ruffled curtains

I wanted to use a lightweight fabric for the curtains in my bathroom and I found the perfect tutorial for ruffled curtains made from muslin.  I went with white to contrast the wall color.  I'm going to add LED Flameless Candles to the candlesticks, so I don't accidently catch the ruffles on fire.  Safety First! 

We have privacy glass windows so these are only for decoration.  But if we ever move, it's nice to know they would provide some privacy, if needed.  While they were fairly simple to make, it was definitely time consuming to make the ruffles!  So I'm glad I only did 4 per panel.  I find I have hours and hours of free time in the future, it would be nice to have an ombre ruffled curtain.  Or maybe I'll just save my pennies and buy this one. 

Goldfish-a-swimin'

This quilt was made for a friend’s 40^th birthday!  I had such a great time piecing this quilt.  He picked out all the fabrics (actually bought them as well).  I love the color scheme of this quilt. 

He planned to use this quilt in his basement so it is backed with flannel.  Flannel is a bit tricky for backing as it does seem to have a bit more stretch.  Because of that I pieced the back more than needed to give me anchors. 

The entire top is free stitched.  I ditched and stippled the center of each square freehand.  Then, I outlined each square and stippled the white/goldfish fabric.  I freehand ditched the border and stippled it, with matching thread.  Then, I went back to each square and with my handy dandy chalk pen I marked two lines for straight stitching, that I also did freehand.

Did I mention that I love to quilt freehand?!  I find that it is so much more enjoyable as it gives me complete control of everything including stitch length.

counting turtles (instead of sheep)

 

Finishing the quilt for my son's bed was a big accomplishment because his feet have been sticking out the bottom of his blanket for some time now.  He now has a twin-size bedspread complete with matching sheets.  As I stated in an earlier post, I used a flat sheet for the back of the quilt, as well as some piecing on the front to coordinate.  When my younger son gets old enough to move from his crib, they will be sharing a room.  So I recently bought fabric to make him the same size and pattern quilt for that transition. 

 

This is a close-up picture to show the fabric and details of the quilting. 

 

I had to post this picture to show how little thread was left - I barely finished!

Stippling on a quilt

I wanted to show how I stipple.  Drop your feed dogs and put you stitch length to zero.  I actually didn’t realize until after I had my husband do the video that I was stippling white thread on white fabric and it is really hard to see.  Towards the end of the movie you can see the stipple work in the shadowy part of the white square.

 

I absolutely love the look stippling adds to a washed quilt.  When I first learned how to quilt I knew I wanted to master stippling.  I was told to think puzzle pieces when I am quilting.  I actually find it more helpful to think of coral.  I also find that when I shut my mind off and just go, it turns out much nicer.  The goal with stippling is to have all curved lines that don’t cross each other.  Should you cross you lines, congratulations, you have mastered meandering.  Meandering is also a free stitch, meaning you control the direction, which allows for lines to cross themselves.

There are several books and methods on learning to stipple.  I am a jump right in kinda gal.  But, one of my sewing friends has used tissue paper with her stippling design drawn on and then pinned to the quilt and she follows her lines.  A word of caution, should the thread be white don’t use a pencil.  The pencil will stain your thread.  Another friend uses a chalk pen and draws right on the quilt top and follows that.  You can also purchased pre-printed papers with a stippling design on it.  Which ever method works best for you is fine. 

christmas in july

 

Christmas is a favorite holiday in our house and my husband starts counting down December 26^th!  But we don’t officially start counting down until the 1^st.  In addition to candies, coins, stickers, etc., I include an activity in each pocket.  The activities vary from making paper snowflakes to driving around to look at Christmas lights. You can find the tutorial here. 

  

Family wall hanging

I wanted to make a fun wall hanging for the entry way.  I immediately loved this pattern when I found it.  I let each of the girls pick their dress and I surprised my husband with the Ohio State nod. 

 It was very fun to make this appliqué piece.  I did simple stippling for the background of each main block and then an ‘x’ in each of the small blocks.

 A funny side note ~ the star hanger is not set to hang level.  That absolutely drives my type A nuts!  My awesome husband gave me a ball magnet that is hidden from view, but adds just enough weight to make it hang straight.

changing pad cover and crib sheet

Because I’m posting this while out of town, I’m going to keep it short and sweet.  These are the changing pad cover and crib sheets I made for my youngest.  Most of the things I've made for his room are gray, because you can't find that color (yet) in baby things.

The tutorials are here and here.