Thursday, July 30, 2009

The Singing Cowboy Quilt

The singing cowboy quilt is finished completely!
I like the colors and the contrasts in this quilt.
The fabrics are the two different prints on many different color backgrounds. Fabrics are made by Alexander Henry...I found the batik light tan fabric at Satin Stitches here in Columbia and it matches the hats perfectly.

The backing is almost an exact match of cowboy hats on a burgundy background. I found it at Hobby Lobby and I thought it was perfect!
The quilt measures 66 x 70" and makes a great throw!

Anyway, five down and one to go!









Before and After....Again!

This is what my smallish living room has looked like for about 5 months. My sewing, weaving, and craft room is upstairs. I have been unable to go up those stairs because of a back injury and surgery, so I had my family bring down all the important things so that I could keep occupied. I think crafting for me is cheap therapy (right, Sarah?), it kept me from going stir crazy. I have never been a tidy crafter though, so the living room has been a disaster area!
This is my living room today, after the kitchen table was taken back to the kitchen and the sewing machines and piles of fabric are back upstairs. The house has been thoroughly cleaned and is now back to its old self.

This Years 1930s Print Raffle Quilt

I made this quilt from 1930s reproduction fabrics. I love the way it looks and have decided to donate to my church again for a raffle for our annual Fish Fry Fundraiser in September.


The Other Raffle Quilt

I think this is one of my favorite ever quilts...I made it exactly like the pattern on the magazine cover showed. I loved the way it looked. I found out that it is difficult to find solid fabrics that aren't batiks or mottled or small prints. Anyway, Hobby Lobby came through with the two shades of green and the cobalt blue and yellow.



I Love Civil War Era Prints!!


This is another throw (64 x 76") made from scraps left over from the project in the following pictures. I swear I didn't think I had purchase that much, but it seems to be multiplying. Or maybe I like the colors and the prints so much I just keep buying more of it. That could be it, but regardless, I just love the colors and the prints of the Civil War era.


This is the quilt I made last spring to raffle off for my church's fundraiser at Midway Heights Baptist Church Fish Fry. I have given quilts away, but never raffled one like this before...it was much harder than I thought. I bought $30 worth of tickets myself.

This pattern is from the February 2008 issue of Better Homes and Gardens Creative Collection American Patchwork and Quilting magazine. I made two quilts out of that magazine so my copy is about worn out (plus it has some tear stains too!).

Red & Yellow Whole Cloth Quilted Throw

I bought this fabric at an auction for $4 for about 6 yards of it. It is home decorator fabric, kind of a loose weave, rich and beautiful in appearance.
I used the the same one piece for the front and the back, with bias binding for a more sophisticated look with the stripe fabric.

It looks great in my buttery yellow leather chair. Maybe I should keep this one....



Where's Waldo?





I was on the deck watering my container plants. As I sprayed my big pot of yellow begonias, I saw something move. I jumped back, not wanting to get too close just in case (it was a snake or a lizard or a mama bird that might attack me). I had to go get my camera when I finally saw this camouflaged frog. He probably was just as startled as I was....

Sunday, July 26, 2009

Recycled Plastic Bag Tote

Here is my latest craft project...I got this idea from my sister who had a cute bag made from plastic grocery bags. I loved it and raved about it and so I decided to make me one similar.
I used Wal Mart and appropriately, Hobby Lobby bags....it took a lot more than I imagined.

First I cut the bags (laid out flat) into strips (so I had a loop after they were cut) about 1.5 inches wide and connected them by looping one loop through another until I had a long string of them. Actually it took a very long string!
Then I just crocheted them to be the shape I wanted (I didn't really have a pattern, so I can't really tell you how). The bag actually looks better than it does here--I had just jammed a large bath towel into the bag to make it stand up for the photo, so it looks crooked.
Here is my inspiration...very cute and made by GrannyDebDesigns. She has really neat bags for sale on etsy.com (http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=25966596).




Thursday, July 23, 2009

Civil War Brick Road Quilt Done!!

Completed! One Civil War Repro Fabrics Brick Road Quilt!
You can see that it is cat approved...Mama Kitty gives it a 10 for snugglability!


I love the different fabrics (actually made from scraps from several other quilts that I made from 1800s fabrics). I just love the contrast between the lighter colors and the darkest of browns.
There is some blue and a bit of green.


Now on to the next quilt....

Monday, July 13, 2009

Home, Hummingbirds and Her Majesty Elena

Mom and Dad keep two hummingbird feeders on their front porch.
It's a joy to watch these tiny birds flitting around and chirping loudly
especially when the bottle is empty.
This bottle is empty and these birds are not happy!!
Elena sat outside with the Grandma Prices and kept a close eye on the
hummingbirds...she kept making chirping noises like the birds.




You gotta watch those birds all the time!!

This is my fave hummingbird pic! The little guy on the right is all sprawled out and is showing his underbelly (if hummingbirds have underbellies).

A fight has erupted between two tiny ones....

Playing inside with Grandma's dollhouse...a family tradition..Elena is the perfect age for dollhouses!









But I have promises to keep, and miles to go before I sleep, miles to go before I sleep...

These are a few of the recent quilts I made when I was not able to work. I had my sewing machines and my fabric stash and my threads all moved downstairs where I could easily sew all I wanted to...as a result (that and boredom) I made lots and lots of quilt tops and my Aunt Marge machine qilted them for me. She does an awesome job and is very reasonable. These are actually the finished products, I just need to stitch the bindings on by hand. That is my least favorite job...takes forever when you have a big quilt, but well worth the wait.

This quilt is one I made for my niece Ruth, who is kind of a cowgirl and by the way, she is looking for a nice cowboy if anyone knows one....She looked all over and was very picky about the pink bandana fabric....it had to be just right. As a result I have three very nice pinkish bandana prints that were not just right....I am thinking I might have to make a quilt out of those!
Anyway, the finished product shows that she made the right decision!
I am sure I can have these finished in no time!