Abby's birthday is Valentine's Day, so her party was today. She's sitting on her gift from her auntie and uncle--this wheeled conveyance has lights, music, twirling princesses, a keyboard, in short anything and everything required to be a wonderful toy! She's testing out the features with a little help from her cousin, who was riding it a few minutes before.
(His T-shirt has photos of the Beatles and says, All you need is love.)
Sunday, February 13, 2011
Sunday, February 06, 2011
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
A Quilt for Baby J
My knit group is having a baby shower tomorrow for one of our members who recently adopted a little boy. I finished up this quilt and found a cute little tote bag to put it in, all ready to present to her.
Ragg quilts are great "play" quilts, and this one is also light enough to use for wrapping up baby. The colors are nice and vibrant, and it's been "Abby-certified" and approved.
Here's hoping Baby J and his mama will love it too!
Ragg quilts are great "play" quilts, and this one is also light enough to use for wrapping up baby. The colors are nice and vibrant, and it's been "Abby-certified" and approved.
Here's hoping Baby J and his mama will love it too!
Friday, January 21, 2011
Ready to clip
One of the two ragg quilts, ready to be clipped then washed and dried and washed and dried and washed and dried...
I wasn't quite sure how to put the colors together so they'd be at least harmonious, but I think I'm pretty happy with this arrangement. The checked squares really stand out a lot more than I thought they would, but this arrangement seems fairly balanced to me.
And yes, I did make "twins" out of the two sets of blocks, figuring that if the quilts weren't a good size they could always be joined into one big one. I think this size will work well for a baby/toddler/little kid quilt, though!
I wasn't quite sure how to put the colors together so they'd be at least harmonious, but I think I'm pretty happy with this arrangement. The checked squares really stand out a lot more than I thought they would, but this arrangement seems fairly balanced to me.
And yes, I did make "twins" out of the two sets of blocks, figuring that if the quilts weren't a good size they could always be joined into one big one. I think this size will work well for a baby/toddler/little kid quilt, though!
Supervising
The other part of the supervisory team. Simon wants to be sure he's up close enough to see that I'm doing it right!
"Step" Cat
Hi-Hi, watching me sew. Sitting on this step puts him just above my eye level when I'm sitting at the machine.
Monday, January 17, 2011
Cruisin'
A boy and his new birthday bike. Yes, bike--two wheels (plus outriggers!) cause now that he's 3, he can keep up with the big guys!
Saturday, January 15, 2011
First Pies!
My Xmas present from The Daughters was this "personal pie" baker. Cranked it up tonight and voila! Four little cranberry-apple pies. They only bake for about 8-10 minutes, and it takes just a little longer than that to prep them. Might need to do this more often.
Thinking of mini-tourtieres, for instance, since there aren't too many of us who really eat it. Or any time I have a pie craving.
The jar of TJ's apple-cranberry filling (which is VERY sweet) is probably enough to make a dozen of these little beauties. Yum!
Thinking of mini-tourtieres, for instance, since there aren't too many of us who really eat it. Or any time I have a pie craving.
The jar of TJ's apple-cranberry filling (which is VERY sweet) is probably enough to make a dozen of these little beauties. Yum!
Birthday Boy with Dinocake
People were singing to him! One thing our family is known for is the awful way we sing "Happy Birthday." This was just another outing for the Off-Key Chorale!
But he did manage to blow out his candle, so I guess he can turn 3 now!
But he did manage to blow out his candle, so I guess he can turn 3 now!
Thursday, January 13, 2011
The First 16-Patch
...is done. Just needs to be pressed. I think what will happen is t hat there will be "trails" across the top of the quilt, since the blocks will form chains in both directions.
The darker purple fabric is actually quite shaded--you can almost tell in this picture--with lighter and darker areas. It's a McKenna Ryan print, and it has a quote about faith on it. Ought to be interesting when it's a whole top!
Right now, all the pink 4-patches are sewn together. The purples are still 2-patches, but I had to put one block together just to see if it would look the way I imagined it would.
It does.
The darker purple fabric is actually quite shaded--you can almost tell in this picture--with lighter and darker areas. It's a McKenna Ryan print, and it has a quote about faith on it. Ought to be interesting when it's a whole top!
Right now, all the pink 4-patches are sewn together. The purples are still 2-patches, but I had to put one block together just to see if it would look the way I imagined it would.
It does.
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
Progress!
My pink and lavender quilt blocks are coming right along. The 6 "picture" blocks have been bordered on two sides, to bring them up to 12 1/2". I did two sides because they were already pretty close to the size I wanted, and putting borders on 4 sides would have made them look silly. So two it was. It will give it a bit of an "attic window" look.
They're laying across 300 2-patches, which will next get sewn into 150 4-patches, which will then become 32 16-patches. Not quite sure how many quilts this will translate to, or if they'll all be used in one quilt. That's to decide later on.
In the back you can see t he flannel squares, ready to be sewn into rag quilts. Oh yes, I do plan to stay busy at the machine! In all of my copious free time.
They're laying across 300 2-patches, which will next get sewn into 150 4-patches, which will then become 32 16-patches. Not quite sure how many quilts this will translate to, or if they'll all be used in one quilt. That's to decide later on.
In the back you can see t he flannel squares, ready to be sewn into rag quilts. Oh yes, I do plan to stay busy at the machine! In all of my copious free time.
Saturday, January 08, 2011
Birthday Cake
When it's a BIG birthday, it calls for a BIG party! I'll post more pictures (or you can check my Flickr page via that badge over there), but here's one of the cake and some yummy lemon cookies...
Dancey Dance
This is the companion print to all those 4-patches I'm making--the square can be brought up to 12 1/2"" and then it will match up. There are 6 of them, conveniently.
