Chistmas Already?

That is what my crazy Christmas Cacti think anyways. A couple weeks ago I brought them in the house from the porch because we had frost warnings, and someone told me..(I remember this now).. that when you do that it will spur them to bloom. They did.
I took them back outside on a sunny afternoon last week for a picture.. the white one opened up first.. and now today this red one.
Magnificent I think. The leaves on this plant are so pretty. The white plant not so much.. and I don't know why.. I treat them both the same. But it never looks as healthy as this red one does.

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A couple weeks ago I got a surprise package in the mail from my new friend Lily Xue. These little owls she makes are so adorable. He perches on my computer screen quite nicely. She is a crafty one, and we have had fun trading some things back and forth from Ohio to Tokyo. I had won a contest over at Terry's Treasures..oh it's been several months ago now I think.. and it included some magazines that I had duplicates of which I wanted to share with Lily-Xue. When I got the package from Terry.. which I just thought was going to be the magazines.. there was also this adorable fabric collection inside!..Isn't it pretty?.. and really perfect for my new project. Thank you so much Terry.. and I'm sorry I have been so lame in not mentioning it until now.

Anyway.. lots of folks adore these types of owls that Lily Xue sent to me.. and if you are just new here, I have posted a link to my own tutorial on the sidebar to make another version of them with yo-yo eyes and jingle bell feet. They make really cute ornaments for this time of year.

Still working on the Black and White quilt. I've decided it's going to be for one of my boys for Christmas. I hope they aren't reading this. But I guess if they are, they still won't know quite for sure which one it's for.
Here is the back. I am loving the way the thread is making designs.. kinda reminds me of snowflakes.
The backing is fleece like you would use to make hoodies, which I was hesitant to use at first because I didn't know how it would quilt up, but it's working just fine. I had a lot of odd sized pieces, so I just sewed them together any which way.. red, white and gray. I'll show the whole thing once I get it done.

And I'm starting a new project which I shall blog about tomorrow.. here is a sneak peek.. lots of pink..

A Little Bit of Red

Yes. I am finally working again on my Black & White quilt for Jackie's challenge. I got the flimsy finished last night.. Mr Attic helped by holding it high for a picture.
For as long as I can remember I have been wanting to make a tumbling block quilt with 3D optical illusion. And I have to say, even though I do love the outcome, I don't think I'll be making another one soon. Not because it made me cross-eyed looking at it.. but because there are really no straight rows to sew together. Unless you use a quick method and make half diamonds. But I never liked that seam showing.

So to do it without a seam, I sewed three diamonds together to make a hexagon. Then put the hexagons together the same as you would a Grandmother's Garden.. setting in all the seams. One by one.
I had to draw a diagram for myself and number each block so I could keep it all straight while piecing it together. Below is the same picture as above, but I used blogger's picasa to upload it so you can click it bigger if you want..

This morning I hurried to piece a backing together before 10am. We were having a ladies' get together today at the church where anyone could bring a craft or project to work on and eat snacks. So I took advantage of the big space to pin my quilt into a frame for basting.. since I really do not like to crawl around on the floor doing it. And I thought maybe if someone forgot to bring a craft of their own.. or didn't have something to work on.. I could give them a free lesson in quilt basting. No one wanted the free class.. oh well.. their loss.. but lots of people passed by and said.. "Oh how pretty!" I did get one girl to help me roll it under as I went. That was very helpful.. and nice.

So I got it all basted and in the hoop to do some big stitch hand quilting. I am so into this.. and can hardly think of putting a quilt in my big frame and using those tiny little stitches again.

For Jackie's challenge we are to use the basic black and white, and then add one other color. I debated about this for almost a year now. I put every color I could think of next to it, and for some reason I just kept coming back to red. Maybe because when Jackie first introduced the challenge at the beginning of the year, I had just seen a black and white quilt with a tiny bit of red, and that's what made me want to sign up. So red it is.

Back

It does feel good to be back to making things and blogging again. Still a little more that needs to be done on the house before the holidays, but nothing to fret about.
Last week was our annual church auction. I had made some quilt tops last spring to donate, but only ended up giving one. I thought for sure I had a picture of the finished comforter, but now I don't see it here in my files. I'll have to check with the gal that bought it and see if I can get a picture of the whole thing finished.. but it was this one that I was working on.. The other quilt top I decided to keep and do something special with.. I'll show you that later. But since I didn't put that one in, I needed to make something else instead. So here are three bags. I love the browns and paisley in this one.. They are made of wool and corduroy.. stuff that I have here in the stash. this one has my favorite button.. I'm really having fun making bags. ☺ But today I started on another thing.. something to do with the fall season.. ..using burlap, raffia, an old shirt and some old pant legs. I did get it finished and will take some pics and show you tomorrow.

