Big Stitch Bunny Tales, part 1

 

I'm working on a quilt for my new baby granddaughter. The only purchase I made on Black Friday was from Missouri Star Quilt Co. I was in full scale holiday madness with a retail job at the time and did some quick online shopping, choosing this sweet Bunny Tales panel along with some accompanying fabrics. My oldest daughter has always loved bunnies -- even had one for a pet -- so when I saw the momma and baby bunnies among the pretty peaches, pinks and oranges, I knew it would be perfect.

  

I wanted to personalize the quilt with both the baby's full name and nickname so hand-embroidered "abby" on the momma bunny's kerchief. I've added simple borders with the carrot and polka dot fabrics. 

 

For the back, I machine embroidered a large panel with her full name and birth date, a butterfly to mimic the butterfly backing fabric, and my Made With Love info. This piece was inset on the lower back.

 

Having been enamored with big-stitch quilting for some time, I felt this panel was the perfect chance to give it a try. I'm using DMC #5 perle cotton floss purchased at Michael's.

 

My Mom had a quilting stand and hoop that she no longer uses and she very kindly shipped it to me for this. It is completely awesome!

 

See the cute little jeweled butterfly on the momma bunny? That's a needle minder, a magnetic place to hold/rest your needle when you stop. Mom had included several of these with the quilting stand. So fun and functional!

 

I am having a great time doing the big-stitching! I've always been a fan of hand-embroidery and this is so fast and so pretty. I'm just picking elements in the panel to feature and outline that will hold the quilt layers together.

Once I've finished the oval design center, I'll machine quilt the rest of it and finish with carrot striped binding. I'll post again when it's done, but wanted to share how much fun the big-stitch quilting is ... I highly recommend giving it a try!

Palindrome Xmas Quilt Label

 

How late is late? Finally created and attached the quilt label for our oldest granddaughter's Christmas quilt made for her *ahem, cough* 3-1/2 years ago.  Blogged about making the quilt here.

Fortunately, the lack of a label hasn't kept the quilt from being well-used and loved. I machine embroidered the information, then bordered it with the striped fabric used for the quilt binding. Please note my first (and possibly last) attempt at mitered corners. Mitered corners are a fussy business!

 

Here's the back. I pressed a 1/2" hem, then topstitched around at 1/4". Also ironed on lightweight fusible backing (SF-101) for stability and to protect the embroidery stitches from use and repeated laundering.

 

 

Whip stitched it to the quilt back along with my Lilla Lotta Handiworking label.

Palindrome Xmas Quilt Label ... Check!

So many projects, never enough time!

Quilt Finish :: Summer in the Park

 

Just wanted to share the quilt I made for my sweet sister-in-law for Christmas. The wonderful pattern is Summer in the Park by Missouri Star Quilt Co.

Unfortunately, it was an unusually dreary day in Phoenix when it was completed, washed and packed for shipping so the colors appear darker in the photos than they really are. The quilt border and backing fabric features turquoise peacock feathers with pink hearts.

 

One of my favorite elements on this quilt is the hand-embroidered label. My sister-in-law and husband lovingly call each other dumbass ~ every phone call, text, email, greeting card ~ it's Hello, Dumbass! Which makes me an honorary dumbass by marriage. Never in a million years would I have imagined that I would sit and painstakingly stitch the phrase dumbasses by marriage on anything ... but there it is.

 

Here's a better picture of the colors on the quilt front during the pin-basting stage ...

 

So many projects, never enough time.

Monogrammed Coffee Cuff

Needed a quick gift this morning and this little project is amazingly fast and easy. Plus it's a great gift for guys, which is always a bonus. This link will take you to my original post with step-by-step instructions.

Monogrammed his initials onto the shirt cuff with my embroidery machine ...

Here's what the lined inside looks like ...

Along with a handwritten tag tied on with ribbon, I'm going to include a Starbucks gift card. Fast, easy and personalized!

So many projects, never enough time

Sewing a Super Hero Cape

Recently, a quilt went out to a new baby girl and I wanted to include something for her Super Big Brother. A personalized super hero cape seemed like a fun idea for an energetic 2-year-old.

I made an embroidered patch featuring his initial and appliquéd it onto the outside of the cape before stitching right sides together, turning, pressing, top stitching and adding the hook & loop closure. It was well received, as you can tell by the action shots ...

And then a co-worker ordered one for her 3-year-old nephew. When I was trimming the appliqué patch this time, I realized I had the ideal tool in a ruler -- the OmniArc by Omnigrid. The ruler has slots that allow you to draw the perfect curve with degree markings. The funny thing is, I've had this ruler for years but can't remember why I bought it. It made the process so much easier ... last time I winged it. 

With less than a yard of fabric, you can make your mini super hero's play time so much more fun.

Finished size: 

31-1/2" from top of strap to hem

25-3/4" from neck to hem

11-1/2" from outside edge of one strap to outside edge of the other

17" at widest point across bottom edge

1-1/4" wide straps

Appliqué patch: 3-1/2" center top to bottom and side to side at widest point

Embroidered gold shield: 2-5/8" high by 2-3/4" wide

Embroidered initial: 1-1/8" high

Appliqué placed approximately 4" from neck edge

Used the edge of a clear 8" glass plate to round the corners on the bottom of the cape and cut the neck hole.

Used a pill bottle to round the ends of the straps.

So many projects, never enough time ...

A Hug is in the Mail :: On Brave Wings

I mailed a hug yesterday to an amazing family member, a woman I greatly admire who has been through some stuff and still manages to show up and do it all with grace! I believe that shawls are hugs and sometimes you just need a good hug to remind you that you can do it and people are thinking about you and cheering you on!

This is the "On Brave Wings" shawl, with my hand-drawn design first hand embroidered, then layered with batting and backing, quilted by hand, machine quilted and, finally, binding attached by machine and finished by hand. A lot of prayer for good health and happiness has gone into the making of this hug.

Although this was designed with breast cancer in mind, wouldn't it be lovely for a young woman going off to college -- maybe in school colors, or for someone starting a new business or career or moving to a new city or country?

I also got to use one of my new Lilla Lotta custom labels on it ...

I'll be putting a post together with the specifics on making On Brave Wings, along with the pattern for the embroidered design. Soon!

So many projects, never enough time ...

Melody Rose Pillow Quilt

There are two things you should know about this quilt … 

1) It's the first quilt I ever made and 
2) It was created for my beautiful great-niece who turns 2-years-old today.

After my interest in sewing and embroidery had been revived, the birth of this wonderful child seemed like the perfect time to try my hand at quilting. I wanted to make something girly and sweet for her and planned to start with a center square embroidered with her name and birth year.

Which was a terrific idea, in theory, until I added the lace and the square puckered. *sigh* 

Which led to my Hubby's brilliant solution of turning the center square into a stuffed pillow to lay her little head on. I love that man!

I made a small pillow back, leaving an opening for stuffing, and hand-stitched it onto the back of the square …

Stuffed it with polyfill and whip stitched the opening shut …

From that point on, I cut and seamed patchwork, learning as I went about joining seams and pressing. I made 5" squares and have been in love with charm squares ever since.

Adding borders, quilting, making and attaching binding -- I even ordered a special walking foot for my 1969 Bernina 707 that has been invaluable ...

The finished quilt has this puffy little pillow in the center …

And an embroidered quilt label on the back …

Aunt Janie loves you, Melody Rose … Happy 2nd Birthday!

2012

2014