I've created a quilt monster!

 Marley has been sewing with me quite a bit. She made face masks for her family, handkerchiefs for her Poppa, and a pair of shorts for herself. Two days ago she decided that it's time to make another quilt. 

This is probably the third design attempt

I had an idea. I'd keep her busy with small pieces. We decided on 2½" X 6" patches. Well, that didn't work. Firstly, I won't let her use the rotary cutter, so I had lots of pieces to cut. 

A few changes

Next, she was supposed to take some time at the design wall. Apparently she's a natural. I'd make a suggestion and show her what I meant, she'd rip pieces down and put them back up in a flash. A few suggestions brought her to a design she loved. 

Rows sewn together. Hmm, more pieces.

She sews relatively fast. I encourage her to slow down to improve her accuracy, but she was too excited. I decided to let her enjoy the process. We'll work on ¼" seams on the next one. Hopefully, she'll be able to contain her excitement. I think the trick is to let her make another right away. Let the "I'm making a quilt" joy become something she's used to. Otherwise, I'll have to work really hard and be fussy. I'll let you know how this plan works. 

Yay! Ready to sew strips together!

I'd much prefer if I didn't fuss. I want us to have fun. Plus, it's wonderful that she's so excited about sewing and quilting. She was responsible for all of the designing, sewing and pressing. To encourage freedom in designing, I let her make decisions but also show her options that she hadn't considered. One example, I flipped every other row so that the colors played differently. We talked about how just little changes can make big differences. 

All done!

I also require that she do the math. May as well get those practical lessons in there, too. It occurred to me that I could loan her a quilting book to encourage some reading. Then it occurred to me that I'm a teacher nerd. Oh well! C'est la vie! I do miss teaching and Marley is an enthusiastic student. 

Looks good this way, too!

We're a good pair, the two of us. And it's fabulous to have a sewing buddy. Plus, she does the mundane chores, like fold fabric and put it away!

Happenings 'round here

That title makes it sound like there are happenings. They aren't that many, believe me. 

I had promised my sister that I'd make some bed pads to keep at her house. The short version is that another sister suffers from dementia and is living where the pads are going. You get the picture, I'm sure. I got a reminder text this morning and started working on the pads at noon. I chose ugly, heavy fabrics that I'm sure I wouldn't want for a quilt. 

It's not a difficult chore; there are only four pads. I sewed all the fabrics together much like a pieced backing and loaded the longarm just like a regular quilt. I decided to use the opportunity to practice some motifs and that slowed me down. When finished, I cut it into four pads and finished the edges with the lock-stitch machine.

The other thing slowing me down is Marley. She came by for a sewing lesson and made a pair of shorts. Since it's her first pair, she needed guidance. She's getting really good and will soon be able to complete small projects on her own. 

One other thing happening is that I've been painting again. I'm working on two magnolia paintings and will have something to show you in a day or so. Meanwhile, have a fabulous Friday and weekend!

A fire, some flowers, and some shirts ~~ finishes

Meme's stepdad is a volunteer fireman. Her mom decided that they would be a family of firefighters for Halloween. Meme, however, can't seem to say fire-anything. When asked what she wants to be for Trick or Treat, she answer, "a fire-ah." So we made her a fire-ah costume. Her little brother is going to be a dalmatian. I haven't seen his costume yet. 

A little red tee shirt with yellow and sparkly silver striped ribbon and her very own badge. I attached the silver ribbon to the yellow using adhesive web then sewed them onto the shirt. The badge I planned to made from two pieces of yellow adhered using heavy duty web, but in the end I used a zigzag stitch to applique it on. The letter, for her name, is a ready-made sticky letter. All of it is Dusti's idea and design. She also made the requisite red tutu. I can't wait to see Miss Priss in her fire-ah costume.

Also this week I finished up the last of the flowers for All Saints' Day. These are for Richard's dad. I had to wait for him to pick up the cypress vase he made a couple of months ago.

I wasn't sure what Richard would want in the way of flowers, so I bought a variety of deep fall colors when I bought all the ones for my family. Turns out he really likes them. I suppose we'll put them out tomorrow when we go to mass. His brother cleaned the grave and his mom already delivered her flowers.

The other then I've worked on has really taken some time. We are going to Disney before Christmas and the kids want tee shirts. 

Well! That is going to be interesting. It's difficult to get 10 people to agree on one shirt. So I've taken things into hand and designed two that I can cut on the Silhouette. One Meggan and I found some on Pinterest (of course) and changed the idea to fit the Marcotte clan's needs. The designs are finished. Wish me luck getting them onto the shirts.

