Whew, Still trying to get back.

2 inch  rainbow squares Crib quilt machine stiched and quilted with a crosshatch.

Toothbrush (weave) Basket

Whirlygig Doll blanket in Bright pink.
Machine stitched and hand tied.

Whirlygig Doll Quiilt
Machine stiched and hand tied with Chenille backing

Vintage strawberry shortcake custom curtains for the girl's room.

Custom panel shorts made from old jeans and canvas ticking for the boy.

Custom shorts made from twill pants  for the boy.

Take care,

Hey...

 I have no real reason for neglecting my blog lately.  I'm not going to make excuses and say I was too busy.  I was but could have taken a few minutes to update and show off some pictures.  My lists of to dos just kept getting longer and longer and I was overwhelmed.  My fight or flight response was flight...  oh well, I'm here now and have some finishes.

 I was hoping to join in the fun at i'm a ginger monkey in the "scrap vomit" quilt a long, but the perfectionist in me couldn't wrap my brain about using so many different colors of 2.5 inch squares that may or may not look good together.  I couldn't take so much time working on a quilt only to hate it in the end.  I did still , and still am, using the scraps but in a way that I can deal with the chaos, yet still have some control.  both of the above quilts are quilted and tied.

 I also utilized my scraps in making quilted journal covers for Christmas gifts this year.

 I recently got Martha Stewart's Encyclopedia of Sewing and Fabric Crafts: and  have most of the supplies listed in this book for various projects, but I really enjoyed the chapter on patchwork quilts.   I especially like the tied quilts as it reminds me of my childhood.  Growing up we had many blankets, some quilts,  and afghans that were made by my dad's mother.  It still amazes me especially now that I'm making them myself, that she did it blind.   I can't imagine how she was able to manuever though and complete some of the smallest details, but she did.  I never paid attention to those things when I was a kid or when she was still alive, I think I could have learned alot from her had it not been for my snotty disposition and my teenage angst.

 We still have few of those blankets, my son has one on his bed and has loved it an and cuddled it and picked at some of the tufts, so I was happy to have a very detailed diagram thanks to Miss Martha, on how to execute  the  perfect  French knot.  In doing so I realized how much I too loved those tied blankets and picked at those same tufts as a kid while I read  in that big  overstuffed chair at the old farm.  I decided to follow the pattern for the basic patchwork quilt on page 66, but using all of those 2.5 inch squares I had cut.  I first arranged them in a basic nine patch and then sewed them together and just kept going.  I have been following my " Use what you got rule"  and have come up with some great variations, forcing myself to think outside of the box.

 More finishes that were gifted:

                              

We got Booed.

So Cute. .  We found a bag o' treats at our back door yesterday and a paper that read:

 We've been coloring and preparing our bags of goodies to drop off at our unsuspecting friends' houses.   We taped our ghosts in our windows so the next phantom will skip our house and give it to another.  The kids had a lot of fun and they tried to guess who our phantom was.

Brian is very excited to deliver them as he will be able to use his "super spy" techniques he has been practicing such as stealth rolling, diving and invisibility.  The last one, you can imagine, has been hysterical to watch.  Great way to work as a family.     Check it out and get it started in your neighborhood.  Thanks phantom for including us in the fun.

Take care,

I've been side tracked for the last few days

.... working on gifts for upcoming events. I enjoy sitting on the couch with Brody at night and stitching under the glow of the hermit crab tank while they move things about in their tank. Yes for those of you who don't know we are now the proud owners of 3 hermit crabs that were saved from eminent death. More on that in another post.

I've been working on a double whipped running stitch and practiced on a sampler for a while before doing on the scrappy star pillow. It went together easily and I am quite happy with it. I did however find out that some of the greens fabric used in this star and in the "Hanna" quilt were never color set and had a lot of bleeding in the wash.



I woke up this morning upset at the dye bleed and knew that it was going to bother me and I would fret over it especially since the wedding is today and this is the gift. I went to the store to get carbona dye corrector and prayed for the best. It did take out the bleed but unfortunately it took out some dye from other fabric within the quilt and on here. Live and learn.

I've been going through all of our clothes and these next few weeks are focused on Brian's closet. I've been making panel shorts out of jeans that were thrifted this summer adding elastic waist bands, which is much easier for an eight year old. At this age he has little interest in what he wears and has no concept of what is" cool" in a surfing town... yet.

For Miss Kaiya it's all about tattoos and princesses, so we came up with the knee princess. The Body Crayon Book is a big hit with the little kids that come here to play. Today will be rainbows and butterflies before cousin Matty gets here to hang with them while we head to the wedding. The Princess and the frog movie is her choice for tonight. I'm sure the boys will be thrilled.

Take care,
Kendra

I've been gone a while...

This is a doll quilt I made for Kaiya.  All of the pieces are fabrics/scraps that were handed down by loved ones or family friends.  Most are vintage fabrics that I have been holding on to, bound and determined to use the smallest piece.  It's about the size of a placemat and fits in her newly revamped antique baby doll crib. ( Thanks Ronna and Grammy). 

    

Here's the view of the back.  Kaiya waited impatiently for me to finish and immediately took it and wrapped up her pony baby yelling "this one's mine and I love it."

 Cool. I have two more little girlies in my life to make these for. I still have a cake pan filled with these 1 3/4 inch half triangle squares ready to sew up.

This is the "Hanna quilt"  I made for a friend's new daughter.  ( If you're reading this, feign surprise :^)).  I started this a while back and described it here.  I put it off  as I couldn't deside on how I wanted to quilt it. 

 I finally sat down and realized I was over thinking the design and just went for it, jumping in with both feet. K(eep) I(t)S(imple)S(tupid) right?   I am very happy with the outcome.  The back is a Beatrix Potter which my friend absolutely loves.

I have been holding onto hoarding fabric, waiting for that " special project".  I have a million "special projects" rolling around in my head and various notebooks around the house and not nearly the time to do them all or hold onto this stuff when the time finally comes.  I'm certainly not enjoying it if it's boxed up in a closet.  I made the declaration last March  that I  was going to use  scraps for my projects and that I was also on a buying freeze.  I finally decided that a new 8 foot round toothbrush rug for my dining room was special enough.  I went through my scrap bags and upcycled sheets from the thrift store I had packed away in my closet and cut it all up into  2 inch width strips and started weaving. 

I generally clean off my kitchen table and hoist it up working on a couple of rows at a time between projects and well...life. It is slow going so when I get sick of it I tuck the tails up under it and toss it on the floor until the next time.  It's been interesting watching it grow.  So far it it contains 2 full flat sheets, 1 full fitted sheet, 1 queen flat sheet and about 9 yards of fabric and is almost 5'.

 

The other two quilts I've been trying to finish up are the scrappy star string quilt and the paintbox quilt. Both are in various stages of completion.  I can smile and say it's a little bit further than a month ago.  I may very well end up using the star quilt  as a wall hanging .  I really find it visually pleasing and it will go beatifully  with my new rug.  :)

I've been really trying to stay focused and do a little bit each day getting the kids more involved in crafts and less t.v especially since we are in the first full week of the new school year.  We've had the cable off for almost two months and rely on monitered Netflix or Hulu and are doing well without most of it.  Not having commercials has definitely made a difference in how the kids act.  I really can't wait to load up the table with all the crafts soon, and letting the kids just dig in with wild abandon.  We're almost there.

Take care. 

Kendra

Our weekend craft was Homemade windsocks!

 We used duck cloth,  iron on crayon , floral wire &  ribbon. 

Honestly i enjoyed making these  far more than the kids and am tinkering with some linen and hemp versions.  So fun.

Take care,