In The Sewing Room

Here are some works in progress in my sewing room.

Here is my Ruby quilt top. I think Ruby may surpass Sugar Creek as my favorite fabric to work with. Red, aqua, soft green and gray! Love the color combo. I bought an aqua and gray on white polka dot for the backing and binding, but am second guessing myself.

This is a table runner made with a French General Rouenneries charm pack that has been sitting in my fabric stash for a few years. Since I took this photo, I have quilted it and almost have the binding finished. YAY!!

And this fabric container was just for fun. Kinda cute for a knitting project holder. Or maybe to hold fat quarters or charm packs?  The fabric is from Joann's and I used a lightweight interfacing and some left over batting. I think next time I may use "Craft Fuse" in place of the interfacing to give the container a bit more structure.

Autumn Afternoon

When I opened the door to add my groceries this is what the backseat of the car looked like yesterday afternoon. Some of my most favorite things! Mums and pumpkins and colored leaves. And what's that on the seat? Look closely....A quilt!! In case you were wondering why everything is in the backseat, there was a hay bale in the trunk! The car still has a faint farm smell to it, not mention hay everywhere.
When I opened the door to add my groceries this is what the backseat of the car looked like yesterday afternoon. Some of my most favorite things! Mums and pumpkins and colored leaves. And what's that on the seat? Look closely....A quilt!! In case you were wondering why everything is in the backseat, there was a hay bale in the trunk! The car still has a faint farm smell to it, not mention hay everywhere.

 

It was such a lovely afternoon. Lunch at the Tea House. A trip to the farm stand. Georgeous weather. Putting lights and decorations on the porch. It makes you wish every Saturday could be as nice!

Sugar Creek

In between lots of birthday and anniversary celebrations this weekend, I finished up another cute little quilt. Yes, more Denyse Schmidt fabric. I absolutely love these prints!

But I did break out of my comfort zone and did some striped patchwork instead of my favorite squares. This quilt went together surprisingly fast, but I have to admit I still love my squares more :) What do you think?

I am working on a quilt with my "Ruby" fabric and am loving every second. Can't wait to show you! I am wishing there were more hours in the day, or that I did not require 8 hours of sleep because I have so many ideas for things I would like to make.

Aromatherapy

Autumn is here. I am wearing a sweater and have a big pot of yummy chili simmering on the stove. I have a delicious candle burning in my new owl candle holder. Bundled up in a quilt while watching Jane Eyre.  The perfect way to unwind and enjoy the start of the weekend.

Hope you all have a relaxing and happy weekend!

 

Quilts

I love making quilts. I love that you are essentially making something that will wrap somebody in a warm and cushy hug. I love that a quilt is an heirloom that can passed to another generation, even if it is a little worn.

I love that quilts can be made in all sizes. Baby size. Lap Size. Picnic Size. I love how quilts are all warm and crinkly when they come out of the dryer.

I love that quilts can look like a piece of art. Or that they were stitched together from scraps of fabric and look homemade with love.

Both quilts are baby sized, approximately 40" x 40". The first quilt is made from this charm pack of vintage sheets, and backed with a vintage sheet. Binding is DSQuilts gingham. The second quilt is made with DSQuilts Sugar Creek and done with my favorite scrappy binding.

Both quilts are now available in my etsy shop :)

The Prize

Way back at the beginning of summer, I won a gift certificate to The Fat Quarter Shop. I knew that I wanted to order a bunch of "Ruby" with it, but is wasn't in stock yet. If you knew me in real life you would know how hard it was for me to wait to use my certificate. I checked almost every day to see if it was available. And a few days ago it was. I love it!

Happy Little Cottage Industry

Wow. A whole week has passed since I last posted! The weather has been soooooo dreary, and it is really hard to take photos in my house when it's not sunny! But I have been busy.....A few weeks ago I purchased some cute vintage sheet charm packs, not really knowing what I was going to use them for. They sat in a cute stack on my sewing table while I worked on the pillows for Becky's room.

I have been in a bit of a slump for quite some time. A job loss threw me for a loop, but in the long run I think it may have been a good thing. It was an office job with decent pay, but a miserable working atmosphere. I have since found a wonderful part time job, but the pay is not so wonderful. I love being home and I especially love having time to be creative. I have been moodling the idea of my own Etsy shop for quite some time so I could possibly earn some extra income doing something I love. My own happy little cottage industry!  I have been quilting and sewing in order to stock my shop and I have loved every minute! I am hoping to open my "doors" within the next few weeks.

So back to the charm packs. I made a baby quilt  and a sweet matching quilted pillow. The vintage linens are combined with crisp modern white. This reminds me of something that should be hanging on a clothes line out in the country. I am hoping it will soon be in a cute little one's nursery.

Then I bought some of the Sugar Creek fabric by Denyse Schmidt.

I loved playing with this fabric. It is adorable. I cut it into 5" squares, 2 1/2" squares and 3" strips, and the patterns stand up to any size.

Someone once said "Do what you love, and you will never work a day in your life". I think they are right. 

Dear Susan Branch ♥

I have loved the work of Susan Branch from the first time I saw one her books in 1986. Being newly married and having a house of my own, I loved reading about fun and charming ways to be a homemaker. But what I really loved about Susan's books was her HANDWRITING! Oh my! I have always loved beautiful handwriting.

After seeing her first book, I was inspired to hand write recipe cards imitating her lovely handwriting because I was am dorky like that!

I have anxiously waited for each of her books and have happily collected them all. Each of them has been read several times and are dearly loved.  So you can only imagine how happy I was to discover that Susan has a BLOG! Each of her posts are like a mini-book. Charming hand writing, drawings and lovely stories of her daily life on Martha's Vineyard. Susan is one of those people that you would love to have as a best friend. She cooks and sews and decorates and LOVES the holidays, and you can tell she is just plain fun to be around.

This is the link to her blog. Please go visit. You will have a smile on your face and a song in your heart for the rest of the day ♥

Daydream Pillows

I had a ton of fabric leftover from the Daydream quilt, so I thought I would make a matching pillow for Becky's room.

 I loved making the first one, so I decided to make another one.

And another.

Sophie likes them too.

I just kind of made these up as I went along. The fabrics were all from a charm pack and jelly roll, so I only had to cut the white fabric. I needed a little help with the envelope back, so I followed this tutorial. As I finished each pillow, it was instantly my favorite. Now I am not so sure.

I hope you all have a fun and happy Labor Day weekend!