Pillowcase Directions

Some of you have asked for directions, so here is a link to a page for the directions that I had: Pillowcase Written Directions , Step 2 of which I could not visualize until actually seeing it. Here is my drawing of Step 2, where you layer all the fabrics in preparation to do one seam:


After you sew the seam and pull the "hot dog" out, you have this with no raw seams:

Hope it makes sense. Enlarge it to see it better.

Magic Pillowcases

Why didn't you guys tell me how much fun it is to make these pillowcases? This is fun! It's a real stashbuster procedure, too, although I have to confess:
I don't really care if I use up my stash. It's actually one of my Treasured Collections. LOL. Still, it's fun to pull out an entire yard and use it up instantly. Now you all know how to make these so that all of the seams are hidden, right? I had the directions, had seen it demonstrated last winter, but when it came time to do it myself on Saturday (trying to make my son's Georgia Tech one), I simply could not understand the directions and had to drive over to the LQS to have Muriel show me how it's layered. Back at home, I drew a huge picture of the layers for future reference, as occasionally I am a Bear of Little Brain.

So do you like my coverlet? I got it at the secondhand store for five dollar-os. That's a great old quilt top wrapped around the bolster that I got at the now-defunct-and-much-lamented Lakewood Fairgrounds show for $15. I keep thinking I will make it into bolster covers, special ordered the two bolsters, got lining fabric, but have yet to cut up the top.

Christmas in July

Christmas QT

Got this shop sample done this morning. I bonded with this one and am considering keeping it when they are finished using it as a class sample rather than getting paid for making it. It's much prettier than the photo and I don't have any Christmas quilts per se. But oh that sandwiching and machine quilting. Wait I'm supposed to be a quilter, aren't I. I shouldn't dread those last phases, eh?

So glad to see all of your kind comments and just want to mention that sometimes your email is a "no reply" sort with no way to answer unless I do extensive research (and it always seems if somebody asks a specific question that they are no-replyers and I hate to leave you unanswered. People, I'm a librarian, we have a compulsion to answer questions, so don't torture me :-). I don't know what causes the "no reply" (and maybe you don't either) setting so just FYI.

Logo Wall Hanging

Got this logo wall hanging finished as a job for the LQS and am off to deliver it. It was fun to finally be able to work with those gorgeous sunshine and cornflower fabrics from April Cornell. Not a very good photo, but you know how pretty the fabrics are.

Blocks Within House via EQ

I was just wondering yesterday how to place a quilt block within my house block in EQ; this morning, I found Barb Vlack's answer to that very question on the EQ Forum (Block, Serendipity, Merge Blocks). Serendipity, indeed! and here are my blocks ready to insert into the quilt layout:

And here's the quilt. I didn't try to refine any of the small quilt block colors but I did try to color the house part so that the set-in blocks would stand out:

I ordered charm packs online (and got border fabrics at the LQS) to make this Cindy Lou Who pattern from Miss Rosie's Quilt Company, Schnibbles line. It said to order three charm packs. Three, thought I, how could you possibly need three, that's so maaaaany. I ordered two. Naturally, two was not enough and in the dark of night, I ordered a third charm pack. Can't do any more on this until it arrives. How could I doubt a nice quilt designer like that?

There are these enticing 1" wide bits left over. Tiny blocks? Tiny log cabins?

So I started making these little blocks and will probably try to make some log cabins with those strips over to the right. And just think, once that third charm pack arrives, there will be even more tiny bits.

Is anybody else going completely insane over this new fabric line?? I scanned the fabrics for EQ and am trying to think of what design you could make with them.....

Little Stars

Got this Jo's Little Women Indigo Stars top done for the next session; block size is 4" finished:


Mary Ellen, LQS owner, bought authentic indigo fabrics at the Paducah show this year for her Jo Morton ladies to use in this quilt. You've probably seen these fabrics. I had read about them online but these were the first I had seen. I used the reverse side of one of my two pieces because the business logo on it was attractive. It's the kitties in the center block and the lettering in the upper right block. The other indigo is the lower left-hand block.

Brown Bird

You know, I'm beginning to think that a stack of UFOs is friend, not foe. Yesterday, I "shopped" through mine and decided to pull out the little Renee Plains Brown Bird plastic bin and work on that in favor of the many more near-the-surface projects. Been wanting to make it forever and yesterday turned out to be the day:

BOMs, Amy's HGTV quilt, and Show and Tells

Got the July BOMs finished:

An LQS employee was telling me yesterday that she is managing to get two 6" blocks out of the main colorway (block with purple pieces in this photo) kit each month and in addition, is making two more 6" blocks just the same but in closely related colors/prints from her stash. How fun is that? Then the plan is perhaps to put all four together to make larger blocks. Now I wish I were doing that TOO :-).

This was a Show and Tell from yesterday. This gorgeous quilt resulted from Libby's Pineapple class at the LQS, which I also have taken and for which I managed to complete four (count 'em four yukyuk) very lovable bright pineapples (which I posted about long ago) but which are not yet put together/completed. I'll get it done, though, they're right here in the UFO To Do stack.

I had to see if I could create the quilt that Amy described, as shown in an If Walls Could Talk episode. She said the star points aren't right and I haven't heard from her yet (she must be off riding that bicycle on a DC canal path today :-) ) on the drawing below to see if they're like that.


Well, I love this quilt, too. Especially the all-white logs in the log cabin. Wouldn't it be fun to do it in varying white-on-white prints. With a few pale beiges thrown in. Ahhhhhh...