Finally, Richard and I have babysat till we're exhausted. Meme and Brother are sweet, fun little tykes, but they are heavy (literally) and high-maintenance. One is potty-training and the other is curious. He's now mobile, crawling on all fours, pulling up and digging in everything. Meme is a big help: I say Ryder, she yells no!
Somehow we're getting on, but it's getting more difficult not less so. Any suggestions? I really need help.

Marley and the Machine, or The Bug Bit

Marley has been hanging out with her GramGram and Poppa all week. Entertaining a nine-year-old can be difficult, unless you're willing to ignore the technology in her hands. I'm not. That would, in essence, be ignoring her. 

So how to entertain a nine-year-old? Well, it helps to have a different kind of machine. A sewing machine, of course. She wanted to learn to sew. What grandmother could deny a grandchild such a request? Certainly, not this one.

I put her to work practicing straight lines. Then curvy lines. Then turning corners. She was pretty good at all of them. We started on her project of choice, a pillow to match her room. That was too easy and quick. Nevertheless, on day two we set about making a smaller pillow for Darla, her dog. She needed no instruction and very little help. 

Oh good. I was able to turn on my long-arm and make a few stitches on my own project. However, it was short-lived and we needed yet another project. She asked to make a quilt. Yes, perhaps a quilt would be just the project to occupy her for a while and allow me to work on my quilting. 

She chose the first pieces of fabric, all stripes. I suggested that if she wanted stripes for the whole quilt that we intersperse bright colors with neutrals. She pulled all the stripes she liked, and I cut out the 6½" x 8½" patches using the rotary cutter and showed her how to put them together, pin and stitch. By the end of the day, she had sewn a neutral to each bright. 

There are only eight blocks per row and seven rows, so by noon on Wednesday she finished all the rows. We began working on putting the rows together and she took the quilt top home to show her mom and dad.

Thursday we needed another project because I had not finished my own project on the long-arm, which means her quilt could not get loaded. 

She was off and running when I mentioned making a simple, elastic-waist skirt. I should have looked for a pattern but decided to just take her measurements and cut. Oops. It fits but barely. I may have to make some alterations next week. For now, though, she's thrilled with it. 

And that's been the first week of Marley and the machine. It's possible the sewing bug has gotten to her and bit hard. Let's hope so, anyway. I'd like for her to get another project or two completed before school begins in the hopes it means she'll pick it back up during holidays or next summer. 

Two Cute ~~one finish

Cute one.

Cute two.

A couple of weeks ago Dusti asked me to make a little apron for Miss Priss. She's supposed to be getting a new kitchen for Christmas. However, she founded the box. No knowing that, I made the little apron and let Dusti know that she could pick it up. 

When they came today, she put the apron on Milly and told me about the kitchen discovery. I am happy to see that it fits well.

To make the neck strap, I recycled two notions from an old bra. One is a plastic ring, the other this notion shaped like two ovals combined into one.

The strap can be loosened to put the apron on then tightened to make it fit without the neckline dropping down.

 If making it again, I'd shorten the back ties. Otherwise, I am quite happy with all this cuteness. 

Catching up ... and a finish!

Yes, I've got a finish that I haven't shown you. This darling little dress for Milly. I know, I'm spoiling her! It's such fun! 

If you're old enough, you may recognize this pattern from when your own children were babies. I've had the pattern for ages now. I think I used it for the first time when Jolie was little. She's 16 now, but it's possible that the pattern is actually older than that.

Does it look familiar? I love it. And it was very easy to sew up. There are only two pieces: the front is cut on the fold and the back is cut sort of crooked to keep it straight of grain. Both need to be lined, but I decided to cut the opposite side in a light plaid so the top is reversible.

Did you notice that when I switched the dress around to take pictures, I didn't unbutton both straps? There are buttons on both sides so I should have unbuttoned both straps and buttoned them with the strap over the front.

Instead of making the panties that came with the pattern, I used the shorts pattern that I've been using and added elastic in the legs by increasing the size of the hem to make casings. Surprisingly, they are a little tight when made like this, but she didn't complain about the shorts, so we're going with them.


Now she may not have complained about the shorts but wow! she was in a mood. She fussed and cried for a good ten minutes for no reason. None. She was just cranky. That is very rare, so I changed her into a comfy little outfit and rocked her for a few minutes. Ahh, the joys of being a retired grandmother!

The only other news I have is that I'm already getting ready for our August meeting. We have a special guest coming to give a presentation. I'll wait to surprise you but thought a little tease would be fun.

