Faith Quilt

Our church recently converted an under-utilized room behind the sanctuary into a cozy, inviting coffee nook. In the 70's someone had decorated the room with dark paneling & orange shag carpet ~ sound familiar? In the late 80's or early 90's it had another makeover. The paneling was replaced with walls in stark white and the orange shag got tossed in favor of the burgundy carpet being installed in the sanctuary. The room was much improved & used as a chapel for quite some time. In the last few years it had become more of a catch-all storage area until this fall when it became the new Coffee Chapel. It recently got a new coat of warm beige paint, but the walls were begging for decoration. I found this panel at Hobby Lobby & knew it would be the new Coffee Chapel quilt.

I had to buy two panels in order to get enough fabric to have matching borders on all four sides. (I still have the second center panel, minus the borders...any suggestions?) They had a coordinating print that I used for the corner squares, back & binding. I was please with the over-all result & the background matches the wall color perfectly. Sometimes things just work out!

Let me know your ideas about what to do with the leftover panel.

Keep on stitchin'

Deb

Catching Up

In September a friend of ours celebrated his 50th birthday. His wife planned a surprise party for him & this is the gift I made him. He is on my husband's high school football refereeing crew & he also loves to barbecue. In my mind the natural gift was a personalized apron. (I have fallen in love with aprons, so watch for a post soon about them.) This is a design I created several months ago to make some towels for the guys on the crew. Seems many schools forget to provide towels (along with soap & hot water sometimes) for the refs. Go figure! By the way, this is my husband modelling the apron. Isn't he a doll?!

I can't believe how quickly the weeks have passed since my last post. I have been busy at the sewing machine as well as several other activities. The highlight of my creative life lately was the AQS show in Des Moines in late October. I attended all four days of the show, three with my sister & one with the rest of the gals in my sewing group, Sew Much Fun. Besides the beautiful quilts and fantastic shopping, I attended a couple of interesting lectures, too. Ami Simms was the speaker one evening & she had everyone rolling in the aisles with her anecdotes. Nadine Ruggles, author of Inchie Quilts, gave a three-hour seminar about blogging. Now, don't you think that should have inspired me? She had excellent information for us, some of which I hope to incorporate into this blog (eventually). Unfortunately, I wasn't able to stay for the entire three hours as it was also my youngest grandson's first birthday party. Couldn't miss that now, could I?

Leave me a comment to let me know what you've been working on. The holidays are fast approaching & if you don't finish that project soon, you'll be caught up in making gifts for everyone else & it will have to wait until January.

Keep on stitchin'

Deb

Pretty in Pink (& White)

Just had to post pictures of my "project-of-the-week". No, not the little girl...she's my granddaughter. I'm talking about her outfit. This is a pattern I purchased at the AQS show in Des Moines last October & I decided I better try to get some of the patterns I purchased there made up before I attend the show this year. The design is by Suzanne Sievers. I think all of her patterns are just adorable.

It's been a long time since I have done much garment construction, adult or child, & I think my skills are a little rusty. Having raised two daughters (& a son), I made lots of clothing for them as they grew up. Seems like every time I turned around, somebody needed a new outfit. Of course, Halloween was the best, but that's post for another day.

This pattern uses a purchased sweatshirt. You cut the bottom off, add a ruffle & trim to the remaining top to make the jacket, then turn the bottom of the sweatshirt upside down, insert elastic into the ribbing to use as a waistband & add another ruffle & more trim to finish it. I think it turned out pretty well, but I did find it's not as easy to sew for a child when you don't have any of their clothing for comparison on size. I intend to make another similar one for her in black & pink. Hopefully, the fit will be a little closer.

Okay, here's your mission, should you decide to accept it...pull out at least one project that you've been procrastinating about &, if you can't finish it, at least do a little work on it. You will have a wonderful sense of accomplishment for at least having tried & you will be that much closer to completion.

Keep on stitchin'

Deb

Planes, Trains & Automobiles

I made this quilt a little over two years ago for a good friend's newest grandchild. I searched coloring books for simple drawings & then used them to create applique' shapes for the blocks. It's made from flannel & designed specifically to match the nursery theme. I actually fused all the pieces on & then satin stitched around each piece before completing the top, layering & then quilting it. Had I been more proficient with my new (at that time) HV Designer SE, I could have done much, if not all, of the applique' work in the hoop. Back then I just wasn't familiar enough with the 4D software to be able to digitize the designs. I might just have to try making it again just to prove to myself how much I have learned about my software.

By the way, if you'll notice, in the center block I embroidered the baby's name & birthdate. His first name is Uzziah. I had never heard of it before, but have been told it is the name of a king in the Old Testament.

Mystery Project

HAPPY NATIONAL SEWING MONTH!

Were you aware that President Reagan declared September as National Sewing Month? Well, now you are, so get busy sewing (not that I need a reason)!

What do you think of the these fabrics? They are from a line called Housework Whenever! by Sharon Yenter for In the Beginning fabrics. Take a really close look at the drawings. Most of them have to do with sewing instead of cooking, cleaning, etc...very tongue-in-cheek, but they certainly tickled my funny bone. I saw them yesterday & knew I just had to have some. Not only that, I knew everyone in my sewing group (Sew Much Fun) would want some as well! Okay, that was probably a little presumptuous, but when I showed it to them today, of course, they all loved it. My sister & I cooked up (no pun intended) a project for them, but we've decided it will remain a secret. As a matter of fact, we told them they wouldn't even know what the project was until they were well into making it. We've called it the Mystery Project & it is scheduled as part of the Christmas festivities during our December meeting. In the meantime, I intend to make mine. Sorry, I won't be able to post any pictures of it here until after December 1. (If you're not part of my small group & absolutely can't wait to find out what the Mystery Project is, send me an email & I'll fill you in. If it's next week or later I should have it done & will even send you a picture.)

Blue Ribbon Winner

My sister, Sharie Bergquist, made this christening gown for her niece's baptism this spring.  In order to enter it in the fair she had to "borrow" it back, but it was worth it since she won a blue ribbon for her work.  Isn't it beautiful?  Sharie learned to do heirloom sewing when she lived in Virginia a few years ago.  She has recently formed a partnership with another heirloom enthusiast, Mary Jane Sprague, & formed a business.  They are teaching and have classes scheduled in the Des Moines area.  They are currently scheduling classes for the fall.  If you're interested you can contact them at mjsclasses@gmail.com

State Fair Report

I attended the reception for entrants in the Fabrics & Threads division at the Iowa State Fair last Wednesday & was a little disappointed that I didn't win any ribbons. Maybe I shouldn't have been surprised since the two items I entered were my first attempt at both techniques. What I was surprised about was that in the category that I entered the portrait quilt (you can barely see it in the upper right corner of this photo), the judge only awarded two ribbons, second & fourth places. Second place (red ribbon) was given to the quilt on the left side, the maple leaf. Fourth place (pink ribbon) is immediately to the right, the abstract circles & squares.



The director of the Fabrics & Threads department explained that a judge is not obligated to award all ribbons. Okay, if I were a judge I imagine there would be times when I didn't feel as though any of the entries deserved a blue ribbon, but I don't think I would skip a place. Seems a little unusual to me.



Anyway, no sour grapes here. I've had positive feedback from many friends & will just need to try, try again. There's always next year!



Keep on stitchin'



BTW, there were 2800 items entered in the Fabrics & Thread division this year, over 800 quilted items! Only 600 quilts last year so I'd say it's growing in popularity.