Anyone Can Quilt

Vintage Sheets Quilt... and a tiny Dachshund.

Look at this tiny girl!  This is what I spent hours hand stitching the other day.  Both of my girls fell in love with this little dog, which means I get to make another one.  It'll be fun, I think I should have a Bette Davis marathon while I work on the next one. 

Please say hello to my new love.  On the design wall is my new summer quilt in the making.

I've been wanting to make a quilt out of vintage sheets from the 60's and 70's.  The tough part is finding old sheets at thrift stores that are in good shape.  After a bit of searching I found some fat quarter sized bundles of them on Etsy in pink, green, blue and yellow.  I really want to showcase these great prints so I cut my squares at 10 1/2 inches.  7 across and 7 down.  I'm so exited about this quilt!

This pink carnation print is my favorite of the whole bunch.  Most of the sheets are a cotton/poly blend.  A precious few are a nice crisp 100% cotton.  These carnation lovelies is one of them. 

All of these summer colors reflect what I see out of my sewing room window.  They remind me of warm days and cool summer nights, screen doors and campfires at the river. 

I hope to get this quilt finished soon.  I really want to sleep under it on our camping trips this summer. 

And now for a few more photos of the teeny doggy.  She hasn't a name yet, any suggestions?

When I finished stitching her, she was just screaming for a flower in her hair.  And some pearls.  Such a little lady she is.

I am really enjoying my summer sewing.  Is anyone else humming The Brady Bunch theme song?  x

Wish you were there... Part Two

Ok, let's see how many pictures I can fit into one post THIS time!  You can't blame me can you?  What would you do in a situation like that?? Gaaa!... (Napoleon Dynamite anyone?)  Moving on. 

Monica lives in beautiful Astoria, Oregon.  It's right on the Columbia river near the ocean.  It's full of historic buildings and old houses with tons of character.  You can see the water from almost every point in town.  Including from our hotel balcony. 

I snapped these pictures from our balcony after tea and stitching group. 

Cowgirl Rosie was rewarded with a special treat after the long car ride earlier.

Then it was time to go to Monica's house before dinner!!  Yippee!  On the way we drove through town and went up to 'The Tower'.  It's amazing.  Do I know the tower's official name at the moment?  No, that's how mushy my brain was from the dreamy day.  But, it was amazing.  Have a look see. 

The tower is at the top of this hill.  You can see the whole town from there.  Here's the famous Astoria bridge.  We crossed that sucker to go to tea and Karen's studio.  Once you cross it you're in Washington.  It's beautiful.

The tower depicts the history of the area.  We couldn't go inside because some restoration was going on. 

We gave the girls each a quarter to enjoy the view.

What gorgeous sights could they be looking at?  I wonder....  It must be fantastic...

Well naturally my little nut cases were looking at each other.  Of course!  Why not with all of the natural beauty around.  Crazies. 

That's better pumpkin.

I wish you could have smelled the cool air.  Take a deep breath and pretend while looking at this picture above.  Aaaaahhhhhh... so nice. 

Now we're driving to Monica's house. 

Are you ready?  I loved her house.  It's pretty and cozy, full of quilts and full of charm.  I didn't take tons of pictures inside her home as she gave us the grand tour.  We were chatting too much!  And I didn't want to appear too creepy...  but I got some in her studio.  It was SOOOO CUTE!!!  Just as you imagine it would be.  Full of humor and beauty, charm and love.  My girls loved it too.  There was so much to look at.  The sun was fading so not all of my pictures turned out as I hoped they would.  (sniff sniff)

Look!  It's Triskit on the stove, naturally.  Where else would she be?  Josie, and Big Sis, were so exited to see her. 

Their first meeting.  Josie looks suspicious, Triskit looks exited, and a little shocked. 

The girls and I love little Triskit.  She's so cute with her braids, rubbery little legs and her tramp stamp. 

Look it's the shelf!  THE SHELF!!  When you see it in real life you want to gently rub your hand on each item and say, "oooooooooooooohhh". 

