quilt That Just Won't Quit

I finally finished the Boondoggle quilt top. It's traveled with me to WI twice and finally got to stay there. I've been working on the border and decided to do a variation of a grandmother's fan. I used all of the leftover fabric pieces that I was told to throw away and added 19 more wedges and the centers to make the circular border. I decided to just have the border on three sides, since this will be a bed quilt, and thought it might not be as comfortable for sleeping. I would love to show you a picture of this, but am unable too because it's STILL in WI. My mother and I loaded the quilt and then her machine started acting up. She has graciously offered to quilt it for me after she gets her machine fixed and I have to tell you, I was so relieved! I was going to take it home and put it away for awhile. I might have to call it my patience quilt! I will post a pic when I get it back.

Northern Wisconsin

One of the classes I enjoy teaching very much is the Photo Quilt. My quilt is of Northern Wisconsin at the mouth of one lake from another. It's such a beautiful area and we enjoyed our stay there. It measures approx. 18"x24". My friend Diane took the picture to the right and we had a good time working with using a photo with a person instead of a landscape. It changed the areas that were cut and fabric added to it. I've always enjoyed Ricky Tims' convergence quilts and thought it would be lovely to try it with a picture printed on fabric. The big tip to this quilt it to ALWAYS print your photo first on fabric and then find the fabric for the strips. The fabric absorbs the ink and mutes it a little. My quilt was made with Printed Treasures fabric for an inkjet printer and batiks. I used cotton batting and the binding was made from both colors of batik. The free motion quilting was done with clear thread in a long curved line along the blue fabric to mimic the motion of the water.