Americana Table Topper

      Last year I purchased some July 4th fabrics with the hopes of making some things for my home. I never got around to it then but I have now.
     This pattern came from one of my old quilting magazines. I strayed a bit from the original to make it suit my tastes of simple and not to overwhelmingly patriotic.

    It looks great on my coffee table! I'm excited to make a few more things to go with it. Maybe a pillow and then a runner to go in the dining room?

     I quilted it with free motion stars and loops to go with the July 4th feel. The big pinwheels are made out of a fabric called fireworks. I kinda think it looks like feathers.

     I backed it with a portion of a sheet that had red, white, and blue stripes. It is bound with a solid navy blue. I really enjoyed the process of making this small quilt. I have been sewing so much for others lately and none for myself so it was nice to slow down and just enjoy all the steps in quilt making. I didn't have a deadline so I didn't have to rush and I wasn't overly worried about it being perfect because I wasn't selling it. Quilting is wonderful therapy.

     If you haven't already please "like" my sewing page on Facebook. That's how you should contact me if you'd like something made and shipped to you.

Keeping with the Times

 

 I haven't posted in a while because lots of things have been going on in real life. You know that old poster with two chubby wrinkled pups that said, "Sometimes we sits and thinks. And sometimes we just sits."? I think we can turn that around and say, "Sometimes we quilt and thinks. And sometimes we just quilt." This quilt was major therapy for me because I haven't sewn anything for myself in a long time and I had some things to think about. I was at a point when I needed to sew something for myself. I know we all get there. 

And now on to the quilt story......

I found this beautiful scrappy quilt top at a tag sale (I also purchased another one that I will showcase later). It is lovingly hand pieced and very well put together because I didn't have to make any repairs! I only paid $12.50 for it. Isn't that sad? Of course I was delighted at the bargain but if I'm dead and someone tried to sell my quilt top for $12.50 you better believe there will be some haunting going on. And it won't be the nice kind. 

 

It seemed to pass inspection. 

I wanted to  keep this quilt timely so I used a vintage sheet to back it and vintage fabric for the binding.

I wanted to a different quilting method but I really need to learn and practice some and broaden my horizons. I ended up staying with my usual stipple. 

I choose this vintage red stripe for binding.

 

I'm pretty pleased with this quilt. It really came at a great time. I just needed to quilt something and so I did. Who knows if the lady that made this top is still alive but I have put it to use and I know she would be pleased and happy to know where it is now. Looking at all the different fabrics and wondering where they came from is something I could do for hours. Some are obviously clothes, some may be sheets, curtains, or maybe tablecloths. I find it very artistic.

The back is a vintage sheet I have been hanging on to for quite some time. I knew I would find the right use for it. This quilt ended up being very heavy with the cotton batting and heavy sheet on the back. It is twin size and will make a great cuddling quilt on cold nights.

Farewell, Old Friend. Hey There, New Love!

 It was a sad day when my trusty Brother got cranky and finally decided he had sewn his last stitch. The day wasn't without tears and desperation. But light began to shine again and through a few resources (including selling some handmade items--if you'd like to purchase various items like Bible covers, coin pouches, tote bags, etc... let me know!)  that were made available to me I was able purchase a new one.

So, this is farewell to Brother. I sewed my first quilt on him and he was a great teacher as I learned different sewing techniques. I enjoyed his ease of use and simple instructions. Thank you, my friend.

 The time has come to upgrade. And upgrade I did! May I introduce to ya'll to my fancy new Janome MC6300P! MC for short. She arrived UPS and when the man finally got here I leaped up and ran to the door! I ripped the box open and look what was inside!

 Here she is all put together with that lovely, spacious quilting board! She was so much larger than my old machine I had to come up with a new table to put her on. I finally ended up setting her on an old sewing cabinet that actually has a Kenmore sewing machine (that doesn't work) under her. This is a temporary fix until I can find a more suitable table. Right now, she is too elevated and my chair is too short so I'm reaching up a bit which makes for painful shoulders and back.

 

 Here she is sewing her first stitches in her new home!! I think she is excited! I can't believe how smooth and quiet she sews. It really is amazing. I love how you can wind the bobbin separately and don't even have to unthread the machine to do it.  I also love the button that cuts the thread after you finish sewing! That just amazes me every time! She also came with a knee lifter (not pictured) that I can use to lift the foot with my knee when I need to keep my hands on the fabric! Wow! Sometimes I just sit and admire her! There are foots galore that I can't wait to explore and I'm sure she does even more things than what the booklet says.

Ok, enough of this! I have to get back to my sewing studio!

Christmas Presents

 Here are the last of the Christmas presents I made this year.


This is a set of a table topper, grocery sack dispenser, and a hanging dish towel set.

Two fabric stockings held little goodies.

I should get my sewing machine this week and I can't wait to share it with ya'll!

Barn Raising

I made this blue and while quilt in a barn raising pattern for my mother-in-law. It is made up of almost 600 squares.

 I quilted it with white thread and a loose stipple all over.

This picture is a little blurry. I took it in a hurry before I wrapped it and it was too wet outside for a photo shoot. But you get the idea of the pattern here.

Modern Stripes

This quilt was a Christmas present to my mother. I will be featuring all the Christmas presents I made over the next week.

 I used brown, tan, blue, and green. Colors to match her home.

 I pieced the back with leftover fabrics from the front and I love how it turned out. The result is a reversible quilt that looks as good on the back as it does on the front.

 I quilted it with all over stippling in a neutral thread.

Here is a full shot of the back. I had to get creative to piece enough together to make the back as I quickly ran out of fabric from the front but I like how it turned out.

And the reception was pleasing to all. Especially the dog!

(My trusty Brother sewing machine decided to give up the ghost recently. Thankfully after I had finished up my Christmas sewing. I will be purchasing a new one soon and will post about that later. )

iPhone Case!

 With the much anticipated turning on of a cell phone tower near our home we now have great cell phone service in our home! Husband and I decided to get new phones (we were using models that my pre-teen niece wouldn't know anything about!). I found this cute fabric on clearance at Hancock's Fabrics. It is by M'Liss and I just love it!

 Here is a pic of it all closed up and being cute!

Here it is open. I used Velcro to close it. 

Here is a peek at the interior fabric. It's also from the same M'Liss line. Adorable! I just love my new phone and cover!

I got the tutorial here.