The sun is shining so nice here today. We had frost last night, so all the leaves are falling, and it is very pretty.

a little too much pistachio please

Yes. It is a bit much.. isn't it?

I have been downstairs sorting and purging all week. Lots of stuff to go to the thrift shop. And it feels great!

This quilt has been down there for quite a while now. I bought it at a fund raising auction.. mostly because I knew the lady who made it. She and my mother were good friends when they were living. She told me that the nine-patches came from her mother's house in Iowa, that she had them for a long time, and decided she would just hurry up and sew them together and tie knots to donate it for the auction. I keep thinking of her now, and hearing her voice as she taught me to hand quilt with tiny stitches.

Anyway.. I LOVED the nine-patches as soon as I saw them.. so I knew I had to bid and win it. Vintage fabrics the whole way through, and one feedsack with pink roses that repeated in many places. Wasn't crazy about the green sashing, and there was not much to do about that. But those yellow strings were going to have to go.
I keep meaning to show you my new little scissors I got at the Quilt Convention in Columbus in June. They are the sharpest little things I've ever had.. and isn't the bird adorable?

So anyway, I know there are other way more pressing things to be doing.. like making some birthday presents and pulling weeds. But I just couldn't help starting on this for some reason. Right now.
This is my new hoop that I picked up at the Kidron Quilt Auction a couple weeks ago. I've been so wanting to try it.. and it is perfect with it's oval shape.. not too big.. and just right for reaching under with my hand.

I've been quickly running a large black stitch in crosshatch.. it is what my grandma used to do and it is so easy. I really love the look of it too. But the lady who made this quilt would probably shudder.. because her stitches were always tiny.
I've only been working on it today, and already have most of the rows done across one way.. and a couple of the corners.

The yellow knots really are wonderful "basting" knots.. and I have been snipping them as I go. So much fun.. I feel like I am liberating the quilt.. and removing the ugly sutures it's had for the past three or four years.

Here are some of the blocks.. hearting these fabrics so much. ♥



Can't wait to snip the knots on this one. ☺

And in case you think I am not going to get to it.. I really am looking forward to piecing the DWR arcs.. they are next on my list after the birthday presents.

Orts and Arcs and Folded Flat

This is my work table at the moment. I did straighten it up a bit and the baskets are hiding a pile of stuff going on back there.. ..but do you like my ort container? A while back I was really thinking I'd join in on this meme.. but never did. I kept stuffing my orts into a Petersburg Creamery milk bottle though.. and it has been a lot of fun. Don't know how much more I can stuff in.. it's poked down pretty tight.

So what's in that old Fruit-of-the-Loom men's T-shirt box? Something I have been cutting out for weeks now.. ..and no rotary cutter either. These are all curved pieces.. cut with scissors.. 2090 of them for a new DWR I'm starting. I still have all the white to cut yet but I think I'll sew some arcs for a while first. These below are not sewn but I laid some of the fabric combos out to show you.. I definitely have a plan for how these are going to go together.. ..so even though it looks a bit scrappy.. it is going to have some organization which took a lot of planning. .. can't wait to show you when it comes together a little more. ☺ Many of you wondered about Cherri getting a little dress. Of course she did. So she is ready for a very special Hitty Club this coming Monday. Then here's another thing I was working on but couldn't show until she received it.. a tea cozy for my friend Helen for her birthday. For months now I have been so eager to try Nanette's "Leafy Treetops" pattern and have just not had the chance. So when I was thinking about what to put on Helen's tea cozy.. this just popped into my mind. Helen loves birds.. she has some awesome feeders in her yard. I knew she especially likes cardinals.. and red seems to be such a cozy color. I confess I'm using her photo.. because it really looks nice on her kitchen table!! But anyways.. I absolutely loved making this.. Nanette's pattern is terrific.. and the birds were so much fun to do. I got the kitty tape measure in Kidron.

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A few weeks back my oldest son came for a visit. He lives about three hours away, so it's not really too far. Some changes in his life right now.. some that are making me very happy. ☺ He was so sweet to pick me a bouquet of wild flowers the one day he was here.. complete with teasel weed. We are probably going to have some company coming in the next few months..so I really need to do some sprucing up! I'm going to do some painting.. and focusing on organization of this massive stash that has been gathering here somehow. Since neither of the boys live here anymore.. I'm going to move all their "stuff" that they have left behind in their room.. (because of course they don't have any room for it where they live at the moment).. downstairs.. way downstairs. And start moving more of my own stuff up in the attic which is actually their old room. The upstairs will then be "for the girls". And I will actually be in the Attic. But work needs to be done for sure. So as I'm sewing on things and using it.. I'm trying to fold up my fabrics and keep them neater. Yikes! I am so not neat like I see many bloggers out there are. But I'm really going to try. I know I need a lot of help in this area!

