"Pure" Quilt Top

Remember a little over a week ago, when I posted a picture of my new favorite line of fabric? Well, the quilt top is finished, and ready for the quilter!

String Quilt

I finally got the binding finished on this quilt last weekend. I'm not very pleased with the way the picture turned out, as I don't think the colors look quite right. Also, it really looks wonky in the picture, and when I look at it in person, I don't see any "wonkiness". This was my first attempt at a "string" quilt. The quilt top is paper pieced on 8 1/2 squares of paper. I basically used my junk mail, squared up to 8 1/2 inches. The strip of muslin went down the center of each square, on the diagonal, followed by random fabric strips in a variety of widths. It is sashed with a light gray, and the border is a darker gray. I did some random piecing on the back. The binding is a cream with red dots.

Birthday gift for a special 5 year old

I have a great niece who will celebrating her 5th birthday in a few days. I made bags like these for two of her sisters for their birthday's, which were a little earlier this summer. Since this little girl likes green, I decided to make hers out of green fabric. The bags are easy to make and they go together quickly. I will be packing this up today - getting ready to ship if off to Wyoming tomorrow.



Happy Birthday, Tillie!

New Favorite Fabric

I am working on a project with these fabrics. They have quickly become my new favorite. This quilt is for our bed. I might even need to make some throw pillows and pillow shams to go with it, because I like it that much!

Another Quilt

I finished another small quilt over the weekend. If only I knew how to line up the pictures...... that is the back you are seeing on the right.
It measures about 40 inches by 58 inches. It was kind of an experiment, and I am pretty happy with the way it turned out. I just cut strips of random widths, the full width of the fabric. I had to piece a few of them. After the top was all sewn together, I had to piece the batting, as I did not have 1 piece large enough. It ended up with 2 "splices", but seems to lay flat. I machine quilted it in straight lines (well, as straight as I could get them!) on my trusty little Kenmore. For the backing, I used part of a sheet - one that I'm no longer using, in a 90's kind of raspberry color. For now, this is about the largest size quilt I will attempt quilting myself. I don't see how anyone can quilt a queen sized quilt on their little standard home sewing machine, although I know a lot of people do it.

I'm planning to donate it here.

Getting ready for twins...

I know someone who is expecting twins. They are due to arrive any day now. Their actual due date is August 1st, but their mother is ready for them to come anytime. In fact, she appears to be more than ready! Mom and Dad have decided they don't want to know the sex of the babies ahead of time. So, that has meant making 2 baby boy quilts, and 2 baby girl quilts. I just got the final quilt finished last night -- the second girl quilt.

The back of the girl quilt on the top is pink and white gingham- looking checks. The other is solid pink.

They boy quilts have jungle animals on the back -- 2 different fabrics from the same line. They are pictured at the top.

Since the quilts are done, I am hoping she has the babies soon.
And I know that she is hoping the babies will be born soon, too!

Meet Charlie

I was hoping to have a new project finished to post on here today. But, I don't....

So instead, here's Charlie.....our cute little Pekingese. Just don't get him mad........

Saturday projects

I worked on a few projects yesterday. This is a baby quilt I have been working on. It might be hard to tell in the picture, but the binding is a pale pink gingham (as is the back of the quilt). I worked on hand sewing the binding on the back side last night while watching a movie. I am hoping to finish the hand sewing today. I will post a picture when it is finished!

This was an experiment I wanted to try -- strips sewn together the width of the fabric. I love the bright colors. The top is done -- it's approximately 40 inches wide by 60 inches in length. I will post a picture when the whole quilt is finished.

Banana bread....... some with mini chocolate chips, some without......
Here's the recipe:



1/2 cup butter, melted

1 cup white sugar

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup sour cream

3 medium bananas, mashed

Mini chocolate chips and/or chopped walnuts, if desired



1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease a 9 x 5 loaf pan.

2. In large bowl, stir together melted butter and sugar. Add eggs and vanilla, mix well. Combine the flour, baking soda and salt. Stir into the butter mixture until smooth. Fold in the sour cream and bananas. Add chocolate chips and/or walnuts.



Bake at 325 degrees for 1 hour and 15 minutes, or until a toothpick insured into the center of the loaf comes out clean. Cool in pan for 10 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.





And one of my favorite pies. You can find the recipe here: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Creamy-Blueberry-Pie/Detail.aspx

Am I really blogging?

Hey there, it's my first attempt at blogging. We'll see how this goes! If anyone is actually here reading this, I would like to welcome you. I'll try not to bore you to tears! These are some hot pads I made this past week -- a birthday gift for a co-worker. They are about 10 inches square.

This one is about a half inch bigger than the one on top. I might need to make more of these -they go together fast, and are fun to make.