A Visit to an Interesting Place

As you might have guessed my now, I love to read and write. If you do also, take a few minutes and visit this site: http://lynnefarrow.com/blog You will definitely enjoy reading Lynne's work.

A Party Dress

This pink dress is on the doll that will be given to charity. The fabrics are two pieces that I had from a bishop dress that I made as a challenge. The challenge was to make a two layer bishop dress which I did. The dress was completed before I had a granddaughter to wear it. By next summer Adina should be big enough to wear the bishop challenge dress.

Beautiful Thoughts

A woman's life
is a
patchwork of love
...remnants
of precious memories patiently sewn
with stitches of time.
joan walsh anglund

A Long Time Coming

I started this block in July and had to take out several hours worth of work because when I looked at the basket, it wasn't centered. When I sewed the basket on the next time, it was in the correct place. My other projects and travels seemed to get in the way of me finishing it in a reasonable amount of time. Now that the block is complete, I'm excited about starting another one. I'm not sure whether it will be a pieced or appliqued block at this point. This block is still part of the Piecemaker's Quilt from 1995 that I started in January of 2010.

A Quilt Block

This block was made for a member of our quilting group from Civil War reproduction fabric, the recipient's choice. The finished size was to be 12 1/2" square which this block measures. I saw it as part of a quilt in a magazine and then figured out how to make it by drawing the block and using math. Then I cut strips and sewed them together. It was a quick project.

Dressing a doll for Charity

I along with others in our quilting group volunteered to take an American Girl Doll home and clean her up and make her some new clothes. So far, I've made a granny gown and a summer pants outfit. Next, I hope to make a pretty dress for her. The doll, I believe is Felicity but I'm not dressing her according to her era. I bought the doll new shoes that will be pretty with her casual outfit as well as her dress. I hope that the girl who gets her will enjoy playing with her.

Samantha's new dress

Samantha has an invitation to attend a July 4th picnic and will be wearing her new dress and her new red shoes. The fabric is "kettle cloth" from my stash and so is the lace at the bottom of the skirt. The lace was a necessity as more length was needed. The beads were from my beading supplies except for the star beads that I bought this week.

June's Bead Journal Project

I chose to bead ladybugs for June's bead journal project and just finished the outfit for Samantha. The beads are #15 glass seed beads and the fabric came from JoAnn's this spring. I bought it to make a dress for a friend's daughter and was able to make this outfit from the leftovers. It was frustrating to work with such small beads but in the end I think that it was worth it. I'm really happy with the entire outfit. Samantha will wear it to a friend's party.

Quilting with Beads

In March I went to Asilomar in California and attended a workshop taught by Thom Atkins. The subject was quilting with beads. Thom patiently taught the group new stitches and gave lots of hints about using color, types of beads and even how to improve the photographs of our work. I purchased the kit provided and added lots of beads of my own to learn the new stitches.
In order to take part in the show at our local library of miniature quilts, I spent the last two days working to complete this project.

My Sewing Helpers

During the week that I made the glider cushions, my husband and I were also dog sitting for my son's two Bernese Mt. Dogs, Buddy and Ollie. The entire time that I was sewing, they stayed right beside me. I thought that you'd like to meet them. Buddy is a certified therapy dog and often goes to work at the hospital with my son. Ollie is a loveable pet who sometimes acts like a troublesome teenager.

A Different Type of Project

Last week I made new cushions for my daughter-inlaw's glider. She chose the fabric to go with Adina's bedroom. I pinned the new fabric to the old fabric at the seam lines and then cut the fabric about a half inch from the line of pins. The seat cushion was a challenge because of its shape. The difficult part was cutting out the old gripper snaps and hand sewing them to the new cushions so that the arm and back pieces could be held in place by the snaps that were attached to the wooden frame of the chair. I tried to buy new snaps and when I couldn't find the same kind, I came up with the idea to reuse what I had. I'm happy that this job is complete and all were pleased with it. I did this job in about four and a half work days with the help of my son's two Bernese Mt. Dogs that slept at my side throughout the project.

For the Love of Elmo

My two year old granddaughter loves Elmo. When I saw this Elmo fabric I had to buy it and make her a summer outfit. This pattern reminded me of the crossover dresses that I made for my daughter when she was that age. I followed the pattern for the top but took out lots and lots of fullness and length in the pants.

June's Quilt Block

This month I decided to continue with the diamond theme that I did last month. The block measures 14" square and is made up of many pieces. It was a real challenge for me but in the end I was pleased with the results. The relaxing part of the block was embroidering the stems and appliqueing the leaves. Next month, I think that I'll go back to doing an applique block, which one I'm not sure as yet.

May's Bead Journal Project

Samantha is wearing her new top that I finished this afternoon. It is made of silk with a cotton lining. Because I love pansies I decided to try and bead one on this top. This is the first time that I beaded an entire surface. It was a learning experience for me which provided me with hours of enjoyment. I do think that she needs a pair of matching pants or a long skirt to complete this outfit. Tomorrow I might be able to make her a new skirt or a pair of pants. We'll see how the day goes.

