Deb's Sewing Stuff

A Last Minute Gift

2011-12-27T16:01:00.000-05:00

Decided to whip up this pretty Christmas table runner as a gift for a friend - it worked up pretty quickly.

Festive I think

This shows a bit of the backing fabric

Merry Christmas!

New background

2011-12-13T17:01:00.001-05:00

Playing with a new background template...

Christmas Auction Quilt

2011-12-10T14:06:00.001-05:00

Our church (Riverside Christian Church) is having a fundraiser auction to raise money for a short-term missions trip to Guatemala. I decided to make use of a batch of beautiful Moda fabric Christmas fat-quarters I'd purchased from The Bunkhouse Quilt shop a while back and create something to donate for such a good cause.

As I posted before, I had the opportunity to take a long-arm machine quilting class and was very excited to be able to finish this quilt as my very first long-arm project. Steve took the photos for me today after I finished the hand-work on the binding.
These two are cropped close-ups of a few different blocks to show the quilting & fabrics.

This shows the backing fabric & my 'tag' for identifying purposes.

Learning something new

2011-11-29T17:20:00.001-05:00

Today was the first day of a 2-day class where I am learning long-arm machine quilting. I had a BLAST!

The teacher is a dear woman who was so patient with me and very, very encouraging! I was nervous but once I got to try it out and had a feel for it - it was so much fun! I can see why people buy these toys!

I am SO looking forward to going back on Thursday! And I'm beyond thankful that Steve sees value in my learning new things and allows me so much freedom to do so.

Clever!

2011-11-15T08:53:00.001-05:00

This is so very clever! I really want to try this soon.
Would be great with some of these fabrics I think.

They have TONS of quilting tutorials over there at Missouri Quilt Co. Worth some time to watch!

Baby Girl Quilt

2011-11-15T06:56:00.001-05:00

Here is our newest baby girl quilt from our church quilt ministry.

This was (like all of them) a labor of love. Momma is one of our Pastor's daughters and such a lovely lady. The new addition is absolutely adorable and I'm looking forward to being able to hold her in a few months - when she's big enough that I'm not freaked out by her itty-bitty-ness. :-)

Here are a few more pictures: My camera is having issues with the flash, so they aren't quite as clear as I'd like.

Close up of the quilting work done by a dear woman as a gift to our church ministry.

All cotton fabrics. Center medallion panel (pink, white & brown prints), bordered with a small scale brown & white floral, pieced border in a variety of pink prints, second brown floral border, (all set on point) with hot pink striped fabric setting triangles. Machine quilted in two different all-over designs. Double fold binding in backing fabric that is hand-finished. Batting is cotton "warm & natural" and the entire quilt is easy care machine wash/dry. Very important for a busy mom and essential in a quilt that is meant to be used well.

The back is a fun Debbie Mumm plaid fabric.

Testing

2011-11-14T14:28:00.001-05:00

Testing a linking thingy. :-)

First Batik Dress

2011-08-14T09:22:00.000-04:00

Jess chose this fabric and I wasn't quite sure how a dress would look, however I was pleasantly surprised!
It only took about 6 hours to make and is quite possibly the most well-finished dress I've ever made. Every inside seam is serged to prevent fraying, etc.

I think she looks lovely - even if she does loath my taking photos of her. :-)

Quilt Ministry

2011-08-11T21:26:00.000-04:00

This one is a pretty girl project from our church quilt ministry. We were a bit late delivering this one as baby A has already arrived - but she didn't cry until I started taking pictures, so I think she likes it.

Another Sundress

2011-08-08T12:58:00.000-04:00

Finally finished the second sundress for J.

Once again had to find fabric to match to make the straps - but it came out pretty and she is happy with it, which is the most important part!

Summer Dress 1

2011-06-05T14:15:00.001-04:00

After a disappointing search for appropriate summer dresses for Jess, we opted to make our own instead.
We found some 'cheaty' fabric that was already smocked at the top and was long enough to be modest so all we had to do was run a quick seam & hem and add some wide straps at the top.
This is the first of two like this that she'll have for the summer. I will post photos of the other one once it is done.

