Little Stitches for Little People

Hi everyone, Angela here. I have to admit to never being much of a seamstress. When I was young, I learned enough to sew some of my own barbie clothes, but they were pretty rudimentary - as in, here is a sack with a hole for your arms and head. A little ribbon for a belt and they were ready for the ball!

When I had kids, I decided I should try my hand a few bigger projects for my new "dolls". Pinterest inspired this dress, built onto a onesie. Again, the ribbon around the waist made an excellent addition.

And then, because I didn't want to spend the big bucks on a nice nursing pillow, I spend just as much on the fabric to make my own with washable cover, etc.

I also wanted to do something special for my boy. The pattern for the cars I just pulled of the internet and otherwise just added some ties. I made a second quilt later out of a single panel spiderman curtain I found at a garage sale and a bark blue fleece blanket we had. I just tied that one, but it seems to be his favorite...probably because of spiderman.

I must admit to enjoying improving my sewing abilities, and someday I might try something even more complicated...like pajama pants. As my favorite attire for writing, I can always use another pair. ;)

What are some sewing projects you've done recently? Or do you prefer to go to the store and buy it already made for less of a cost? (At least, that is how expensive fabric is up here in Canada.)

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Mystery Quilt

Cleaning out a closet a few months ago unearthed a mystery. A beautiful one.

I have no idea where this quilt top came from.

I'm not one to forget handmade heirlooms, but this is a mystery I can't solve. It is made from gorgeous Depression Era fabrics in a Dresden Plate pattern. The plates are appliqued by hand to the squares, then the squares are sewn together by machine. It is a small size, just two blocks wide and five blocks long. Did the mystery quilter plan to make it bigger but something happened?

I suspect this little quilt top came to me via my Dad who would have bought it at a farm auction, likely mixed in with some worthless junk.

I'm thinking about finishing this piece with an old pink cotton sheet as the backing so this long-neglected quilt can be complete.

What do you think - should this be quilted or left as is?

~Susan Mires

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The Never-ending Quilt

I have some unique and special quilts from my husband’s two grandmothers. They aren't particularly beautiful, but I love them. I used them to give my oldest son some privacy in his loft bedroom.

When my middle son was about ten, he started begging for a quilt for his loft room. Since my husband was fresh out of grandmothers, I scoured the quilt books, determined to make him a special quilt of his very own. A friend of mine heard about my project and gave me a single quilt block as inspiration. I settled on a pattern called Wagon Tracks.

My friend’s quilt block had been made in the thirties so I decided to use thirties-inspired fabric in primary colors. I dutifully made four or five blocks and then life shoved the project to a back closet. A few years (!) later, he mentioned it, and I promised him it would be finished for his high school graduation…er…college graduation...uh…marriage?

He’s twenty-five now, graduated from college, and married. <sigh>

I thought better of promising its completion before their first child’s birth. Now I’m hoping to finish before the youngest grandchild goes to kindergarten, but I’m not making any promises.

Do you have any unfinished crafts lurking a closet or drawer? 

P.S. This poor quilt has been so neglected it took Bill and I three days to find it. I needed the pictures. Now it'll be tucked away again until I'm inspired (or pressured) to work on it. Don't judge. =op

Lora

Mystery quilting with the JOY Quilting Group.

 

My church quilting group meets every other week in the fall and winter to stitch on the UFOs and learn new techniques. I go sometimes, but I never miss the Mystery Quilt Day.

 

 A mystery quilt is an adventure, especially for those quilters who might be color coordination challenged. This year’s mystery quilt fell at a bad time for me, so I took a short cut (which was an allowable choice) and used a jelly roll selection. The problem was, the store didn’t have a contrasting enough second jelly roll to make an eye catching quilt. My best friend offered to cut the strips but I didn’t want to impose on her too much and use fat quarters, which wouldn’t cut quickly. With no other choices, I opted for two rolls exactly alike. In the rolls, the colors looked like they had enough contrast. Spread out on the quilting table, not so much.

 

When making a mystery quilt the quilter has minimal information about the quilt. We’re told to buy “X” amount of fabric, light dark, and medium color values, and cut it in such and such a fashion. Then we come together at the church and receive our quilting instructions one block at a time. Once we’ve completed a bunch of blocks and have to start assembling them, we get to see what the quilt is supposed to look like. I say supposed to look like, because mine never look that nice.

 

 Here’s what one of the completed quilt looks like. I think the name of the quilt is Keys to My Heart. The blocks look like keys, and the border (which you can't see) has block hearts at the corners. Note: this is not my quilt. I should be so lucky!

 

Now here’s one of my sample blocks (on the left) and here’s a sample block of another quilter (on the right) who used some of the same fabric as I did but apparently got the last jelly roll of contrasting fabric.

 

 

I like her blocks much better than mine. Needless to say, this will not be my favorite mystery quilt unless I decide to rip apart all the blocks I managed to sew at the quilting bee and start over. With everything that’s going on in my life, I don’t think that will happen. My quilt may become a very small, and very unattractive, lap quilt for my office. On the bright side though, if I use a colorful fabric for the back, maybe no one will notice the front.

 

Do you have a quilt or other craft project that just didn’t work out right?