Isabella Cardigan

 Isabella Cardigan 

Kudo Yarn: Aran: 55% Cotton, 40% Rayon, 5% Silk 
Isabella Yarn: Aran: 60% Wool, 30% Silk, 10% Rayon

Whaddya know? Something with sleeves! Baby it's cold outside, even in balmy eastern Chattanooga, so it is the right time to pull on a cozy cardi and warm up. This lightweight knit is non-itchy as all my knits are and measures 42" at the bust and 48" at the hip, with a 26" length .
$100 plus shipping.
Email me. SOLD

 

And #4 baby quilt is finished. I decided to go with orange fabrics and not just scraps. It feels good getting into the stash and seeing new combos. I asked my quilting friends for batting scraps and already Margo has delivered a huge amount. Off to the church sewing room today for everyone to use! Thanks so much Margo!

Baby Quilt?

 I found some blocks that were used to demo flip and sew and thought they would work for another baby quilt. They were already quilted and so all I need to add was width. I cut batting and backing to the size needed and then did more flip and sew. Then I cut that piece in half length wise and attached it to the center blocks. Easy peasy!

It turns out these quilts are not going to Newton as previously mentioned. So now I am making them for Ronald McDonald House. The number is unlimited, so I definitely am going to enlist any and all sewers. Yesterday at the church my friend Patsy and I unpacked three boxes full of fabrics donated by our fellow knitter Martha and we are so excited to have all these new materials to use up. Woowoo!

This is the quilt chosen for display at church. It is Reformation Sunday, and the appropriate color is RED!

Baby Quilts

 

The second quilt for the Newton Child Development Center, cotton, machine pieced and quilted. 36x54".

I used only scrap strips, including large scraps of batting, zigzagged together onto the backing before adding the top.  This is a great way of using up the leftovers which pile  up so quickly. And the log cabin setting is fun and fast.
With this quilt, I didn't use quilt as you go, but made the top first and then quilted it, just like a regular quilt. I love how it just fits my table exactly. The colors might be a little girly, but the first quilt was a little more boyish, so it's only fair.
This kind of  sewing is so much fun, satisfying and stress free.

 I quilted it in big juicy plumes, also fast and fun.

+++++++

 I have a new regime in my kitchen. I insist on being the only cook, which has greatly helped keep the counters and floors clean. It has taken a few days of training, but Dave is getting the idea that I am in charge and he belongs on the other side of the counter, to be served. He gets much healthier meals this way and the kitchen doesn't get out of hand as quickly.

Breakfast Party

It was pouring down rain but we had planned this breakfast party in the sunshine, so it went on as planned. Brooke and her workmate Kitt, arrived hungry and the dishes were ready promptly. Spinach quiche, bacon, hash browns, OJ, chai tea and plenty of fruit. 

Brooke surprised me with a Dragon fruit. 

 
 You may think we are eating healthy, but this fruit is leftover from that fry up breakfast. O well.

On the quilt front, I made this little quilt yesterday, quilt as you go, and it was so fun, being small and bright. It measures 36x54" ish and now that it is up on the wall, I see where I went awry, right hand lower side. I doubt a five year old will quibble. I like the idea of using up scraps and just making something a little kid can cuddle up in and call her own.

New Things

 

I recently rearranged my studio and moved my work table to Dave's TV room for him to use as a drawing table. My plan was to use my big 3x5' table on bed risers for my work surface, and then move it to my machine for quilting. To make the Formica table into a pressing surface, I ordered a rug pad cut to fit. It's 3/8" thick and cost $29, free shipping. It is ugly but I knew that going in. I pillow-cased  it with canvas on one side and heavy white cotton on the other and added ties to the corners to keep it from slipping all over the place. And left one side open for easy removal for washing. Safety pins keep that end closed. The neat part is that it is easy to remove when I want to quilt and need a slippery surface.

 And after all these years, it finally dawned on me to hang my rulers right next to my table, so they are easy to find, use and don't get chipped falling off the table. Duh! Command hooks of course.

 What is really making me happy is this new waste can for the kitchen. We had a can under the sink, but the bag insert kept getting askew and constantly making it difficult to use, etc. Little annoyances. This will stay out, and has a feature that holds the bag in place under the lid, which opens with a pedal at the base. Genius! I knew you would love seeing my trash inside. ha!

It was the last one at the store, so they must be popular.

Update on the church banners....I think we have narrowed it down to two panels, for Advent, that are symmetrical and matching colors. OK!
And then another exciting bit. The Newton Child Development Center  here in Chattanooga needs 50 blankets for little kids under five. O PTL. This is just the project for the church sewing room to tackle. I'm thinking 36x54" and QAYG. I will make the prototype and enlist our sewing enthusiasts to play along. I'm excited. Lots of fabric has appeared in our sewing room and more keeps on coming. Wonders never cease.

Church Banners

Gulp! I've been asked by our pastor's wife to make some banners for our sanctuary wall, right in front of the whole congregation! She and I are both new members (including the pastor) and who knows what she might have in mind, or what I might be getting myself into. Still, I am game and have gone up to the attic to bring out some previous work, as a starting point. She mentioned something yellow and blue to go with the yellow walls and blue rose window. Hmmm. I have YELLOW. This is an unquilted top which is at least 12 years old. 53x75" I am now confident enough to quilt it. Can you see this as "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was God"? Or something else? It might be too too for the sanctuary, or not. 

This is pretty obvious, so it might work
and is quilted and all ready to hang.
This one is sold, but I could remake it larger and with more blue and yellow. 

 But what about this piece? "Lo, I am with you always?"

Of course there is no text on the piece, and I wonder if the idea comes across. It is also ready to hang, thus eliminating the fear of commissions, which I still have.

And then there is this piece which I made in 2006 and never quilted. Can this be its time? What scripture does it bring to mind, if any? It has lots of blue... Fishers of men?

It's Autumn!

 It's time for knits, and even down here in the warm South, it is nippy in the morning. 58 degrees at the moment. So let's start thinking of cute ways to keep toasty. This little cardi vest is made from non-itchy-scratchy wools, and it is sized for a woman with an actual figure (not like my mannequin, who is a stick!). 48" at the bust and 50" at the hip. Those are the measurements of the vest, so you must be less or it would be skin tight.

But wait, there's more, as they say on TV. I had enough yarn to make a coordinating scarf! 

 And I added a knitted ring to hold the ties and avoid a big knot.

I am offering these pieces as a set, for $100 plus shipping. Sold

Better Lighting, Better Photos

Here are two fotos of the same quilt. The first was taken in my studio (with a single centered LED fixture) and the second was taken at the church in our new sewing room with florescent lights directly over the design wall . The lighting is sooooooo much better there, and I can really tell the difference. The second photo shows the quilting detail so clearly and the color is better too, no tweaking required! I brought two more quilts to shoot too, and they are below with the previous pix first.


To me the difference is HUGE, with the first one kinda blurry and the second one so much more sharp. The color is all off on the first one too, and just right on the second.  I am from now on going to take my photos at church instead of at home.

 Here again, the clarity is much better in the second picture and details are visible even with close-ups.

Just for fun, here are some detail shots, no tweaking required.