Row House Creations (my pattern company with partner, Trina Kirkvold) released our sixth pattern recently! Pinafore has been a long time in the making, the cover quilt was completed in 2013. But with the shock and heartache of my husband’s diagnosis and sudden passing, this … Continue reading
Picked my mail up on the way off to retreat this weekend, and there was Carla’s One Block Over package (GREAT timing!) so the first thing I did once I got set up at retreat was make these two cute blocks… love the quilt idea, adore the birdie print!!!
The rest of retreat was spent creating bags…
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| Note the red sequins on the Ruby Slipper bags! |
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| I really like the way this MOMO fabric from Moda quilted up! |
…and a few more bags…
Love the Joel Dewberry fabric I used for lining on the birdie wristlet (sadly, it’s one of my last scraps of it!):
I’ve sewn three more of these wristlets since this weekend (more pics to come), to get ready to vend at a craft boutique this weekend. Feeling bird-brained (pun intended) from doing the same thing over and over… I’m not much for mass-producing, or assembly-lining items, so, to me this seems like an unpleasant way to make a living, but I’m committed to two craft boutiques, so…
The best thing about all of these bags–and Carla’s blocks? Almost everyone was made from fabric in my scrap bins! I really didn’t cut into too much new fabric.
Have a favorite of my bags?
Ever done any vending yourself? Or made many of something to sell?
Can’t wait to see her quilt! In other news, I’ve done a LOT of sewing on a project I can only show you sneak peeks of… some drawing… some editing… some raw edge applique…
More to come in the next month–promise!
I don’t usually purchase pre-cuts, I’m more of a pick and choose which pieces of a collection I like kind of girl. But with this new Hometown fabric, I could not resist:
Now to decide on a pattern or a design…
Our Steering Committee (Executive Board) for the Des Moines, Iowa, Modern Quilt Guild got together for dinner last night to go over our bylaws and finalize the draft that will be presented at our meeting next week. If you are in the central Iowa area, join us Thursday, September 15th, at 6:30 p.m.–More details on our website: www.dsmmqg.webs.com (or click on the link in my right sidebar!) I best get busy and finish up my Habitat Challenge quilt!
and I’m helping Madame Samm with the new Ghastlies blog–exciting things to come with our Blog-Hop!!! It plays right into my Halloween obsession and my October plans for this blog–
In addition to being president of the very new Des Moines Modern Quilt Guild, I am a member of the Des Moines Area Quilt Guild, a traditional guild that has been going strong for decades. Our guild is making quilts of comfort for our local Veterans Home and Hospital in Des Moines. Two quilty friends and I are making a large lap size quilt together…my part was to make these five Tucson Sunset blocks.
These fabrics are so “outside of my box”, I had to raid the stash of my friends to make them! I don’t buy these shades of reds or neutrals… I tend to do many things at once, and I am typically working around a mess, rather than moving it out of my way or cleaning up the mess before I move on to the next task. That’s when things like this happen… cutting your template in two because it happened to be under your fabric…. Oops.
Oh well, a little tape and my template was good as new!
I was lucky enough to win a giveaway on Sew Mama Sew’s Giveaway day, and this little pretty (recently named Eleanor) has become the new mascot of my sewing studio.
She was made by my friend Veronica, who is still trying to find good homes for Eleanor’s brothers and sisters (if you might be willing to adopt one, go take a peek at them here!) In addition to elephants, Veronica crafts amazing handmade jewelry, the sweetest little ipod cases, tissue cozies and some knockout potholders! She’s a mad paper crafter as well… Please go pay her shop a visit! And tell her Doris and Eleanor sent ya!
Have a great weekend!
Doris
I made a block for Michelle last night, for the One Block Over Bee. I used one of my favorite notions/tools, and I don’t believe I’ve ever raved about them here before… so here you go!
Sew your seam without removing the pin (you can remove it just before you sew over that area, if you really can’t make yourself sew over a pin), and voila! Perfectly matched seams:
Michelle’s block is made from Tula Pink’s Parisville line, gorgeous colors and prints (even though the center medallion fabric kind of freaks me out)….
Here is the completed block:
On a totally separate note, I’ve been enjoying scones I made this weekend, from a 1996 recipe I dug out for a friend that asked if I still had it.
We studied together in Yorkshire, England, for four weeks in 1996, and a lovely local woman shopped and cooked for us. She brought us fresh scones every. single. day, and quite often a made-from-scratch chocolate cake. Thank goodness for all the hiking and walking we did daily, or I would have came home ten pounds heavier! I had completely forgotten about these recipes until Vicki asked me for them. Next weekend, chocolate layer cake!
Though, I didn’t get as much sewing time as I would have liked in January… (seriously, it’s Winter in Iowa, theoretically, I should have LOTS of indoor time–yet I seemed to be on-the-go all month long!) I did get a some mending done, including hemming some pants and fixing my favorite mittens:
I made this block over the weekend for Michele, the recipient of the January One Block Over blocks:
I had made a quilt from This same line of fabric, but not with all these prints and colorways. I LOVE the strawberries…
One thing I always do with block exchange or Bee blocks, is sign them, on the back, on a seam allowance. It’s a good way for the recipient to keep track of who made which block as they come back in the mail (and who knows, maybe someday, after I’m long gone, someone will come across this and wonder about the life of a quilter from Iowa who made that block in 2011)…
Hey, it could happen.
I also made this block over the weekend, it’s a block to use in my Sew Connected 2 quilt. It’s always fun to create-as-you-go, no pattern, just sew and cut and stitch until you decide it’s finished!
Here’s a quick glimpse of part of this block along with the other twelve I received:
The to-do list is still quite long, but it’s always good to see progress!
made by a brunnette 