I had to slap my hand to keep from touching everything. 

That's it for the studio.  I know!  Sorry I don't have more for you.  We were just having so much fun chatting.  I thought I took more pictures of her studio than I actually did.  And I was a tad worried about Cowgirl Rosie being naughty outside.  Monica's sweet dogs were so playful and kind to Rosie, and she just ran away from them and showed her mean teeth. 

Time to head out to dinner. 

Monica has such a great backyard too!  It's perfect for a summer backyard barbeque.  Really perfect.  I'm thinking the husbands cooking food, with us girls lounging in chairs, drinking margeritas and watching Cowgirl Rosie show her mean teeth.  Perfect!

We had a blast at dinner.  I really wish we could have stayed longer.  The husbands had burgers, Monica and I each had a rueben.  They were YUMMY.  The kid food was served in dog bowls. 

Big Sis loves Elvis.

It was so nice to be with people who didn't think I was a total weirdo for taking pictures of our food.  Did I mention how great Monica's husband is?  He is GREAT.  So nice and easy going.  We also got to meet their cute boy who just graduated from high school.  He was great too!  We really really enjoyed the whole Zombie family. 

Sadly it was time to part ways after dinner.  We said our goodbyes and promised to get together again soon.  Monica and her husband couldn't have been more kind or more fun!  They were both so sweet to our girls, and to Rosie.  We had such a great time and wanted to stay longer.  I can't wait for our next trip!! 

The next morning my husband and our girls brought back breakfast to our room.

The girls bring books everywhere we go. 

This one below is my favorite.  "Harriet Tubman... Secret Agent".  You go Harriet!

Friday morning was a rainy one.  I love Oregon rain.  I had to take pictures from the balcony again.  It was so nice to sit out there after breakfast and listen to the rain. 

After getting some fish and chips for lunch we were headed back home.  The girls quietly worked on their stitching.  Rosie caught up on some sleep. 

Thank you so much for inviting us Monica!  I am truly blessed to call you my friend. xo

Wish you were there... Part One.

What do you do when a Zombie invites you to her stitching group?  Which just happens to be a beautiful three hour drive north?  You pack your bags and hit the road that's what you do!!  I still can't believe I was there.  Getting to meet Monica, her friends, and her wonderful family was such a treat.  Let's start at the beginning. 

Upon arrival, Monica, my girls, and I met the stitching ladies for tea.  We left my dear husband and Cowgirl Rosie at the hotel for t.v. cuddle time. 

Big sis was sure to bring Josie, her Blythe doll, who has been eagerly waiting to meet Monica's mini Blythe, Triskit.  Josie just had to try on Monica's camera case, which is a mini backpack.  It's the cutest camera case in the world! 

Tea time was full of yummy treats, and lots of laughs.  Monica's friends were all so welcoming to my girls and I.  I even found out that a couple of the ladies read my blog!  That was so nice to hear.  A special shout out to my girl Blop!!!  Wooooowooooo!!!

Josie had a change of outfit mid tea.  I think she was eyeballing Blop's scone. 

The kid food was so cute!  And we all loved this plate.  I wasn't quick enough to slide it into my bag.

After tea we headed out to Karen's studio for the redwork stitching group.  It was so fun, and a bit overwhelming (in a good way).   Every detail of Karen's home and studio were divine.  She is such a kind and welcoming lady, and has a beautiful smile!  I hope I wasn't too annoying with all of the pictures I was taking.  I took lots and still didn't take quite enough!

While stitching, there was show and tell around the table.  There were gorgeous quilts and beautiful stitching projects, and me walking around with my camera.... sorry ladies.

 

Here's my show and tell.  Finished cottages!  Woohooo!!  And look, Karen's butterfly shirt matches her studio.  She's a snappy dresser!

Linda stitched her name on the pocket of her apron, when she was 5.  So cute.

Little Sis's stitching.  She loves pie.

Big Sis stitching away.