Here are Show and Tells from Jo's Little Women Club last Tuesday night (belle, n'est-pas?):

Useful Mannequin

I bought this Christmas Past fabric with the idea of making a pintuck blouse from an old 70s pattern of mine, but ended up making this cobber's apron from a vintage 50s (40s?) pattern:

The pattern still has the transfer for the applique and embroidery detail and the pattern sheet has detailed instructions for doing the buttonhole by hand. It's been so many years since I sewed a garment of any kind that this was really fun to do.

The other fabrics are from stash. Still have a hankering to make the blouse, so I may get more fabric today. This is the first sewing mannequin I've ever had, and I enjoyed its inspirational company here for several months before making a garment with its help. Of course, when I first got it home, I assembled it and set my post-48-pound-weight-loss measurements, which were satisfying to see 3-D :-). And how useful and reassuring to fit the pieces on in-progress. I've wanted to get one for a long time, since I have areas that need to be altered, like narrow shoulders and short-waistedness. Also I have many vintage patterns that I would like to try out and who knows what size is right since they've changed sizing too many times to count and since, if I remember right about 50s and 60s patterns, you had to get a smaller size than what their measurements indicated. I have several of my own patterns from the 60s on that were new when I bought them, ladies, and are now Vintage. One might even say Antique.

Feedsack Wall Hanging

Put this little wall hanging together with two of the Mama's Feedsack fabrics, including one of those cutie plaids:

The yellow and orange fabrics are vintage from the Depression era. They are from a quilt top that I bought on eBay several years ago that has a gazillion HSTs in those two colors with blue and white embroidered pictures on varying sized blocks scattered randomly among the yellow-orange blaze. I've been gradually using pieces from it, in a small wall hanging and in a dress bodice and now this piece. The quilt top was shock itself as an entirety, but I love the individual pieces used elsewhere.

the finished products

Delivered the two shop samples today, such fun. Here is the first, a Christmas wall hanging using "Santa's Got the Goods" from Clothworks:

Here is the second in progress, from Mama's Feedsacks fabrics:

and the final result, a tea cozy (shown before I put the binding on the bottom):
This is a project from the Clothesline Club that will be sold in the shop. There are going to be various projects and more feedsack prints coming out for the rest of the year. I've completely flipped over the plaid print and am working on a tiny quilt this evening that uses the green and yellow/orange plaid (in the line but not in the cozy). Am trying to think of something cute that would use a lot of the red plaid as well. Ideas welcome.

Oh! I had to take time out from all of this frivolity today to check with my credit card company: how many times do we post with this story? Yes, some Thief got my number and had begun to use it. Can't use that card until the new one arrives with a new number. Where will all of this end? The cc companies have programs that cross-check whenever a charge is made to a company that thieves love to frequent, like Apple and other computer sites, to see if that particular customer has ever purchased from those sites before. How can I be without a credit card? I don't actually have any money.

Lucky Day

Hope 07-07-07 was a lucky day for all of you. I felt lucky myself because I worked at Little Quilts. It was very busy and felt like absolute heaven. Several people brought in simply wonderful quilts that they had made and were in search of borders or backings. One woman had two huge quilt tops, one a primitive album style with leaf and vine border that was all completely invisible hand applique; the other was a heavenly Round the World made with Moda Chelsea Boutique fabrics, both to die for. I don't know how you "A" people can do those teeny beeny applique stitches. Wish I had gotten pix of the tops to show you. I really must keep my camera handy while there.

Not only did I get to work on the floor at Little Quilts, but I have come home with two more shop samples to make; here are previews:

Cluster Homes

Thank you all for your opinions on whether to cluster or space the houses; I really liked both ways but thought a smaller quilt would be good, so voila, with an apt quotation:

(that's not a stain by "cannot stand", just frenzied steaming/ironing)

The border fabric is one of a little stack of vintage-look tickings that I simply have not been able to cut into. Yes, I have been worshipping them. They are so cute and antique-y I just enjoy looking at them on the shelf. I'm glad I finally used this one, though.

Patriotic House Blocks...a day late...

Got my official LQS work name tag made; now my name tag will look just like all the other girls'.

I made three more blocks to add to the set of 6" patriotic house blocks that I began last year as an alternative LQS BOM. Now there are ten. At this point, I figure that ten is practically as good as twelve. I had wanted to post these yesterday for the Fourth, but it took until 3am this morning to persuade Comcast to activate the new cable modem MAC address to regain internet. I used up 71 of my 300 monthly cell phone minutes in several phone calls to accomplish what turned out to be an Enormous and Difficult Challenge for Comcast. Usually they just do this in a few minutes while you are on the phone with them, but this time I talked to every untrained idiot they have hired out of the closest back alleys and nobody but the last guy at 3am the next day (bless you last guy) knew how to take care of it while I was on the phone. Everybody else was telling me it would take three hours and would be done by a far distant (hell evidently) department, but even that didn't work. One dimwit sent through the USB MAC address instead of the Cable MAC address; excuse me, I believe Comcast has a specialty in CABLE? Even I, never trained in internet activation, knew that was goofy but you figure these people have some vague notion of what they are doing. This was the same sugarpoof who also asked me to get out the CD that came with the modem, which is utterly irrelevant to the goal, and also asked me what color the modem was and we ended up debating royal blue versus purple tonal similarities. She is following her own divine checklist through life and I now have heart trouble. Anyhow here's my Fourth of July post a day late.

So how to set these houses. Like this?

This way, there would be another orphan block for Finn's Orphan Train!

Or like this, with solid fabrics setting them apart?


Use some or all of these for borders, etc.?

Signature Swap Quilt

This is a 24x30" wall hanging of signature blocks from a swap on the Yahoo Jo Morton group. Please note that it is Completely Done :-).