Sewing~ Old School

We spent Thanksgiving with our son in Ohio.  We drove so we were not on a schedule so we actually ended up staying over 2 weeks.  We had a great time with the grandkids.  My daughter-in-law invited me to go on my very first "Black Friday" shopping venture.  Living out in the country like we do, I had never shopped on the day after Thanksgiving.  After completing her list of clothing, toys, etc. we hit the fabric store.

I have never fabric shopped at 4am, and I don't recommend it, but we did find home decorator fabric on sale for 70% off!  She picked out fabric for new curtains for her living room window.

Since we drove, I had taken my Bernina with me for a few small mending projects--but didn't have all the tools I am used to using for a major sewing project like this.  As they say, "necessity is the Mother of invention."

Here is my improvised cutting table, work table, and of course my ironing board.

Since I didn't have my cutting mat, rulers, or rotary cutter, I grabbed a game box lid and hoped that quality control at Hasbro was dictating 90 degree corners on their boxes! I used a piece of scrap molding from the garage to extend my "straight edge" to square up the fabric.  It was humbling to once again sew on the dining room table with only an ironing board and a pair of shears. It really made me appreciate my sewing studio with all its amenities.

Since I didn't have my serger, French Seams made the lining look really nice.  My 4-H sewing leader taught me how to make a French seam when I was in the 8th grade.

The valance and the panels are completely lined.

Here is the final result~! 

They look so cute in her country themed livingroom.

~Merry Christmas~

Cowboy Minky

Minky top + Minky back = cuddly blanket.

Tracing the rope first was not enough quilting.  So, I decided to keep the layers smoothly together--I would echo down each side of the rope.

Powder blue and chocolate brown minky.

Pink Boots - Pink Hats

Here is another flannel and Minky blanket.

Simple, cuddly, warm.

What more can you ask for?

99% of the baby blankets I quilt for customers have Minky on the back.

There are lots of lucky babies around here!

Red Rose Lap Quilt

I made this delightful little quilt for my client's grandmother.

She likes red!

I finished piecing the top 2 months ago and it has been patiently waiting its turn.

 All of the small black center triangles and the single cream center are 3 dimensional.

 These large black triangles are 3-D also.  They are not prairie points, because they are faced, stitched and then turned before they were applied.

They just stuck up too much after the rest of the area was quilted so I quilted them with a little swirl to hold them in place.

The binding always makes such a great statement for a quilt!

The pattern had square corners.  I cut them off because I liked this look with the rest of the quilt design--echoing the diagonal center of the quilt.

The back.

I used black, red and cream thread on the top and red on the back.



Gee's Bend Quilt

This is a reproduction quilt with hand dyed fabrics.

Gee's Bend is a small rural location in Alabama with a very interesting story:

Quilts of Gee's Bend History

I had just read about Gee's Bend quilts when my client contacted me to quilt this for her.  These quilts are fascinating works of art.

Gee's Bend quilts are quilted in a very linear design. 

The design often reflected different quilters sitting around the quilt, each doing their own "pattern."  I can imagine that the arcs were repeated, going outward, as far as one could reach.  The quilting lines were freehand, all different widths.

 

This was a fun and interesting quilt to have on my frame.  To keep my perspective (in a small quilting area) I marked the entire quilt with chalk before I put it on the frame.  School chalk is my best friend!  I sharpen it to a point with a big fat sharpener I found in the cosmetics department--school chalk won't fit in a a regular size sharpener.  There are lots of fancy chalk pencils on the market, but this remains my favorite tool. . . AND I know I can always get it out of the fabric. 

 Back

Here is a link to a gallery of the original Gee's Bend quilts: 

Gee's Bend Quilt Gallery

Cabin Quilt

Boy, do I hate to see this leave~!

Pattern-"Nestled at the Lodge" by Deborah Jacobs & Kathryn Squibb.

 In the beginning.

This pile of fabric looks pretty uninteresting . . .

Starting the appliqué in the center.

Auditioning additional fabrics for the log cabin blocks.

Earthy, organic, forest, and wildlife prints. 

 Bringing the appliquéd center panel to life. 

Flying geese "migrating" around the center panel.

Freehand leaves. 

The back

Close up of backing fabric. 

Another Baby Quilt~

Well, I am finally caught up with all my customers cute baby quilts.  This is the third time this year I have quilted this particular quilt pattern for a customer--must have been a popular kit or a class project.  It's a fun top to quilt.



 

 

 Minky on the back.

 

Little Cowboy/Girl Quilts

Some little buckaroo will be warm and snugly in these two quilts.

 Minky on the back.

Retro cowboy prints.

The quilting doesn't show up well on the top, but on the back you can find:

 . . .boots

 . . . hats

. . . broncs 

 . . . and sadles

This is simply 3 panels of fabric making a great utility quilt for taking the babies out and about on the ranch.

Pebbly Minky on the back 

More Cowboy fabric.