butterflies and hole in the barn door quilts

My little sister will be having her second child, a daughter, on tuesday. So, in prepartion for said little girl, I made her a quilt. My sis wanted to do pink, and butterflies.

So pink and butterflies she will have.

Bad lighting I know

I turned out well. I just hope it wears well. I appliquéd the butterflies on after I wonder-undered them onto the white background. 

I usually use a zigzag stitch compressed to make a nice satin appliqué border, but it stretched so badly that I tried a blanket stitch.

Then after the butterfly quilt, I other sister, let me know she had an old quilt top she had inherited for an aunt. It had been sitting in her attic for years. She asked if I could finish it, get it long arm quilted, and bound. Well, sure. I KNEW people who could finish it.

I went to the Quilt Haus to look for backing and who should be there? Kelleigh of Kell's Quilting. I grabbed some back and white gingham, and handed it all to Kelleigh, and told her let me know when it's finished. 

When I had researched the quilt pattern Google images identified it as a Hole in the Barn door pattern. I chose a black thread, all over feather meander pattern. I turned out beautifully. The binding I did myself, with mitred corners and it's a God-awful mess. MY part was messy, Kelleigh's was lovely.

Here's my sister Sully with her Attic Quilt (Hole in the Barn Door) and my son, (who must be in all the pictures.

When I had first inspected the quilt I noticed it has been a labor of love for some years. Some of it was hand pieced, some of it machine pieced, and the fabrics spanned 20 years at least.

Next on the menu, more tutu's.

Ruth

The finished big brother quilt

It's finally done.

I think it took so long because I wanted to do the quilting myself. Not on my home machine, or by hand but using a long arm. In february I took a class at the Quilt Haus and it was great. So then I rented some time to practice and it was an unmitigated disaster.

It took awhile to get up the courage to try another class. The sweet 16 handi quilter. It's a long arm but not on rails, you move the quilt versus moving the machine. I loved it. So I rented some time and did the Wonky Heart Quilt, and once could manage, I rented some more time to finished the Big Brother Quilt.

Here's the finished piece.

While quilting

the quilt pattern

My Signature

The big brother with his big brother quilt

It's not even a twin size quilt, it misses the mark by a foot, but still it was too large for the handi-quilter. Just too much quilt mass to move around. But as I had already basted it, and was wary of the 24' machine, I went with it. I made up my own pattern, I like it. I was bored with the idea of a basic wandering path.

Still, I like it, and I like quilting. We'll see if I'll try it again.

Bow Bag

I had gotten a cute bag from Etsy a few years ago. (you can buy it here)

It was cute, but much too large for my needs. I had been thinking of making a purse with a bow for awhile and had collected a nice little cache of photos for inspiration.

 

So then I went ahead and did some sketches for my BOW BAG.

 Yes, they DO look quite sketchy. Because sketches are just that. Badly drawn ideas. Or at least mine are. If I wanted to do a nice technical drawing or illustration I would never had gotten around to making he actual bag.

I decided on a version of the one I checked off, and a version of the top right one. I changed fabrics, patterns and whether or not to add a bow at least twice.

But after what seemed like forever here's my finished purse. Due to my being a lazy bum, I didn't do a tutorial, or even take pictures for those of you who'd like to make your own. So sorry.

I have pockets on the outside and inside, because originally, the yellow polkadot was going to be just the lining on this fabric below. And the fabric of the bow.

But it just got too busy. So, I said, forget the chevrons, for now, and just use the polka dot. I'm glad that I did.

Now, onto the next project.

Ruth

graphic design project finished

It's been awhile since I've posted, well, I had a baby a month ago, so that's why.

Before I delivered, I finished a super cool project for a very good client in the area.

It's her logo, graphics and billboards.

I'm really pleased with the outcome.

She's an avid poker player (she's played in the World Series of Poker) and so the logo being an ACE was a stroke of genius.

It may be quite awhile till I finish another project.

So, hopefully this will have to do for awhile.

Thanks so much to Kendra for continuing to use me!!

, Ruth