quilts

hodge podge monday. with flowers.

I did promise no more crab apple blossom photos.

I didn't say a thing about lilacs.

finally blooming... our first year.

Last year we planted three tiny lilac shrubs on the east side of our house, right next to our driveway.  There has never been anything planted there except our a/c unit which, as you might imagine, is way more functional than it is attractive.  The idea with these fast-growing plants is that we'll have some early spring color and then full lush landscaping the rest of the summer, camouflaging the otherwise stark and utilitarian side of the house.

Last year when we planted them they hadn't bloomed.  So imagine our surprise when we saw these tiny buds burst into rich purple blooms this weekend.

 and more... my neighbors must think I'm nuts by now, with all the gazing I do at these.

I keep running outside and staring at them and bending over to stick my head in them.  I'm pretty sure my neighbors think I'm nuts already, so this probably confirms it.  (And prepare yourself for more photos, because I'm so not done yet.)

It was a busy weekend that was kick-started with a sleepover for the 13 year old (dinner for 6 'teens' at the Cheesecake Factory, home to a movie which put them to sleep during, and back up for pancakes...) and included a zoo trip for Fidget, progress in reorganization of the sewing room, some Twelve Square sewing and another maternity skirt.  Throw in a trip to Lowe's, the park with the green slides, and Sunday Burger Night, and you've pretty much got the picture.  Busy and good.

like ramma-lamma-lamma-kadingady-dingdy-dong

Left:the azaleas are about to bloom in the front of the house.  Yay!  They should look delicious against the new gray paint. 

Right: My April Twelve Square block for Kathryn.  I loved the springy fabrics she chose.  And a simple 9-patch?  Sweet.  Easy as pie.   (more 12SQ photos at the flickr pool)

(Hat tip to Kirsten for seeing these photos at Flickr and suggesting they should be mosaic-ized.  I wish I had taken a few more photos of them both, for a 9-patch mosaic.)

Happy new week everyone... Hope your weekend was full, too.  xo


so wonderful I didn't even mind.

Quilts  

So by now you know I am an avid thrifter, and have been for a loooong time.  Despite this, I have never found one chenille bedspread anywhere but at an antique mall with a super markup.  Today I found TWO, one pink and one white  with a floral weave, as well as a pure white hand-quilted coverlet... At thrift store prices.  In perfect condition.  I'm not even sure where they are going to go yet, or if I'll even keep them for myself, but they had to come home with me.  I'm sure you understand.

I was so happy that I didn't even mind this little exchange while checking out at my favorite haunt:

Sweet Kind Lady I have seen a hundred times: When are you due, anyway?

Me:  June.  I have 8 weeks.

SKL: (after glancing at my out-there belly) Oh, are you having twins

Me:  Um, no...

Good times.  I'm still laughing.  (That poor gal is probably still mortified.)


A block. Some more Florida photos. And delivery.

I'm not doing so well with turning my Twelve Square blocks in on time.  So far they have all been about 10 days late.  However, they are getting done, so I feel pretty good about that.  This latest one is for Leslie:

Feb Block for Leslie

The fabrics she sent were all summery and fresh, and I immediately thought 'bubbles' and circle appliques... but it looks like the other squares she got were more traditional cuts of blocks and stripes and so forth, so I hope this square doesn't completely throw off the completed quilt. 

The circles are hand-turned and slip-stitched, so no stitches are visible.

Feb: Leslie :: Twelve Square

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the 1/2 grouper sandwich

This photo just cracks me up. Do I look scared?  Surprised?  Nervous?  Probably all three. It was taken on our second full day with my folks, when my mom and I went antiquing.  This is the HALF Grouper sandwich.  It was bigger than my head.  And no, I didn't eat all the bread; I ended up eating the innards with a fork.  Tasty though.  (That is an awful word, innards.  Sorry about that.)

These do count as Florida pics.  I know the seaside stuff is better, but -- really -- look at me.  I'm in a long sleeved shirt.  I also had a sweater hanging from the back of my chair. The sky had a grayish cast all but the one day we went to the beach, so this is it.  I'm pretty sure an umbrella was involved, too.

good Greek eats down by the docks

Mmmmm.  Baklava.  I love any place with outdoor seating, especially with a view.   It's so charming and casual.  I feel like I'm on a movie set or something when I eat outdoors, sipping my coffee, watching the world go by.  But we didn't, and no one else did either that day.  It was just too chilly and damp.  Better luck next year, I'm sure.

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And, delivery! 

No, I didn't go into labor.  We're only 21 weeks along now, and our sonogram looked great the other day.  Doc says momma and baby are just fine.  Whew!

