Our House...In the Middle of Our Quilt

Oh Yeah BABY!
I finally got up the nerve (and found a comprehensive pattern for) making a house block! I am embarking on a quilt this year that will be some sort of 'masterpiece', and these are the very beginning blocks. There will be many different blocks for the quilt, as it could be called a sampler, but I am making up the blocks, and measuring everything out for myself, not via a pattern. Just a pattern for the new blocks.

So without further a-do, my sweet lil' houses are below! Hope you enjoy them! :)





More different blocks to come, but will be making this block again, perhaps for pillows.

Work, work, work!

Yes, I have started working again. Can you tell from my lack of posts? My free time is no longer my own always, but then again, it usually wasn't anyway, was it? No, not usually. It is a part time job, and I am so grateful to have it, to be able to contribute again to the family income in a more direct fashion.

I am full of excuses: The holidays ran me over a bit, the job search was time-consuming, etcetera. But as of today, I am FULL of NEW PHOTOS!

I did capture a pillow I made for my mom to send off to her on her birthday-- a design I had long-held in my mind, and will be making many more of, as they are very primitive and not overly time consuming, but have an impact that I love! So here it is, mom's Crow Pillow:



Here is a close up of the simple embroidered running stitch. I found a silhouette of a craw calling and then made the template myself.



My label on the back:



So this is what I was up to mostly in December/January, and it was sent off with love to my mom, who seems thrilled to have it. I love making things for people I know well and love-- even moreso than making things for myself, actually.

Next post, what I've been up to this past weekend!

"Little Pink Houses, for you and me...aw, yeah, for you and me..."
~ John Cougar Mellencamp

Jack Rabbit-- Rough Cold Companion

I have been ill, my friends. Eye-watering coughing fits, phlegm hacking, low-grade temperature... 'Tis the Season, alright.

To stave off the feeling of worthlessness while doing next to nothing for so many days, laying on the sofa, taking lots of medication, I did what I usually do in situations like this. I turned to my handy crochet hooks and various yarns and started on something fun and sweet, to occupy my time.

And then Jack Rabbit was born. :-)



I even went so far as to make him a hat, tall and striped to match his sweater. I saw something similar on a site somewhere (can't remember exactly where, sorry) and sort of stuck the idea of attaching the head to the body in this manner, made all in one piece. None of Jack came from a pattern-- it is free-hand crochet, made up as I went, under the influence of Dayquil and Mucinex.

He's really good at Hide-N-Seek.



I love to sew on patches of felt for details, and it allows me to sew details for facial features as well, that don't get lost in the texture of the yarn.





Anyway, hope you enjoyed this off-shoot from quilting. I've been job-hunting, and have had to put up the sewing machine for a bit. I will return to that soon enough, but in the meantime, Jack and I are going to take in a little TV and heal up some more. Peace to you all.

Happy Halloween!

It is right around the corner, and I can smell it in the air outside, hear it in the crunch of leaves underfoot, and taste it in the pre-opened bag of candy we have been nibbling on. HALLOWEEN!!!

Okay, so I didn't finish the 'All Hallow's Eve Harmony' quilt that I was working on before getting the table runners ready for my mom's charity event. Despite the delay, I will soon be working on it with RELISH! In the meantime, for a fall treat, I give you photos of the smaller table runner I sent for the raffle along with the larger Harvest runner from before.


The fabric is wonderful, a purchase from Red Hen Fabrics, and the original was made by a lady who works there named Alta- a lovely, helpful person who taught a paper piecing class I took. She hooked me up with the right amount of fabrics and VOILA! A fully reversible, lovely little piece that fits neatly on any table!


And the lovely back...



I was happy to use the branch-looking specialty stitch on my machine for the purple solid lines, and was introduced to SULKY variegated thread. At first, I wasn't sure it would work right as the thread is a bit thicker than the usual thread I use, but it worked like a DREAM! And the colors are incredible! The Sulky thread is pricier, but so, so, so worth it, in my opinion.

A fantastic experience, and a FAST project! I'll be sure to put smaller whole-piece table runners on my new Etsy site that will be up within the week. I'll keep you posted. :)

Harvest Table Runner

Looking at this in place on my own table (which is NOT a nicely finished table--it's a working sewing/crafting/painting table) I can almost smell a turkey in the oven. Mmmmm...ahhhh...Thanksgiving is upon us!


The center nine-patch squares are straight-stitched, in the ditch and also diagonally.

A true stretch for me: pointed on each end with 30 degree angles!


I've made this table runner for a charity that my mom is putting together, and this item will be up for grabs at a raffle. It is VERY long for a runner, I think, measuring approx. 2' X 6'8", but that is to accommodate the usually lengthy family dining tables of the deep south-- which is where the charity is being held. I'm going to make a smaller one, that can be used during any time of the year, with just a hint of fall flavor to it, but is not pieced which will allow me to assemble it in less time. This runner took me about... oh... three weeks? But could have been done in about a week and a half if so many other things had not interrupted the process. Still, it's finished on time for the function, and will be shipped next week, once I get the other one done.

Working with these colors has really geared me up for cooking on Thanksgiving! ;-)

Update: Fabric Has Been Sorted

Whew!... It only took, what...three days? I didn't even iron everything, just the most gnarled up bits of fabric that wouldn't lay flat. But finally, I am DONE. (patting myself on the back)



The most fabric I had were greens, though blue was a close second. My favorite colors, so that wasn't a surprise. And yes, as my best friend pointed out, I only barely fit the fabric stash in the new cabinet, meaning that there is a whole other storage issue as yet to be addressed, for threads, batting, cutting tools and other accoutrements BUT this is a noble start, and definitely the majority of the battle.



Now then. Back to the projects at hand. Table runners in a Thanksgiving theme for mom's charity raffle, and THEN back to the All Hallow's Eve Harmony quilt. Busy, busy, busy, and lovin' it.

The First Quilt

...Grandma is doing better, though still not out of the woods. She LOVED the pillow, and we got to talk about it, about quilting and things, and it was wonderful to just spend that time with her.

My mom brought a special treat for me; the wall hanging quilt that I made for her in 2004. I hadn't even recalled what it looked like! I hand quilted it, too, all hand-appliqued including sewing the binding. It was incredible to look at those stitches and remember those patterns I picked out for it. I used parts of other patterns that I liked, too, ever the free-formist.



Thank you, mom, for bringing it! Love you!