Also today you should check out my cyberfriend Amy's blog: http://dyedinthewool.wordpress.com/2011/01/08/birthday-contest/ just for fun, and maybe to enter her contest, too!
Also today you should check out my cyberfriend Amy's blog: http://dyedinthewool.wordpress.com/2011/01/08/birthday-contest/ just for fun, and maybe to enter her contest, too!
Friday, January 07, 2011
Playtime!
A quick shot of Abby, playing busily. She's really good at playing by herself, likes to have someone nearby but doesn't really require a lot of "attention." She does like having her picture taken! I took a short video of her and she was fascinated watching it play back inside the camera.
Thursday, January 06, 2011
What?
Who doesn't appreciate a little help of the feline persuasion? Simon thinks he needs to supervise my quilting. (He's supervising my typing right now, or at least warming my keyboard.)
These are 3 1/2" strips--25 each of a pink "dance" print, a lavender "dance" print, a cream-and-pink small floral, and a lavender print. They're going to become 6 1/2" four-patches, which will then be sewn into 12 1/2" blocks. I'm hoping I can get 25 of the large blocks out of these strips, and they'll then be added to 6 more 12 1/2" blocks--which have ballerinas printed on them--to make a 5 x 6 block quilt top. We'll see if (with Simon's help, of course) I can get that many blocks out of the strips!
These are 3 1/2" strips--25 each of a pink "dance" print, a lavender "dance" print, a cream-and-pink small floral, and a lavender print. They're going to become 6 1/2" four-patches, which will then be sewn into 12 1/2" blocks. I'm hoping I can get 25 of the large blocks out of these strips, and they'll then be added to 6 more 12 1/2" blocks--which have ballerinas printed on them--to make a 5 x 6 block quilt top. We'll see if (with Simon's help, of course) I can get that many blocks out of the strips!
Wednesday, January 05, 2011
Monday, January 03, 2011
A Cutting Table!
Well, okay, so it's my kitchen island. It's a perfect height for cutting on!
Today I had a minor brainstorm and sewed together all the leftover fabric pieces from the flannel squares, and managed to get another 22 blocks out of it. Of course that meant I also had to cut 22 more squares of batting, but now it's all done and ready to sew.
Once the decorations come down from the bar--I'm thinking Wed. night might work for that--then I'll be able to cut on the bar instead of walking around to the kitchen. Looks like my "dream" of a real sewing room is inching closer and closer to reality!
Today I had a minor brainstorm and sewed together all the leftover fabric pieces from the flannel squares, and managed to get another 22 blocks out of it. Of course that meant I also had to cut 22 more squares of batting, but now it's all done and ready to sew.
Once the decorations come down from the bar--I'm thinking Wed. night might work for that--then I'll be able to cut on the bar instead of walking around to the kitchen. Looks like my "dream" of a real sewing room is inching closer and closer to reality!
Sunday, January 02, 2011
What's Under There?
Simon would like to know if I'm keeping anything interesting for cats under there. He was fascinated with the sewing machine--it's been a while since I've been able to set it up and actually sew at home, and his little cat brain doesn't remember much except his last feeding. Which he ALWAYS thinks was days or weeks ago.
So today I was able to finish clearing off the table in the back room, and set up the sewing machine. I've been cutting squares of flannel and leftover batting so I had a project ready to go. By the time I quit for the night, I had 88 squares layered and ready to lay out to piece together.
I was shocked at how my skills have deteriorated, and I'm sure hoping I can get them back up to par! It's not a question of not knowing what to do--I know how, but the muscle memory that made it so smooth and almost effortless has gone kaput.
Doesn't help when someone--even a little someone--keeps sitting on the squares!
So today I was able to finish clearing off the table in the back room, and set up the sewing machine. I've been cutting squares of flannel and leftover batting so I had a project ready to go. By the time I quit for the night, I had 88 squares layered and ready to lay out to piece together.
I was shocked at how my skills have deteriorated, and I'm sure hoping I can get them back up to par! It's not a question of not knowing what to do--I know how, but the muscle memory that made it so smooth and almost effortless has gone kaput.
Doesn't help when someone--even a little someone--keeps sitting on the squares!
Saturday, January 01, 2011
Looking through the window
...in my back door. There's the deck, and a glimpse of the camellia bush. It's been more or less happily living with a deck built around it for the last 27 years--and it still blooms.
There's a closeup of this flower on my Flickr page and on my picture blog. I was mentally composing a very thoughtful post about this tough little bush, and how I really need to learn from it. All that "bloom where you're planted" stuff--you know how it goes.
Then my internet went out, and now I've only got the "wild wifi" that the laptop can catch, at least until Tuesday when my phone company will supposedly be out to fix it. To which I will only say that spending 65 minutes on the phone either holding for tech support, or trying to talk to tech support, can sap the will to live of even the strongest of souls. And mine's already pretty beaten down.
But I'm resilient. It's a new year, and I'm getting this post in just before the end of the day, so hope springs eternal.
And my camellias are blooming, so there's that.
There's a closeup of this flower on my Flickr page and on my picture blog. I was mentally composing a very thoughtful post about this tough little bush, and how I really need to learn from it. All that "bloom where you're planted" stuff--you know how it goes.
Then my internet went out, and now I've only got the "wild wifi" that the laptop can catch, at least until Tuesday when my phone company will supposedly be out to fix it. To which I will only say that spending 65 minutes on the phone either holding for tech support, or trying to talk to tech support, can sap the will to live of even the strongest of souls. And mine's already pretty beaten down.
But I'm resilient. It's a new year, and I'm getting this post in just before the end of the day, so hope springs eternal.
And my camellias are blooming, so there's that.
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