A stack of sheep

I have a very dear friend... several years ago I saw an adorable wall-hanging that I knew would be perfect for her, so I bought it and began to work on it.  And I worked on it, and I worked on it and I worked on it.  It was the perfect sized project to take on long car trips or work on when I was sitting for a few hours waiting for a child someplace.  But the project took much longer than I'd anticipated.
This month I FINALLY finished it and was able to surprise her with it.

Stacked Sheep wall-hanging

The background is pieced cotton and all the sheep and flowers are wool and are hand-appliqued in layers.  I've never done a project like this before and was very pleased with the over-all look when it was finished.  I hand quilted around the sheep and around the red border then backed the project with a flannel plaid and added a hanging sleeve along the top edge.

She loved her gift and it now hangs in her home so she can remember Psalm 100 every time she sees it.

Surprise Finish

I have a friend, Emily, who began a quilt with some lovely pre-cut squares in blues & browns and she chose a gorgeous paisley print in the same colors to sash the block rows together.  She was working along and hit a few snags, finally encountering the inevitable frustration of sewing... meaning... the dreaded need for a seam ripper.  So she handed the project off to me with a smile.  I was happy to take it off her hands and the timing was just perfect!
I took some things apart, swapped a few rows around, added some borders and merrily took advantage of having a quilt top done and handy to take to a class using a computerized long-arm quilting machine.
Last Friday I headed over to Bits-n-Pieces Quilt Shoppe in Pelham, NH with Emily's quilt top in hand.  I had chosen a light cream marbled flannel for the backing and cotton batting so it would be easy wash-n-dry for her family to use.  She has boys and I know how that story goes and wanted to be sure they could use it with no worries.

These photos were taken with my cell phone - so pardon the quality.  They show the quilt, batting & backing rolled onto the frame and the computerized long-arm at work.

Close up of the back showing the quilting pattern "Flowering Fern" done in variegated (blue/brown) thread.

 Back of finished quilt.

Finished quilt! 

I used the paisley print for the binding and managed to get all the handwork done in just 3 days - which may be a new record for me. :-)  I was anxious to finish so I could give it back to Emily - which I did today and she was SO surprised!  The look on her face was such a mixture of joy & surprise... a complete and total gift/blessing for ME! 
One of the dearest gifts God has granted me in this life is to be able to make/give useful things.  I sew, I bake bread - nothing earth shattering but these are things that make me happy and seem to be blessings to others at times.  I love that! 

Make something... create some joy!

 

Blessings,

Jacob's Quilt

A darling African fabric baby quilt for soon-to-arrive Baby Jacob.

4-patch blocks in gold & green with brown African motif fabric alternating with large single patch blocks of the fun safari animal print.  Machine quilted in an all-over meander/stipple pattern.

Sheer Window Scarf/Curtain

Made these for J's bedroom - 3 windows.  Blue is the exact match of the paint color on 2 walls in her room "Caribbean Sea"

We bought 9 5/8 yards of sheer fabric, cut it lengthwise and did a french seam to join the two lengths.  Then I used my rolled-hem foot on the machine to hem the long raw edge (close to 40 yards of hemming!).  We measured it out for the 3 windows and cut & roll-hemmed the short ends.
The fabric runs up into 3 loops across the top over a black rod - spread to cover and a bit of painters tape rolled backwards to hold the slippery fabric at the top of the rod.

J is very pleased with her new window treatments - definitely a grown-up room now!

Will's Quilt

Newest baby quilt from the Riverside Christian Church Quilt Ministry made with much love and many prayers for Baby Will. 

Machine pieced top in "Yellow Brick Road" pattern with a variety of fun fabrics and hand tied. Binding is diagonally pieced with two of the top fabrics and backing is soft blue fleece for cuddling.

Big brother Chase liked it too!  When a 2-year-old likes your work... I think that is a good sign.  :-)


Blessings,

Not mine - but Awesome!

I stumbled on this sweet blog and this amazing quilt!   It's a wall-hanging - simply marvelous!