thanks for the help + finished quilt

Thanks so much for your input on the birdie quilt. I really appreciate your help!

I think most everyone agreed that I hadn't really "committed" to the bright orange and I either needed more brights or less orange.

So I ripped out the orange blocks....

I HATE ripping seams. But I managed to get it done without a great deal of injuries (to me or the quilt). I made 2 new blocks. Then I began the process of putting it back together.

Confession time: I don't like reconstructing things that were once constructed. I don't sew clothes because I can't make them fit properly. I don't even hem pants--I just wear higher heels. Whew! Confession is good for the soul. And high heels are good for many things.

Anyway, moving on.... I eventually got it all put back together properly. I went with the bird binding. And I LOVE the way it turned out.

So I also think I would have really liked it with the orange if I had put more brights in the quilt. But the way it turned out, it's perfect for its recipient.

need your input, please!

Dear friends, I am in a pickle here......

I picked out this Starling fabric months ago for a baby quilt for a dear friend.

{Please Note that friend really likes birds.}

I like it. I've seen it on other things across blogland. Other people like it.

So I've completed the quilt top.....

And now I'm concerned. Do you like it? My husband doesn't. But I do. But I've been staring at it a while..... and I like the birds. He doesn't.

I was planning on binding it in the green print. But I have enough of the starling to bind it as well. I think I'm going to back it in the blue print.

Help! What do you think?

Print Art

Yesterday was my mom's birthday, and I wanted to include the kids in doing something special for her. Inspired by this link, we set off with some red paint and made some prints on white cotton:

The yellow is my thumbprint. G was very excited about helping to make this present. I gave her some paper and watercolors to paint with while I worked on the second part.....
I added some embellishments to create butterflies and a bumblebee.

...thank you, mom for sending me to art lessons when I was little....Finally, I set the block in the middle of some black prints from her quilt and bound the edges to make a pillow. I'm really pleased with how it turned out, and it was a really fun project!

A special blankie

Both of my grandmothers sewed. Quite well. If I could be half as good as either of them, I'd call it a miracle. Although I got to do crafts and things with them as a child, I regret that I never really got a chance to sew with them.

I do have my grandma's dress form, and I use it as a display at craft shows and in my sewing room for my works in progress. A while back, my mom found some fabric she had kept from my grandmother's house. It's this lovely pink flocked tulip pattern. I don't have any idea how old it might be, so if you know, please comment and tell me!
I used it to make a blankie for my 4-month old. I love how it turned out. The green on the back really sets off the pink!
Here's a closeup so you can see the patterns togther. I love the binding I found to match it!
I think Grandma would be pleased.

My I-SPY squares..

Here's what I'm contributing to the I-Spy swap. I'm especially in love with the red zipper fabric. I used it as a centerpiece for this quilt a while ago, and I picked up some more for the swap. It's by Michael Miller. I used the red and aqua cherries for my daughter's first blankie. And I really want to do something with the nuts and bolts on the bottom right.... I may need to pick up a little more of that. Can't wait to see what everyone else sends in!

Stacked coin quilt

I've been meaning to do a post about the quilt that is in my banner, but I needed a good photography day to do it justice. Can I just say that I love this quilt?

I intended to make this to take to the hospital with me when my 2nd daughter was born. But she came early, and the quilt was only partly quilted. So I finished it up while she was still in the hospital. Stippling is the best therapy, you know?

It's entirely scraps. From my stash, my mom's stash, and my sister-in-law's stash. Even the back!

I like the back as its own quilt....

Here's a couple of closeups. The floral here is from a dress my mom made me in middle school.

The butterflies are in my daughter's big-girl bed quilt.

The jelly beans are one of my favorites, and they are from a quilt I donated. The black and white is from my mom's quilt.

Lots of fun memories in this one!

Cookin' something up

Been working on some aprons lately.

I love monogramming. It's so fun. The best part is setting the machine and then going about my other stuff (tending to kids, feeding babies, pretending to be the gymnastics teacher for my 2-year old...), and then coming back to find it done! It's like having a whole team of sewing elves. I love it!