But I amexpecting the delivery of some furniture today.  That 1960's and 70's-ish creamy white and gold girls bedroom set from the Sears/Montgomery Wards/JCPenney Catalogs that I stared at longingly as a girl?  I found a four-poster bedframe, dresser+mirror and desk+hutch (and secret compartment sliding door-- bonus!) the other day for a steal at a used furniture place.  It's solid; the drawers are pristine and slide smoothly.  They even knocked off 20% percent for cash and because I'm really, really nice.  *grin*  I can't wait until it's here so I can clean it up and get going on Fidget's Big Girl Room. 

{ Local girls?  This place also carries a really good inventory (usually) of mid-century stuff, too.  Dining tables, bedroom sets, hutches, side tables.  There is one Danish modern hutch that is particularly wonderful.  It's been there for a while, I bet you could get a good deal.  Let me know if you want the inside scoop. }

So yesterday we had to make way in Fidget's room for her new stuff.  This is always a huge project, and included cleaning out closets and drawers and everything.  But doesn't it feel great to have a trunkload for Goodwill?  As soon as it stops raining today I'm going to scoot out and purge the back of my wagon.

Happy Wednesday!  xoxo


bits and pieces

The Miss America Party was a whole lot of fun.  I'm still sorting through photos, though, so it may be another day before I can share them in all their glory.  Let me tease you by saying that my sister showed up in something a la "27 Dresses", only without the shepherd's hook.  For reals. 

LLquilt3 

My sister and I went thrifting on Saturday.  She was able to take advantage of my luck, and we found her Perfect Party Dress ($3.50, on sale), three cooling racks she had said she needed (.50 ea), and few chunky sweaters that will do her some good in this delightful winter weather.  In fact, I think she was getting ice today in her neck of the woods.  Stay warm, sis.

LLquilt2 

I also happened to have a bit of luck as I had recently been telling hubs that I wanted a cast iron skillet, but had priced them and really wasn't sure which one to invest in.  Maybe it was just the ones I was looking at, but gol-ly.  Those things can be expensive.

Good thing I turned around on Saturday and saw the one waiting for me for 5 bucks.  Check.  That's a good day.   

LLquilt1 

These photos are of a baby sized quilt I made for Carrie's biannual donation to her local children's hospital in memory of her little Mae.  Both sides are from new-in-package vintage sheets.  The colors are cheery, and I hope it brings a smile to a little one. 

Fidget was so interested in this blanket. I used the yellow sheet in the nap blanket that she had used every day for a year, so she liked that hers was 'the same' as the one we were sending to the sick children in the hospital.  It was so sweet to see her think about mommy's project and want a connection, too.


December Block for Twelve Square

Kristena at Thimbly Things had December's Twelve Square block, and I was so happy to see her request for scrappy log cabin style.  By the looks of it, we all got very different scraps of fabric, so this quilt is going to be really quite cool when it's done.  I think that is awesome.  She'll have bits from all sorts of old projects when she puts it together. 

For Kristena (december)

Hopefully, this late submission will work with the rest.  I cut my scraps pretty small, but I liked the randomness of it all.  I didn't worry too much about straight cuts or perfect angles either. 

for Kristena (dec block)

You can see the other blocks sent in for Kristena over here at flickr.

We've already got January's assignment from Leslie, too, and it is a free for all with bright juicy colors.  That should be fun as well. 


Made in 2008

Thank you, each and every one of you for the sweet congratulations on our newest little Big Project.  2008 was a strange year for me -- not the least of which was a month-long emotional drama resulting in a miscarriage last summer -- so the baby news is something that I am, shall we say, cautiously excited about.  We are 16 weeks along now, and every week I feel more confident.  Last weekend I actually pulled on some maternity jeans, so I suppose it is real now.

Anyway, you just have no idea how much your sweet words meant to me.  Really.  So thanks.

Made in 2008

2008 was also the year I tried to crochet.  And slip-covered my little settee.  And did a lot of satin stitching.  And clothes-making.  Even for myself, which was something I had never done. I picked up watercolors for the first time since college and also made silly sashes for our annual Miss America Party.  Sarah set up a flickr pool called 'What I made in 2008" and this was just the little push I needed to look back and review.  

It really was a productive year.  October, November and December seemed so light on the Making, mostly due to feeling, well, tired and queasy. I was surprised how much I got done before then, though.  (And I actually forgot to shoot a couple of things.  A couple birthday number shirts and other embroidered gifties that got wrapped and given away before I could document them.  Oops)

So, here's to 2009.  I have a quilt to finish.  Some more quilt blocks for Twelve Square.  Some more sewing for the girls.  And a nursery to arrange.  That sounds like enough to keep me busy for a while.

What are your big plans for 2009?


real cookies and a virtual quilting bee

And whoosh!  It's December 9th.  How the heck is this happening?  Better start baking.

sugar cookies, year 9.