April showers bring May flowers

I just finished my April Bead Journal Project and decided to name the dress April showers bring May flowers. Spring flowers and showers have always represented a beautiful as well as peaceful time of the year for me. Also, this was a sign that the end of the school year and summer vacation were fast approaching.
Samantha's dress is made of a piece of lavender silk from my stash and embellished with beads, pearls and silk ribbon embroidery. She's going to wear this dress to a garden party at a friend's home.

A Birthday Gift

I made this bag for Erlisa as a birthday gift. She really liked it which made me happy. I should make myself one from the leftover fabric as I need a summer bag. I even bought the bag-e-bottom so that I'd have it when I need it. It is very much like the bag that I made for her mother at Christmas. I'm happy to say that I used this pattern three times already and plan to use it again. That is a record for me.

May block of the month

Yesterday I started this block and today I completed it. This is the first pieced block I've made for this quilt. It was difficult to match all of the stripes. In fact, I made two extra blocks before I did these. I think that I like doing the applique blocks much more than the pieced one.

A Pillow and Pillowcases for Adina

Adina, my almost two year old granddaughter wanted a pillow to sleep on in her crib. A full size pillow is too large for such a little girl so I made her a pillow the other day and today I completed the second pillowcase for her. My goal was to find soft pretty fabric that is 100% cotton and this is what I found. The trimmings came from my stash and the ruffle was made with a ruffle attachment.

A Gift

A little while ago, I posted a photo of a smocked ladybug insert. Today I finished the jumper, sleeveless dress that I made the insert for. This is a gift for my daughter's friend's baby. The new mother just loves ladybugs and while she was pregnant I promised her that if she had a girl, I'd make her something with ladybugs on it. I made the jumper in an 18 month size so that Cece can wear it next summer and into the fall with a t-shirt under it.

March's Bead Journal Project

I'm happy to report that March's project is finished and Samantha is dressed and ready to go to an art gallery opening in Washington, D.C. She decided to wear this outfit because it is unique and really shows off her sense of style.
The pants she's wearing this evening are part of January's outfit and the matching top is new. Her jacket is made of brocade and embelished with crystals, sead and bugel beads. Size 11 and 15 were used for this project.

March's quilt block

March's quilt block is complete. It is hand appliqued and hand embroidered. I really enjoyed making this block. The large wing is made from a batik fabric that I considered and reconsidered but used it in the end because it picked up the colors of the other fabrics. The quilt also has pieced blocks but I'm having too much fun with the applique blocks to start on the pieced ones.
My next project is my March BJP. I kind of have my ideas together and will start working on the project this afternoon. The end of the month is coming quickly so I better get to it.

Bead Project from Asilomar

This is what I stitched during my class in bead quilting. It was lots of fun to review and learn different stitches. Thom Atkins taught us backstitch, Peco, couching, fill-in, fringe, rope stitch and gave us lots and lots of inspiration. As you can see, my piece isn't finished but I wanted to give you an idea of what I did all week.

Empty Spools Seminars

On Sunday morning I'm flying from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to San Francisco, California in order to attend an Empty Spools seminar with Thom Atkins. The subject is Quilting With Beads. I'm very excited about spending time learning and being with other beaders and quilters. Have any of you been to Empty Spools or are any of you planning to attend this session? I'd love to hear from you.
Gita

February's Project

This month Samantha is going to the Red Ball, a charity event that raises money for the Red Cross. She is wearing a red silky long dress with a dropped waist and a full skirt. The beading around the neckline was done with Swarovski Crystals and heart shaped beads with flowers painted on them.
My goal for each month is to try to make a pretty dress that is enhanced by beads. This month, I outlined the neckline and added a tear drop shape in the middle of the neckline. The hearts were added as a tribute to Valentine's Day.

February's quilt block

This morning I met some friends for a sit and sew and took my quilt block with me. It took lots of discipline on my part to sew rather than just look at everyone's work and talk but I did sew and completed my block for the month. I'm now thinking about which block to do for March. The one that I might do next is a basket with flowers and a ribbon with a bow on the handle of the basket. There are also pieced blocks in this quilt but for now, I'm enjoying the applique process. It is so relaxing.
This Sunday I'm going to start the doll dress for February's bead journal project. I didn't have any red silky fabric in my stash so I bought a yard the other day while I was at JoAnn's. My thoughts for this project are long dress, full skirt, beaded heart, lots of beading at the waist and on the bodice of the dress. I'll post a photo as soon as I finish the dress.

Ladybugs

A friend of my daughter's loves ladybugs and when she had her daughter, I promised to smock something for the baby with ladybugs on it. So far, I've finished the insert and now I'm thinking of how to use it. Probably I'll turn it into the focal point of a jumper like I did for my granddaughter, Adina. My only concern is the length from top to bottom of the smocking. Because it is done over nine rows, I think that I'll have to make the jumper larger than what the baby would wear this summer. I bought cotton fabric with ladybugs on it but I might try to buy red corduroy instead of using that fabric. My other choice would be to make the jumper in an eighteen months size. I'm going to make that decision quickly because my daughter and I are going to see the baby this coming weekend and I want to give her the completed outfit then.