Here's a closer shot. I have to tell you that I took these outside on a windy day and had to crop out my hand holding them in the frame. By the way, we have a new fence. The wind blew the old one down....

And as much as I love the head chef / sous-chef aprons, I love a classic monogram. These are for my cousin and her sweet girl.

Next post will be about the quilt pictured in my header. Stay tuned!

Wendy hooks you up with cake.

Tomorrow, until 10:30 a.m., you can get a free pastry at Starbucks. For real! Here's a link to the story. Be sure to print out the coupon!

A few finishes this week

I'm kind of in love with this blankie. The lime zebra is a knit fabric. I love it with the minky!
This one is Superman! I love it! The back is a yellow plush.

And the monogramming shows up nicely. Can't wait to send this one out.

and these need to go in their boxes as well.

It's been a busy week!

PS. Does anyone know about upholstery shops in the Edmund / Oklahoma City area? I have a friend who is looking for a list of the best places to go look and I thought someone out there might be able to help.

update on I-SPY

We almost have enough participants for I-SPY!

Gretchen, I can't get a hold of you. There was no e-mail listed on your profile. Can you please send me an e-mail or comment with your e-mail address so I can get more information to you?

We need 2 more participants. Anyone interested? details here

I-SPY a swap!

My sister-in-law and I are co-hosting a swap called...
{drum roll}
I-SPY a swap!

The details:

• The first 18 people to sign up here are in. Just leave a comment on this post, and make sure I have a way to contact you.
• Each person will send (20) 4" squares from each of 10 novelty fabrics to Meredith by August 1.
• You will receive (200) 4" novelty squares (enough for 2 small I-SPY quilts or 1 large one) We're hoping to send packages out by August 15th, but that depends on how long it takes everything to come in. Live outside the U.S.? No problem! Just try to get your fabrics to us a little earlier.
• We'll post a list of participants' blogs on each of our blogs, so hopefully you'll go visit everyone's sites and leave some bloggy love, make some friends, and generally fill the world with peace and happiness.
• Just because we like you, we'll even draw up and post some patterns you could use for arranging the squares in order to get a certain sized quilt.

A few thoughts and guidelines on the fabrics...

• Most fabric stores have a dedicated novelty fabric section. But generally these
  are fabrics with objects... animals, food, people, etc. It may help to think in terms of things you could use for the I-SPY game. (I spy the letter G, I spy a sushi roll, I spy a monkey eating a banana, etc....)
• In order to avoid duplicate patterns, go on a mission for some really obscure, hard to find prints that aren't available at the chain retailers.
• No team prints or licenses characters (SpongeBob, Dora, etc.) So for example, a print with basketballs would be great, but a Dallas Mavericks print is not. Or a print with ducks wearing hats is great, but Donald Duck is not.
• The object in the fabric should be distinguishable in a 3.5 x 3.5 square, which will be its finished size. Keep this in mind when choosing fabrics. Either go with small prints, or be ready to fussy-cut.
• You can get (20) 4" squares out of a 1/4 yard cut of fabric or out of a fat quarter. So you'll need to purchase at least 2 1/2 yards of fabric.

What is an I-SPY quilt? It's a quilt made with novelty fabrics. And it's a wonderful toy to play I-SPY with. Great for traveling with kids or rest time or when you need something to occupy little ones. How to play? Take turns spotting something in the quilt, maybe "I spy, with my little eye, a frog in a tutu!" And the first person to point out the tutu frog on the quilt goes next, and so on. Hours and hours of fun!

If you want to participate, leave a comment on this post!

Show wrapup!

My craft show is done, and it went well! I was so busy that I didn't take any pictures. Can't believe it. But I still have a few things to show:

My new cards. I remember a time when I would spend hours on something like this... to make it just perfect. I don't have the time for that anymore! But I'm pleased with them anyway.

A superman blankie. These are from repurposed sheets and minky. Really cute.
A Star Wars blankie. Again with the repurposed sheets. Original 1970's vintage this time. Love these.

For the little girls..... a flamingo blankie. I want one of these in my size.

Some monogramming that I was pleased with. Love these little backpacks, and I like the tiaras.

Got some more to share, but I'll post that later!