That is what the girls and I did on Saturday.  We used the original Better Homes and Gardens Sugar Cookie Cutout recipe.  My cookbook is about 35 years old, so you know it's made with the good stuff.  And we topped them with Martha's royal icing recipe

We've made these cookies from scratch for the last 9 years.  It's mess, but totally worth it.  We also make about 10 different colors of frosting.  Pink and blue trees are totally acceptable.

royal icing, per martha's instructions.

This year Fidget helped, too.  She was very protective of her cookies and her work. 

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And, finally.  My late block for Jessica's November Autumn-themed Twelve Square quilt.  She sent me the green and brown fabrics, and I added the florals from my stash. 

Nov block for Jessica

There was so much green to use, so I got this crazy idea to gather long strips and sew them into the block.  Autumn for me is all about textures, so I thought this added an unexpected crinkliness.  I hope she likes it.  I really hope it doesn't mess up the quilting part.   

November Block :: Jessica :: from pinkpicketfence

For the gathered edge that hangs off (bottom left in this picture), I left a topstitched edge hanging over the quilt square, so it wouldn't lose the gather before she attached this square to others.  I can't wait to see how it all turns out.


No more neon, I promise. And a baby quilt.

Think I overreacted a bit about the neon tights?  I do.  I think we're going to just say Whatever and get on with things.  Honestly, I don't think Fidget will care a smidge.  She has asked me every day since October 1st, "is it Halloween day today?" and I think she'll just be thrilled to celebrate.  Why get wrapped up in details like the right shade of pink?

baby quilt from vintage favorites

( But can I just say what a clever and helpful bunch you all are, at the rescue with your electrical tape and rit dye and sharpies?!  I love it.  I especially liked the idea of over-dying the sweater to match the tights instead.  Brilliant.  Thank you again, everyone!)

Hopefully these photos of a recent baby quilt for a long distance friend will help soothe your eyes after yesterday's assault with the neon.  I do apologize to your retinas.  I mean, my eyes are still red.

so snuggly soft...

I used a couple favorite vintage pillowcases and cut all the seams, pressed them open and cut strips of varying widths. The patterns of the cases were so pretty that I didn't really want to cut them up too much. I sewed them together like stripes, quilted a half inch on either side of the ditch all the way around, and then at varying intervals cross-wise. 

I hadn't started and finished a quilt in a while.  Boy did it feel good.


a fourth cup of coffee and fuzzy slippers. cozy.

Hello there.  It's a beautiful morning here in western Missouri.  Cool and crisp.  Fall is definitely on its way.  Fidget and I sing "Oh! What a Beautiful Morning" most days on the way to preschool, and today it was a perfect fit for our drive.  The cloudless sky is a gorgeous deep blue and the morning sun made the cornfields glow. 

fidget's quilt top, taking shape 

We drove down her favorite 'Tree Tunnel' road and saw that one of the two horses was out. The chestnut one.  He was standing alone in a large field, surrounded by wildflowers and grass that is still green, coat shining.  We drove by, waving, looking for his sidekick, the gray mare, but we didn't see her today.  'Gray horse in the barn, mommy.  It's too early.' 

fidget's quilt

October is usually the blue-ribbon month around these parts, but September is making a case for itself this year.  I keep thinking the heat and humidity will come back, overnight, with a vengeance.  But so far we've been lucky and sleeping with the windows open, waking up to a chilly house and coffee brewing.  It's my favorite part of the year.

There is no denying it.  It's time to get those sweaters out of the off-season storage boxes, give them a shake and a tumble (and a spritz for freshness).  And it's time for quilts. 

panel inset for fidget's quilt

I made some progress on Fidget's quilt this weekend.  It's turning into a modified log cabin design, with embroidered pieces in the middle of the squares.  She is very keen on my finishing her 'special blanket' soon.  It doesn't matter what I'm working on. She will ask, "Mommy, is that my special blanket you are making for me?" 

huge log cabin squares

Yes, little Fidgie, it is.


hoot

Hello.  I hope you had a nice weekend.  We did as little as possible, as our AC will only cool us down to about 85 degrees.  But at least we have some AC, so I'm not really complaining.  But this isn't a weather blog, so we have to move on to important things. 

Like, have you seen this? 

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I do not think it is coincidental that 

  1. I just happen to have an owl thing going on right now. (I haven't told anyone about that yet, but I do.)
  2. I have recently started to think about Fidget's new 'big girl' room, and had already started a quilt for her.
  3. I opened the PBKids catalog right to this page, and
  4. I have no time and/or money for this, but I already love it more than the one I am making her.

Seems completely within the spectrum of reality, no?  That quilt is begging to be handmade... And, oh yes, painting and curtain-ing continue around here.  :) Here's to a new week!

xoxo,
misschris