Tree Appliqué

My tree is embroidered, quilted and framed!

The pattern is "Memories" from Don't Look Now

I followed the pattern exactly, free-motion stitching several times around each appliqué piece.

The skinny branches are hand embroidered ~ oh how I enjoyed doing the embroidery

The pattern gives a design for the quilting and I followed that too ~ no need to mess with perfection.

Framed and hanging on the wall ~ why do these little projects make me so happy?

. . . Cindy

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gum drop pillow

My husband looked at me as if I'd finally lost it this weekend when I told him that I was making an ottoman.

But - I wasn't kidding - it's Amy Butler's gum drop pillow in her new Cameo fabric.

I really thought this would be a weekend project, but it was oh so easy! and quick!

 followed the pattern exactly except for adding a lightweight woven interfacing to each piece. The fabric is quilting weight and this gave it more of a decorator fabric weight.

And it does take a lot of stuffing!

I couldn't be happier with it though...

Our St Louis Modern Quilt Guild offered up a little shopping this weekend. The girls from Bob Bon Atelier in Kansas City visited with some beautiful fabrics. This feather piece just caught my eye! It's a perfect piece for pulling together a color scheme and I had fun playing with it when I got home!

I also picked up these two pieces of Simpatico. When I got home I had a nice fabric package in the mail. I had ordered some pieces for a project and out-of-the-blue, threw this florally print in my cart. Wow, it went nicely with my geometrics!

Finally from the garden! Some Sweet 100s!

. . . Cindy

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Some batt-less quilts

I reluctantly cut into my Lotta Jansdotter fabric - both Echo and Bella.

When you love a fabric so much are you also afraid to cut into it???

Luckily I only used half of each fat quarter, so I still have some left. And like always I have to add something new to a line of fabric. This was interesting because I'm not only looking for coordinating colors, but prints that have the same flavor. What I found is these graphic prints have no shades of color. White + one or two colors. So I added several prints from Modern Meadow with the same characteristic.

I was a little disappointed in the pattern I came up with. I was trying to get the look of the print rectangles sitting atop a band of gray. It took me a few days staring at the quilt to figure out why it didn't work perfectly. At first, I thought maybe the gray spacers were too small. But I really think they are too light. They blend with the prints and I think would have been better a bit darker. Do you agree?

I also finished up this kid quilt, using 3 UFO blocks. I'd like to donate a couple of quilts to the 100 Quilts For Kids event this year. This will be the first.

Also batt-less ~ these 2 blocks for Nancy in our Redbird Bee. Fun and easy!

Next up ~ find some batting and get these babies quilted!  . . . Cindy

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Rainy Day project

Finally, 100% chance of rain predicted today!

The perfect day for a Sunday afternoon sewing project!

tracing...

choosing fabrics...

cutting...

fusing...

A wonderful way to spend an afternoon!

the only thing missing ~ rain

. . . Cindy

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My Back Yard

 no quilt pictures in this post

I considered finding some outdoor activity for the holiday, but ended up staying home because I could easily retreat back to air-conditioning!

it reminded me to appreciate that I have it all in my own back yard

my garden is small ~ much like a city garden ~ but I haven't let size hold me back

I come from a family of gardeners, my paternal grandmother, my dad and my sister, Diane ~ all much more talented than me

but I do love my flowers

Plumbago ~ I've overwintered this in a pot for years and it always blooms profusely

Moonbeam Coreopsis ~ I added the pink this year ~ one of my favs

each year I plant more and more Lantana

it's a surviver no matter what the summer brings

My climbing rose is finally filling the arbor and I'm so thrilled. It had a glorious lush of blooms in Spring, and continues to give

a beautiful combo of Russian Sage and Rudbeckia

we tried to get rid of the sage a few years ago ~ it gets so big ~ my husband took an axe to the root and it still came back

I've learned to embrace it

Hibiscus ~ newly planted this Spring and struggling in the heat ~ with blooms the size of a dinner plate

Zinnias ~ my favorite filler

I have to turn upside down to photograph this lily!

I rarely use dill, but love the flower

the hydrangeas have started to brown, but bright new flowers pop up here and there

Crepe Myrtle starting to bloom ~ after our mild winter it's grown really tall

these little green seeds on the Beauty Berry bush will turn bright purple towards fall

and these white hydrangeas will turn lime green!

it's turning out to be a hot summer here in the midwest

I'm trying to be more like the flowers ~ adapt and grow

. . . Cindy

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Heat Wave Sewing

With temps in the 100's, staying in air-conditioning and sewing seem to be the perfect activities. To keep from getting bored, I'm going with a variety of sewing projects. Some hand-work involving English Paper Piecing...

Some simple machine quilting...

And some easy piecing...

Hope you're staying cool and enjoying some indoor sewing time! . . . Cindy

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Travel Sewing Kit

Yesterday was the monthly get-together of our girls' sewing group. The company and food are the highlights, but we also usually try to engage in a bit of hand sewing. Two hours before it was time to leave, I decided to make a sewing kit to carry my supplies in. My overachieving self though for sure I could finish in time. That didn't happen, and my sewing traveled in a handy but not-cute zip lock bag. But today I put the finishing touches on a Travel Sewing Kit.

I wanted a vintage look, so I used a piece of Vintage Modern for the outside.

The inside is made of some of my favorite "sewing" fabrics ~ Sew Stitchy and Half Moon Modern.

The kit is really cool. The left side has a pocket, a strap for holding thread and a felt needle-book.

There's also a pocket for your scissors and 2 pockets on the right.

So, I've started a little EPP project.

More on that to come!  . . . Cindy

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