Wishin' For Spring #3

Finally - I've taken some time to do some sewing. And I think I've been pretty productive the past couple of evenings.

This is block #3 of our Saturday Sampler. I really, really like the jewel tones of these batiks against the black solid background.

I did substitute the inner purple instead of the ones we got just because I liked the color combination better. But the fun thing about this project is that as long as I use another batik it should not make any difference in the outcome.

Big Half Square Triangles

I have all 16 of these 10' HST blocks made, and half of them put together so far. Maybe after work today I can get the other half together.

I've been collecting selvages for quite awhile, and even the ladies in the Wash Tub Club have been bringing me selvages. That is really fun because I get some things totally different that what I already have.

So . . . with all of this collecting, I'm making good use of them.  I think this quilt needs some red in the borders. And if I have enough of the black polka dot I may make 4 more blocks so that it has another row in length. I know I have enough selvages left.

Sharing my stash

I am sharing a box of fabric from my stash with another quilter. This quilter lives in Oregon and makes quilts for a charitable organization. That can be an expensive task, and I am delighted that I can share some more things with her that I'm not using. I sent some fabric earlier this spring.

Today I'm mailing a large flat rate box filled with various pieces left over from past projects that are actually fairly large. A couple of the pieces are big enough to use for the back of a child sized quilt. Lots of pastel solids and small florals.

And I'm tucking in these 3 card trick blocks I made many years ago. A little ironing, and they are ready for a new project. The whole quilt was pink and blue, but I made way more blocks than I needed for the quilt. So these were left in a drawer in my sewing room - getting wrinkled and lonely.  Maybe she can find a use for them.   

No sewing - just partying

This is my reason for doing absolutely no sewing over the weekend. And it was a wonderful weekend!!

My grandson Mason celebrated his first birthday on Saturday. We had a picnic in a shady park with all of his cousins, both sets of grandparents, and lots more family and friends.

He got 2 cakes - one to smash - and one for everyone to eat. And they matched his necktie. His mom was very smart when she stripped him down to a diaper first.

What a fun way to spend a Saturday!!!

Old needlework

I just had to share a glimpse at another old piece of needlework that I was "gifted" recently when my mother's cousin passed away.

This is a linen tablecloth that has been done by someone who was very talented with a needle. Again, no one in the family has any idea who made this piece or how old it might be, but it is really beautiful and I get to enjoy it. 

It features a mixture of heavy embroidery and delicate cutwork. The "holes" in this section of cutwork are about 1/8" square.

Baby projects

This project came from a mistake.

My friend Sylvia has been making and gifting her "boutique burpees" for a couple of years. Both of my girls was a lucky recipient and love these absorbent burp cloths. She has been using a yummy soft hemp diaper fabric.

I ordered what I thought was a similar cotton diaper fabric to use on the back of a full body baby bib project I wanted to make. But oops - the cotton terry I ordered is way too heavy.

So after washing it (lots of shrinkage is normal), I cut it into 12 x 16" rectangles and made some burpees using Sylvia's design. Diaper fabric on one side, pretty fabric on the other - and binding just like a quilt. I have a couple of baby gifts needs for fall, so they will find a home.  I have 7 of them here, plus another few cut out and ready to bind.

At least the cotton terry isn't just sitting in my sewing room taking up space.  It isn't going to become another UFO.

Now . . . I need to find the right weight cotton flannel to make my original project.

Wildlife lap quilt

My first June finish is this lap quilt made with a wildlife art panel and lots of beautiful batiks and other fabrics.

The design on this one is definitely outside of my normal projects. I don't usually like to cut panels apart, but in this case I cut each of the 8 pictures out of the panel. Then I framed them each with narrow folded 3D strips and then a shadow effect with different batiks.

I saw a beautiful picket fence border done recently on a quilt and decided that was just the thing it needed down the sides. I used the scraps from the batik fat quarters and paired them with a beautiful swirly fabric, alternating the blue and the brown colorways.

And I finish it off with a solid border at the top and bottom of the swirly blue. The borders are set off with narrow inner borders of the same black I used around the blocks.