Applique Blocks

This is the year that I'm challenging myself with quilting, beading, and sewing projects. These two blocks are part of a 1995 Piecemakers Calendar. Some of the blocks are large and some are small. These, I'm calling my January blocks. Later tonight, I hope to start cutting out the block for my February project, another applique block. Maybe next month for variety, I'll make a pieced block.

Adina in her hoodie

Since I haven't done any work on my February project, I thought that I'd show you a picture of Adina wearing her Elmo, Melmo to her, hoodie.

January's Bead Journal Project

Today I finished January's project. My decision was to make an outfit with some type of beading on it each month for my American Girl Doll and then write a short story about it. This is Samantha and she's a thirty year old career girl who lives and works in Washington, D.C. She was invited to a Chinese New Year's party at her boss's home and decided that this outfit would be the perfect choice. The fabric for the top is brocade trimmed in silk charmuese and the wide legged pants are made from the same silk fabric. The belt was beaded with Swarovski crystals and #11 sead beads.

Bead Journal Project

Yesterday I really started working on my January project, an Asian inspired outfit for Samantha, an 18" American Girl Doll. I plan to embellish an outfit and write a little story each month to go with the outfit.
Today I'm going to continue the construction and begin the embellishment process. I've already gathered the beads and sewn part of the top together.

Finished quilt top

Today I finished the house quilt top and I'm thrilled that it's up to this point. Since my blocks didn't turn out the size that that kit said they would, I had lots of recutting and resewing to do. Somehow, I think that all of my seams line up for which I'm thrilled. As soon as I get out to buy the backing and batting, I'll take it to be machine quilted.
Also finished a cozy polar fleece blanket for Adina. I bought wooly nylon thread and edged a piece of polar fleece. My old serger did a magical job. Since I was on a roll, I cut a piece of polar fleece and made a scarf for Adina.
Tomorrow I'm going to start my bead journal project.

More on the House Quilt

After a good amount of sewing and lots of taking out, I have the next row done on the quilt. Some of my blocks were too small and others had to be recut. The center block had to be made smaller also. Now I have to take the next row a part and cut it to fit the previous row. After recutting and stretching in some places, I think that it fits together. Hopefully in the end, it will all work out. Tomorrow I might go out for the day, if not, it's back to work on this quilt. I even got up very early because it was on my mind. Hopefully this won't keep me from staying up to watch Project Runway tonight.

The Central Motif

I just finished the central motif for a quilt that I started at the end of October at quilt camp. The quilt blocks were sold as block of the month packages from JoAnn's several year ago and were in my stock. Over that weekend, I completed all of the geometric blocks and this week finished the last block, an applique one. This is the first time that I used the freezer method to applique and I must say that I really liked the results. Tomorrow I plan to sew the rest of the blocks together so that I can have the top machine quilted in the very near future. Then it's on to my bead journal project.

Quilting

Yesterday and today I've been working on the central block of a quilt. The center is an applique of a house with bushes in the front and the surrounding blocks are pieced by machine. These blocks are all finshed and waiting for the center block to be completed so that the entire top can be sewn together and quilted.
Until that quilt is ready to be photographed, I thought that I'd share a UFO that I finished and gave to my daughter at her bridal shower. I started this quilt about thirty years ago and every once in a while I'd take it out and work on it. When I retired from teaching, I decided to finish the quilt as a gift. I love this pattern and am already collecting scraps to make another one. This one will have to be completed in less than thirty years.

Thread Catcher

After working on this thread catcher for three days, I'm finally finished. The most difficult part of the jobs was to attach the center which contains river rocks for weight. It was supposed to be round but some how turned out to be the shape you see. If I remember to put my threads in the pouch, it will be worth the effort.

Some Knitting

I've been working on a thread catcher for the last two days and should finish it up tomorrow. Hopefully this will teach me to put my cut off threads in one place so they don't end up on the floor. When I finish this project, I'll post a picture.
Recently I finished this baby sweater and hat as a gift for my daughter's friend who is having her first baby in a few weeks. The pattern is called "Baby Surpise Jacket" by Elizabeth Zinnerman. It wasn't difficult to make but you had to keep track of all of the rows in order to increase or decrease stitches in the correct places. I'm going to make this sweater again but with heavier yarn so that it comes out a little bigger. To take these pictures, I put the sweater and hat on an 18" doll.

A hoodie made from my stash

While putting away the excess fabric from the pocketbooks, I came across a small piece of fabric with Elmo on it. Adina loves Elmo so I thought that I'd try to get a hoodie out of the scraps. As you can see, I made it. All of the material, the zipper and thread came from my stash for which I'm thrilled.