Swoon Pinch :: Friday Favorites

Today I completed my first Swoon block.

 

I think out of all the Denyse Schmidt Picnic & Fairgrounds prints these two are my favorite together.  I might have to find more of them to make something for myself.  

This block is HUGE!  I mean I knew it would be 24.5" square, but once I finished it and saw how big it was... I fell for it.  I've been pinched and am Swooning.  Now to pick my next two prints for block two. 

On another note, Friday Favorites:

 

1. Holly Hobbie!!, 2. swoon7, 3. farmer's wife sampler, block 24, 4. Vintage Pyrex Butterprint Cinderella Bowl Set, 5. PTS 7 Complete!!, 6. Hope Valley, 7. Granny #4, 8. flea market fancy lattice quilt, 9. Scrappy Stars, 10. Spring Finish!, 11. velveteen star, 12. Cogwheel progress., 13. January 201214. Not available15. Not available16. Not available 

Created with fd's Flickr Toys

Have a great Spring weekend!

Lindsay

Back and Busy

We've hit the ground running.  San Felipe, Mexico was great!  It was the perfect little get away for me.  Beach, movies, friends, ahhh.  Upon return I set out to finish building my vegetable garden.  It turned out way cool!  I never thought I could build somthing like this all by myself.  Now for the hard part:  GROWING FOOD!

We are waiting for a storm to pass this weekend before planting seeds.  I think we might do a starter kit in egg cartons. 

I hope I can do it.  I mean, I usually kill every plant that enters my home.  Lord willing, I'll have a healthy garden.  Jack picked out 10 vegetables.  We'll see what ends up getting planted first.  He is a great little farmer.  As I said here I got the plans to build this from Better Homes & Gardens, but I found a second resource and find it much easier to follow.  To build a raised garden bed like mine visit Sunset Magazine tutorial.  It was missing one item on the materials list (bird netting) but that was a mear $5. 

I'll keep you posted on the progress.  

Again, gardening tips are welcome, so please spill your beans!

Lindsay

Here Today, Gone Tomorrow!

Hi all, I just wanted to stop in and say hi!  I just enjoyed a lovely visit with my sister Shiloh in Oklahoma.  I flew with my Mom and Grama and together we four ladies had a blast.  We each got to contribute to her new home in our own special ways.  Yes, she be getting a quilt from me some time this year.  We haven't yet gotten together to decide on anything yet, but boy was I inspired.  She has a lovely new home.  I was so blessed to be there.  

Well, its a busy day.  I got home last night and tomorrow we are off to San Felipe, Mex for a race.  The fun part is that we are staying with friends on the beach.  I can't wait! 

I'll be back next week to share some more!

Lindsay

Over the Weekend

Last weekend was very productive.  I whipped out this cute little top using DS Quilts Picnics and Fairgrounds fabric from JoAnn's.

When I picked out the fabric, I didn't exactly think thru the directional print.  So the pleats aren't so great to look at.   Below is my solution:  I bought a few crocheted flowers at the Road to California quilt show last month and thought I'd use one on this top.

I think I'll dye the flower red and add a fun white ribbon to the bunch.  This top was inspired by one I've owned for maybe 4+ years.  I only pull it out on special casual occasions.

Here I am wearing it on my 26th birthday with my friend Aubrey.  Sorry my hair is covering the cute flower.  This tank is my all time favorite shirt, and I hardly wear it cause I want it to last forever.  It's made using a collage of stretch/knits fabrics.  I love that it has an above the bust cut.  Since I'm not good with sewing knits, I've been looking for a pattern for a long time to replicate it that didn't require a knit.  Above the bust patterns are really hard to find.  But, finally I found one.  The pattern I used to make my new shirt is Butterick 5217. 

The pattern was super easy to follow.  However, even though I'm no virgin to sewing apparel, I ran into a few hurdles.  For one, the facing was narrower than the drape.  I couldn't figure out what I did wrong, but I fixed it letting out a couple seam allowances.  No biggy.  Anyway,  a also made a few other changes to the pattern to get the look I was going for.  Instead of three pleats on the back I only did one and I made my own biased tape from the left over fabric instead of buying some.  I also shortened the tunic, which I wont do again because it hangs a little stiff.  I think if it was a little longer it wouldn't look so stiff.  Maybe its just the fabric though.  A voile would probably work better.  Maybe I'll order some AMH for my next one. 

On another note...

I also worked my butt off on the side yard weeding, digging, sawing lumber and making this:

Looks like no big fuss, but oh believe me, this was a lot of work.  I got the plans from Better Homes & Garden's how tos.  I'll admit, I did have a little help from my father-in-law screwing it together.  We've always wanted a vegetable garden, and by golly we are gonna have one!  There is still so much to do, but I'm making good headway and I have a great little helper.  Any tips on raised gardening?  Please do share.  I have no green thumb an can use the advice.  We'll get back to this in a couple weeks. 

Hope you have a good week!  I'm off to Oklahoma to visit my big sister. 

xo,

Lindsay

Friday Favorites

Friday Favorites, a photo by Modern Amish on Flickr.

Today's Friday Favorites include some country farm love, lady of the lake quilt, feathers, hexagon rainbow and argyle in grey & black.

Have a great weekend!

::Houndstooth Baby::

Well, well, what do we have here?  A Houndstooth Quilt!  Isn't it cute?  I think so.  It turned out way better than I thought it would.  

Especially the quilting.  I'm so glad I chose the diagonal lines with a black thread.  Perfect.  

A little history on the Houndstooth: Originated as a woven wool cloth in the Scottish Lowlands. Earliest fashion recorded appearing in New York's men and women's high end clothing in 1885.  Was popular along with Scotch plaids as part of its 1933 spring men's suiting.  The branding, a black-on-white Houndstooth pattern, is one of the most recognized corporate identities in Australia (AUS).  In 2006, Houndstooth was listed on the AUS government panel as one of the top 10 favorite trade marks.  

Now, timeless.  It's sophisticated look always has a way of catching your eye even when used in small doses.

The finished quilt is 40" x 40" and I made it using Kona Cottons in Ash and Black.  Batting is Warm & Natural and the backing is a P & B Textiles print called Downtown Textiles in Coal.  I loved how it gives a textural look to the backing.  

Simply Mae Shop on Etsy

This quilt would make any modern baby boy or girl a fun play-mat, wall hanging or snuggle quilt.  This quilt is listed in my Etsy shop here. 

Lindsay

Aviary 2, A Finished Quilt

This is a little late. I planned on photographing this quilt a month ago, before giving it to my sister, but I kept on forgetting. Anyways, here it is:

This is by far the largest quilt I've made yet.  We were going for a twin sized, its close to it.    Although I don't know how much smaller it is all washed up...

Since I'm not very savvy with the free motion, I decided to quilt this one using "somewhat" straight lines 2 inches apart.  It was a little tricky wrestling the bulk of the quilt while stitching.  Perhaps, next time I do a large quilt, I'll have it long armed.  The quilting was slow and steady once I had a few marked lines to follow.  I'm quite happy with the way it turned out.   

The 5 & Dime by All Washed Up quilt pattern was my visual inspiration...however my quilt is a little more narrow than their pattern and much shorter since I had directional prints.  My sister really wanted the length, so I added a top & bottom border.  You can purchase the pattern here.  

Finished Quilt size: 64" x 90"

Farbic:  Aviary 2 in Saffron by Joel Dewberry for Westminster Fibers

 

My sister is in heaven...she loves the fabrics and that she has her very own handmade quilt.  It was such a fun project to make her.  Now, what to make my other sister?

Lindsay