I loved this lady.  I have to ask Monica what her name is again.  She had THE BEST laugh!  One of those laughs that makes you laugh each time you hear it.  And she's a talented quilter and stitcher.  I keep saying 'stitching'.  Should I be saying 'embroidery'?  I like saying 'stitching' so there. 

Monica is even MORE sweet and funny as you would imagine her to be.  She's always cracking up.  I love that about her. 

Can you believe this studio?  Karen has really done an amazing job with it.  She's a wonderful fabric designer and had shelves of her fabrics for sale.  If I wasn't so overwhelmed I would have done some shopping.  Next time!  Next was a tour of her beautiful home. 

I didn't take too many pictues inside the house.  Oh I would have if I knew Karen a little better.  I didn't want to be some weird girl that she just met snapping away pictures of the inside of her house.  But, I did take a picture of this.  I almost fainted when I saw her kitchen.  And this fridge.  I want one of these!!

You'll never guess what's in the woods behind the house.  A little mini cabin for the grandkids.  My girls couldn't believe their eyes.

 

After visiting the enchanted cabin, we walked through the backyard, and then back to the car.  This was SO much fun.  Thank you Monica, and Karen for sharing her lovely studio and home.

In the next installment..... a visit to Happy Zombie's studio.  Can you imagine?!  It was FABULOUS!!!!  I'm a lucky girl.  See you tomorrow!  x

The cottages are finally quilted...this sucker's huuuge.

I've been machine quilting my cottage quilt off and on for quite a while now.  I don't know why it's taken me so long.  Usually I  just dedicate a couple of days to quilting a quilt and get it finished.  This dear was so patient with me.  I have to tell you, I love how it's coming along. 

This little lady measures 72 1/2 x 89 1/2!  She's quite the hefty gal.  I decided to add scrappy strips around each block and then trim them all to the same size.  Whenever you do a block swap, you have to expect that the blocks won't measure exactly the same.  Which is completely normal because no two people's 1/4" is exactly the same.  That's why I added the strips, kind of log cabin style. 

Then I decided to make a nice sashing with stars for the corner blocks.  I was planning on making the stars all red, but liked the look of white centers.  The white centers pick up the whites in the cottage blocks, and the snow on the roofs of the cottages on the border print. 

Each and every block are so special to me!  They are all so different and show the personality of the quilter.  I decided to write everyone's name on their block.  That way I'll always remember who made each one.   Plus I think it looks cute. 

I always quilt my name into the border somewhere.

I cut the borders quite wide, like 10" or so.  I wanted to get as many of the Christmas houses in as I could. 

I'm so glad this is almost finished!  And I can't wait to snuggle under it when the weather turns cold.  If any of my fellow cottage swap ladies are interested in adding sashing with stars to their cottage quilt, please let me know and I'll find where I wrote down the cutting dimensions.  And new quilters, you CAN machine quilt your own quilts on your regular sewing machine!  Even big gals like this one.  I have a machine quilting tutorial here, and as always, I'm more than happy to answer any quilty questions!  Now it's on to the binding.  One of my favorite steps.  I love quilting.  x

p.s.  I reached the bottom of the 'bottomless' bag of M&M's..... twas a sad moment... so very sad. 

My Spring Quilt.

I just finished this quilt top!  I've had this fabulous Shangri-La Jelly Roll for over a year and finally decided to chop into it.  I used this pattern in a twin size by Cozy Quilt Designs.  This was my first coin quilt and I really loved using this pattern.  It was easy as pie. 

I really love each and every one of these fabrics.  And the blue print for the background and borders gives me heart palpitations. 

I looooove you my precious blue fabric. 

Now maybe I can stop eating these.

But they are my friends.  And they match my rotary cutter and my tape measure.

That's a good reason to have them around right?  It wouldn't be so bad if the bag wasn't so.. so.. large.  It's gigantic.  Almost... bottomless, if you will.

Ok, seriously.  If any of you really care about me, now is the time for an intervention.

Maybe I can give them up when this quilt is actually finished.  I better get back to work.  x