And I'll leave you with a few quilts from the Krotz Springs show on Saturday. These are all from the trunk shows. I had to crop out the backs of heads, but I hate to stand in front of people to take pictures. It feels rude to be in other people's line of view. 
Hope you enjoy!

Milly is loading up! ~~ Finishes!

Today's finishes mean that Milly has gotten three dresses and several pair of shorts in less than a week. It seems that almost every time she shows up for a couple of hours, I get the urge to sew a little dress. 

She's not complaining, though. Well, when she's done with the waiting, she can whine a little but nothing too bad. 



This crazy loud daisy fabric been sitting around for a couple of years. I've cut into it several times to toss a few scraps into some colorful quilt or other, but I keep finding these the big pieces. Even after cutting Mill's dress out, I still have enough to make a pair of shorts. Maybe I'll just chop it to bits and add it to a quilt kit. Let's see what happens then.

Yesterday I got pretty enthusiastic with the cleaning and emptied another box of fabric. There are only two options--on a shelf (where I can see it) or in a box for donating. Occasionally I do put something aside to make shorts or a dress, but even those are rare. I'm determined to get my studio into a clean enough condition that I can find stuff and get work done.

The other thing that I got enthusiastic about was recovering this little binder. It holds my favorite recipes, mostly those written by the person I got it from, and a few recipes that I want to try eventually. (In some cases it's been years, but who's keeping track, right?)

The original binder

Front cover

Inside front cover in pretty stripes

I discovered this little piece of decorator fabric that I really like because of the soft colors, and added two other pieces that were hanging around (and almost match) to use as the inside covers. 

Back cover (same fabric goes from front) edge to back edge

I like the way it turned out. Plus it was fast and easy. I used Mrs. Bertha's suggestions from last Monday's guild meeting. I think I'll write a tutorial and include the tips Mrs. Bertha gave us. Look for that by the end of the week. 

Inside back cover

And here are a few more pics of Milly dancing in her new dress with her favorite toy--a cheap little plastic slinky. Goodness knows where it came from.

Link Ups!

My Quilt Infatuation (NTT)

Busy Hands Quilts (Finished or Not Friday)

Confessions of a Fabric Addict (Can I get a Whoop! Whoop!)

Kiddo Fast Finishes

 One afternoon this week I had Milly and decided that she needed a new dress. When she goes home, oftentimes she's wearing the dress or other nice outfit that we managed to hold on to. It's easy to lose things: shoes, bottles, clothes, sippy cups and so on. 

Front of dress showing the sherbet bodice

It's sometimes easier to just figure it out as we go. This particular time I decided to sew a little dress and matching shorts. As I've been cleaning and organizing fabric, I've run across a few pieces that I immediately have a project for. I pulled out this pretty plaid and set it aside thinking it would be just big enough for shorts. 

Back of dress

Well, it was even bigger than that. I was able to piece together enough for the dress by adding a bodice from a coordinating sherbet orange. The sherbet piece was big enough for the shorts and the interfacing for the dress. In other words, I squeezed all I could out of the plaid then squeezed the orange. There are only small scraps of the plaid left. 

Asked to show me her shorts,
she did exactly that

Milly does not like to change clothes. When she saw me coming with the dress, she started fussing, but I got a length measurement anyway. A good thing since it was about four inches too long. In no time I had a little dress and matching shorts. 

After a particularly wet diaper, she got to wear the outfit. I got a few pictures of her showing off in her new dress. And I could not resist this little collage of her playing. 

Since the outfit was a fast finish, I decided to sew a couple of pair of shorts for the bigger girls. I used what I thought was the pattern from last summer, but that must have been for Jolie. These two are way too big. So I'll have to find someone about two sizes bigger to gift them to.

Nevertheless, these are really cute. And while the plaids on the dress are a mess, these plaids are perfect. Yes, there is a seam in the middle of those short 

So all that happened on Tuesday, maybe? Then yesterday I put it in my head that she is so cute she deserves another outfit. I even got to wash it before putting it on her.

How sweet is this smile?

Am I right? How is it possible to love a cutie pie so much?

I found this cute garden fabric while trying to organize fabrics—again—but decided that it's too cute and the opportunity too good to past up. So I delayed the fabric organizing by an hour or so.

Well worth my time, don't you agree?

Link Ups!

My Quilt Infatuation (NTT)

Busy Hands Quilts (Finished or Not Friday)

Confessions of a Fabric Addict (Can I get a Whoop! Whoop!)