Deck Cushions

2011-05-05T17:48:00.001-04:00

This is a partial sewing project and partial general project.
I found the furniture on craigslist and it was just what I wanted for the deck. We were in dire need of something more substantial than the flimsy plastic Adirondack chairs we'd been dealing with in years past. With about a half-dozen cans of white spray paint and a few hours of work - Jess & I had them spiffed up nicely.

Then it was time to tackle re-covering the cushions - they were a very faded and worn red floral so I dug out some random remnant of duck cloth left over from teaching a sewing class tote-bag project and was thrilled to find one piece long enough to cover both cushions.
Of course Jess is horrified at the pattern and thinks it's hideous. I think it's cheerful and fun and ...really... for deck cushions that will be sat on, feet on & probably dog'd on ...I don't much care what it looks like as long as it's clean and not dreadfully worn.

I think this may qualify as a post linkable to a very cool blog I follow:

Couch Quilt

2010-10-23T17:25:00.000-04:00

Finally finished - only took about 6 months! I didn't work on it regularly and it was made using left-over material from various other quilting projects as well as some random fat quarters. Pattern is 'trip around the world' with a scrap-pieced border.

Photo indoors by me

Photo outdoors by Steve

And now for something completely different

2010-10-18T11:01:00.000-04:00

I love to learn new things... at least when it's my own idea. So I've been learning...

I started earlier this year and made several dishcloths. Experimenting with the various stitches and pretending to follow patterns. It isn't hard really, but does require a level of concentration and some time that I don't always possess in great quantities.
Nevertheless, I've been itching to move on to 'bigger and better' things in the world of knitting. So I found the pattern "Easy Peasy Hat", purchased a skein of gray yarn and a circular needle... then everything sat on the floor by my bed for quite a while. I need to work up to things sometimes.
Finally I found the time and needed concentration to begin. So I set myself to make a hat for Steve to wear when he runs in the cold weather. Which is a lot of the time here in NH.

I discovered that working with the circular needle is really cool and the project moved along pretty quickly to my great surprise. It began to look like ... well... as Steve said... a gray circle thingy. But I was making progress!
Finally - yesterday afternoon - I finished it! It was a real, honest-to-goodness hat! I had done it!

Steve even humored me and tried it on for me to get a photo. He says it fits just the way he likes and he'll be happy to wear it.

I warned him that when his runner-friends tease him about his funny hat, he is obligated to stick up for me.

Another baby quilt

2010-10-16T08:15:00.000-04:00

I've been on a kick lately to try and finish up odd projects and also to use up things I have already. This is especially necessary when it comes to my sewing. Do you KNOW how much fabric I have amassed over the last 9 years?
It's embarrassing to admit... there is so much that I forget what I have. Not a good thing generally, though it has led to some happy discovering when I open the odd bin or drawer and find some perfectly lovely piece of fabric just begging to be used in some way.
Anyway - I had been 'using up' some flannels for a small baby quilt. These are flannels from an assortment of projects in days gone by. I finally finished the hand work for the binding this past week. Now to decide what to do with this little snuggly bit of work.

Shows how long I've been collecting fabric. This backing flannel was purchased to make "lovies" when Ben was just a baby. He never took to the lovies the way Jess did, so I didn't use it then.

Yes - all the photos of the front of the quilt are sideways. I couldn't figure out how to edit them on this computer. Good thing the pattern works in any direction.

Another Giveaway!

2010-07-12T18:09:00.002-04:00

Yet ANOTHER giveaway for some goodies from Marie-Madeline Studio!
Check out this one! See what is here!

A Giveaway!

2010-07-12T17:32:00.000-04:00

One of the most fun fabric sites I've found just posted a giveaway!
You have to go check it out!

Quick!

Nursery Quilt

2010-06-10T08:36:00.001-04:00

This is yet another baby quilt. I made this to play with some techniques I'm learning and use of up some odds-n-ends of fabric from other projects. I hate to waste fabric!
It is machine pieced and the bear shapes are machine applique. The back is red flannel so it'll be snuggly (is that really a word?). I gave this to our church nursery because I am a firm believer that quilts are to be used.