Maybe some nice IKEA shelves would do the trick. ☺

Sewing Doll Clothes

A couple of months ago, I was working on a project that I couldn't wait to tell you about. As some of you might already know, my second love and past time besides collecting fabrics and quilting.. (and is actually more of a business).. is designing and making doll clothes. I have really slowed down on the business end a lot, because it just seems like my time is getting divided up into so many different ways.. I have a hard time keeping at it. and I don't want to disappoint people who are waiting and waiting for me to finish something. But every so often I still get a request that I can't turn down. This fully jointed wooden doll was carved by Janet Cordell, a very talented doll artist, for a friend of hers, TC, who is also a very talented doll artist. You can see a lot of her amazing work here. TC asked me if I would be interested in dressing her, and I thought it sounded like a great opportunity. Especially since she would send the doll to me nakie (except for a little handkerchief wrapped around her), and I would get to have her here for a little while. And I would make everything for her, from her striped knit stockings,to her underpinnings, dress and her dutch girl hat.
This little doll has a very strong connection to Bleuette.. which is another doll I like to sew for.. so I had a lot of patterns and information to help me with her costume. I did some research and dug into my vintage stash for some fine linen and cottons. While she was here, she slept in the little green box with lavender sachet that Melanie sent me for Christmas last year.

I did mess up a couple times on the bonnet.. that was a tricky thing to make for such a small doll with a slippery round head and a bun carved in the back.
After three tries I got it to fit..and it doesn't even fall off.
Hitty is standing on the right below, and just a reminder, she is only 6 inches tall.
The first bonnet went into the trash. The second one was too small. Hitty was a very happy recipient of that mistake. ☺

I was really pleased with the way the costume turned out. And so was TC.. because as a little surprise she sent me this MOST amazing tiny piece of work... The big doll is my own Hitty.. I just put her in the picture for size. But look at the teensy tiny perfect little doll in her lap! She is so small.. I don't know if I'll be able to make a dress for her! Her limbs are carved from toothpicks, and her head is a cherry pit! Can you imagine?? I am smitten with her and named her Cherri.

Well.. I was planning on showing you more that I've been up to.. but it will have to wait until later in the week. This post got a little too long.

Kidron Quilt Auction 2009

Last Saturday, instead of sitting here answering long overdue emails and catching up on blogging like I should have been doing, I spent the day in Kidron Ohio at the annual Mennonite Quilt auction. I met up with one of my friends from Hitty Club, plus also found Stephanie browsing around the sale tables.. before me!
The auction is set up underneath a huge circus tent. Everything is run orderly and neat. One can shop the sale tables, buy an already made vintage quilt top off a rack, or browse the rows of quilts on display waiting their turn for the auction block..
Some of them were so adorable. Of course there were all sorts, but I took pictures of the ones that suit my taste the best. ☺
There is always a quilt in a frame set up next to the auction site where women can sit and hand quilt while they're watching the fun..
I wish I could have gotten a truer picture of the fabrics in this quilt.. but the big yellow tent cast such an golden hue over everything..
I truly LOVE auctions. They talk so fast, and the crowd really gets excited. The quilts were donated from all around.. mostly from Ohio. My friend asked me what a "single needle" quilt was, because they seemed to bring more bids. I told her it was a quilt made entirely by one person.. not a group of ladies. Of course this refers only to hand quilted pieces.. which most of them were.
This one below I thought was stunning. It is a traditional Amish quilt made by Amish women. All solid colors.. no prints.. with black background and quilting thread.

Of course I did find a few items to put in my bags.. mostly fabric to add to my stash. But this is the treasure of the summer..
A vintage Apple Core quilt top totally hand pieced.. it is absolutely darling!
You can click on the photos to see the adorable old prints up close. It is 87"x74", and like Stephanie, I'm not even going to tell you what the price tag says. There are two pieces that are frayed and coming apart that I am going to need to replace. But I do intend on doing that, and probably will hand quilt it to finish it. Some day. ☺

The ride home was beautiful. Ohio is so pretty this time of year.
And I've been working working working on some projects.. I'll show you more next time. ☺

just a post edit since this was brought up.. I think the average quilt brought around $800.. but the highest one I saw was $5600. And here is a youtube clip I came across.. pretty neat to see.