Cross post - an update

Just in case anyone is still landing here - I thought I'd cross post an update.
Read more here.. Applewood Quilts.

BIG NEWS!

Announcing....  Applewood Quilts Etc. real presence on the web!

I took the plunge and now have my own domain & site for my sewing!

Table Projects

Back during the summer, my darling husband took me on a road-trip up to visit +Keepsake Quilting. It is a day trip from here and I usually get to go at least once or twice a year.  I especially love the bargain outlet and usually manage to find some great deals.
This year among my treasures was a package of remnant odd cut strips- all in blues, tans, and creams.  They were not uniform in size, but pretty close, so I decided that some table toppers would be a great use for them.  I created two, a rectangle and a square.  Not in any pattern really just making it up as I went along.  I added borders from my stash and ordered a nice brown print from +Missouri Star Quilt Company  to use on the back.

Quilted them both on my frame with my Janome 1600 and my favorite King Tut thread (Sands of Time - variegated creams) from +Superior Threads.

Most often there is at least one cat asleep on top of these and sometimes a rather large pile of books from the kids as well. I have to get my blog worthy photos quick around here.

Blessings on your sewing journey~

New and Improved Sewing Room

This is cross-posted from my regular blog here.
It continues to be proven how very blessed I am as Steve's wife.  He designed and built a fabulous addition to my sewing space over the last few days.
It went from this:

To this:

Which then allowed me to make it like this:

Which means that what once looked like this:

Now looks like this:

Almost every bit of fabric I have is now organized on this massive shelf wall along with space underneath for notions (zippers, trims, etc), shelves for current projects in process, and even a floor cubby for one or more cats to nap in while they keep me company.  All the shelves are adjustable too! 

My husband loves me so!

A Mug Rug

I've been seeing lots of clever quilty mug rugs or snack mats on Pinterest and thought it would be a perfect little gift.  Especially as my dear friend Lisa has a birthday this coming weekend.

Since I'm really awful with surprises I gave it to her earlier this week so it is safe to post some photos.

Paper pieced mugs with fussy cuts for the sheep centers.  Finished about 9" square.  All cotton fabrics.  It made her happy and she sent me this photo the other day.

A Block of the Month Project

I've never done a block of the month project from the web before, but stumbled on this one that begins this month and thought I'd give it a try.



I will post updates as I work on this new project!

Happy Sewing!

 

For Our Kitchen

Steve has encouraged me lately to have some fun with what I work on and wanted me to make a wall-hanging for our house.  So I opted to do something to hang in the kitchen and really wanted to make it country-homey looking.
Out of my head I decided to combine a few different elements to work on some skills at the same time.  I dug around the web and found some things I liked and created a rough 9-block plan in my mind. From Forest Quilting I used a paper piecing pattern for my 4 corner blocks.
Paper piecing can be tedious and fussy, but this worked up pretty easily and I was very pleased with the results.

Then I decided to make an applique block for the center and wanted it to be simple but fitting to our home, so again I turned to the web to find a simple line drawing to use for a template.
I used the freezer paper method to hold things together while I appliqued the apple, leaf & stem and then removed the paper. Nothing fancy, but since I don't do much applique, I was pleased with my efforts.

For my last 4 blocks I wanted to go with a sampler look of traditional pieced blocks and found a few ideas at Quilter's Cache as well as just some standards of the quilty world.

These are what I came up with:

Now for the fun part!  Jess helped me plan the layout and I sashed everything together with a green allover print.

Trying to decide how to quilt it was a challenge as I didn't have much in the way of small scale pantographs to use but I did find one free leaf vine pattern that was just slightly larger than my sashing width.  I like the way it came out sort of overlapping into the edges of the blocks.

Steve hung it in the kitchen for me and I snapped this quick photo with my phone (which is why the lighting and angle is a bit wonky).

All cotton fabrics from my scrap bag and stash, machine pieced, quilted with King Tut thread on my Janome 1600P and New Joy frame. Each block is 6" finished.

Happy sewing!

Make a Joyful Noise

My dear friend Lisa has 3 daughters that are all very special.
For her middle daughter's 16th birthday, my daughter Jess helped me choose things to create a very special quilt.  Jess & Julie have been friends since the 1st grade (I think).  So I was very thankful for all the insight and suggestions she offered to make sure the quilt would be something her friend would love.

As Julie is a music lover and plays more than just a few instruments as well as writes songs and performs in church, it made sense to use that as a theme.  Jessica helped me choose a pattern (Metroplex by designer  +Tony Jacobson from the ( +Fons & Porter  Easy Quilts Summer 2014)

Then she helped me hunt around the internet to find the right fabrics to fit our theme.  We found a large number of them from FabricShack.com and I was very pleased with the quality and prompt shipping.  We chose materials from the "Let There be Music" collection by Whistler Studios for Windham, "Music to my Ears" collection from Blank Textiles, and "Maestro" collection by Barb Tourtillotte For Clothworks, as well as a white on white print from one of the local quilt shops in our area.  All 100% cotton quilting fabrics - machine pieced.  The backing is Windham Essentials tonal scroll-work design wide back flannel so that it would be a snuggly and warm quilt for our NH winters.

I machine quilted it using a variegated thread - Riverbank - from Superior's King Tut line.  The pattern is a pantograph design called Celtic Braid by Patricia Rutter from UrbanElementz.com. The quilt finished to 64" x 84", and the binding is double fold with the flannel and hand stitched to finish.  I created the quilt label and named the quilt "Make a Joyful Noise" including the reference to Psalm 100 as it is most appropriate.

This was a fun project and given that I spend a fair amount of time praying over my work when it's for someone specific, I know that Julie is covered literally and prayerfully with this blanket.

**Photos mostly by my amazing husband Steve

Something Special for Someone Special

I met my dearest girlfriend Lisa in November of 2004, she was newly pregnant with her youngest daughter.  This little one would touch my life in a special way.  Actually all of her daughters are dear to me and I love them all.  But her pregnancy and delivery of this youngest child was special as I had the opportunity to witness faith in action as her family faced the very real possibility that their precious baby girl might not come home with them but instead go home to Jesus just after she arrived.
I also witnessed prayer answered in miraculous ways as her life was spared and she was gifted to a family and faith community that loves her and where she brings great joy to many.
Our families share lots of time and laughter together and we are blessed to have our lives intertwined in faith and friendship.  As we have now moved to live in the same town, I get to see this little girl more and as her 9th birthday approached, I wanted to do something special for her.
Finally an idea sparked and I set to work.  These are the things I made for her birthday.

Every dolly needs new underthings

white muslin edged in pink lace details and bows

white muslin petticoat with white lace details and tulle

And of course, pajamas and a robe are required with a new sleeping bag.

Flannel with a mock pocket

Flannel with white lace edging and a fabric tie

pre-quilted and fully lined with cotton print and an attached pillow

a glittery accent for fun

I machine quilted a design on the pillow to add a bit of fun

And every American Girl doll needs a ball gown and fancy cloak for parties.

Lavender satin with lavender lace edging & ruffles and an attached tulle wrap

stretch purple velour with white braid trim and lavender satin lining
Muff has an accent of beaded lace and is also satin lined

Happy Birthday to the littlest J and may you have as much fun with these as I did making them for you.

**Model doll is "Kit" and belongs to my own dear daughter who graciously loaned her to me for fitting and pictures.  Thanks Jess!