**update** For some reason the photo has disappeared... have to see if I can dig up another copy.

Another Quilt Ministry Quilt

2010-05-18T07:16:00.001-04:00

This is another one from our Ladies Quilt Ministry at our church - Riverside Christian. Aren't the cats just adorable? Of course if you are not a cat person... well... tough! :-)

Quilt Ministry Project

2010-04-19T17:06:00.001-04:00

Our church has a quilt ministry. We get together a few times each month to sew quilts for all new babies in our congregation. We just had the pleasure of finishing (and giving) a quilt that is one of my favorites so far.

Isn't it pretty? The blues and yellow are so cheerful and fun! It is a bit tough to see, but the woman who did our lovely machine quilting added boats & waves quilted into the plain white blocks. This particular quilt was a gift for our Pastor's soon-to-be born newest grandson.

Apron Inspiration - cross post

2010-02-18T07:05:00.001-05:00

This is a cross-post from my other blog.
Awhile back I was noodling around at Like A Warm Cup of Coffee and she was doing an apron give away from Flirty Aprons. You have to check them out - they are sooooo cute!
I did not win the freebie, but was inspired to dig out a pattern I had bought back before Christmas to make my own! So when my Mom came up for a visit on Saturday, we hit the fabric store and I splurged and bought some GORGEOUS Legacy quilting fabric to make myself a pretty apron.

My daughter J has been hanging around with me in my sewing area and says I will be stylin' when I make dinner in this beautiful creation!

And one of the side benefits is that I love to sew anyway and with sales, coupons, & discounts - my apron cost $12.50 to make.

One of my favorites

2010-02-03T07:54:00.000-05:00

This is one of my favorite projects. It is called "Carpenter's Wheel" and I made this as a wall-hanging for my parents. It now hangs in their kitchen. It is machine pieced and hand quilted.

For a NY-er, Flannel Baby Quilt

2010-01-28T11:03:00.000-05:00

This was a flannel baby quilt made for a runner friend from NY City. The back was the white/crayon print flannel. It was nice and snuggly.

My Sewing Area

2010-01-21T20:43:00.001-05:00

I have spent a bit of time rearranging things and cleaning and organizing in my sewing area. It is about half of our finished side of the basement. My oldest son has his bedroom in the other half.
"My side" is our old school area from when the kids were really small - hence the blackboard on one wall and the maps and such. I also share my space with the dog crate for Piper.
I am not quite finished with organizing my fabrics into my new dresser storage space. Oldest son was done using the large dresser and passed it along to me.

I also share my space with curriculum and book shelving for our home school. As the kids are getting older, I have purged out a TON of books and have taken over some of the shelves for my fabrics, patterns and books.

Once I finish organizing and rearranging, I can get back to some of the projects I have in process and in my planning stages.

Valances that match

2010-01-14T19:41:00.001-05:00

One of the really neat things about starting a blog about all my sewing is that I get to go back and hunt down photos of all the stuff I've done over the last 8 years or so. And since at the moment I am not getting ANY sewing done, it's sort of nice to remind myself of all the things I have done.
Like these valances for our dining room that match the paper-pieced wall hanging I made for the wall.

Fun project

2010-01-12T14:31:00.000-05:00

This was a fun project - although it was a bit stressful to find materials that could be used quickly to create something the kids would actually wear. This is also going back several years... they are beyond the princess & knight dress-up stage now. :-)

My only paid gig

2010-01-09T08:10:00.001-05:00

This is a quilted valance I made for a shower topper. A friend paid me to make it to match a gift I had given her.
She had redecorated her bathroom and when I had seen the wallpaper border, I made her this wall-hanging as a gift. It duplicated part of her wallpaper design.

Nothing fancy

2010-01-07T19:46:00.001-05:00

This is a 'rail-fence' quilt I made for my brother as a Christmas gift in 2006. It is made from plaid flannel shirting and backed in fleece.

The beginning

2010-01-06T07:57:00.000-05:00

I have been noticing from several other blogs I read, that it is not unusual to have more than one blog. This seems especially true if you have a specialized hobby. My husband has a blog for his running - a specialized passion more than just a hobby.
I decided a blog about my sewing would be fun. Maybe. Or maybe it's just a place to play around with learning more about posting and messing with templates and formatting and such.
We shall see.

Welcome to the journey. Push that pile of fabric off the rocking chair in the sewing room and have a seat. Coffee is allowed... but only if you promise to be careful not to spill it on the fabric!