Hubby Dennis, knowing the day was a bit rough, brought home Pizza Hut Pizza. What a treat. Half taco and half all meat. What brought about the rough day? Could have been the really cloudy damp weather to make the arthritis buck or the fact, that on the last process of Oliver’s quilt, which was hemming the remaining half, I ran out of thread and have no more of that color. More of the actual spool than the yardage of thread that used to be on a spool. I am going to have to council with my partner Dennis, as to how we punt through this. No way will this call for a trip out of town for stitching 140 inches of hem.
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Noreen
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Noreen
Very Satisfying
So close to the end, I can’t help but smile,
even with a few bags under the eyes.When a huge challenge is close to the end game, it is very satisfying and also a bit hard on the back and hands. Oliver’s quilt is taking on the look of possible completion. Yesterday and today was spent tying many knots with embroidery floss. Thanks to some very kind elves, I have floss to tie knots with and to do counted cross stitch with until my end game.
My sister, Elvera, and I were invited many times to help my Mom finish quilts. The quilts were either hand sewn or tied with wool yarn. After these last several days I wish I knew the size of the needle that was used to push through a cotton quilt top, the batting, and the cotton backing, all the while using wool
yarn. I had all I could do, using a slender needle with an eye just large enough for the embroidery floss to fit through, and that was accomplished by using a needle nose pliers to pull the needle through. The beauty of wool yarn is that over time the wool would ware and the individual fibers took on the look of each yarn knot to resemble a flower bud, something acrylic yarn can’t achieve.I am very pleased that the majority of the materials used for this project did come from my stashes. Without the stashes, Amy’s wish for a “large blanket” could have become quite spendy. I filled my stashes from the close out sale of Grandma’s Quilt Emporium at a $1.00 a yard sometime in the late 1990s. It would really smart to purchase that same quality of yard goods for the going price of $8.99 and $9.99 a yard. The stipulation is, when I am asked to do a project, and the yard goods are not offered up by the person making the request, it is my choice of what I will use. Dennis takes down various totes for me to shop from as I make my choices. By the way, the quilt will be 60″ x 82″. Not quite the size of a twin sized bed, but I am sure this size will suffice for cuddling as well as fort building as Oliver gets a bit older.
Tomorrow we will be rattling the totes to find just the right fabric for the binding. I know I will have to find a piece that is ¾ of a yard, or several to put together to make 294 inches of binding.
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Noreen
Could the day have been any grayer or darker?
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Noreen
Shopping Success
We had success shopping for batting for Oliver’s quilt. This bear motif, complete with the zipper, will soon become cuddly.
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Noreen
Making Headway
A bit ago I shared the little bag of goodies I was given by Dennis’ granddaughter, Amy, with the hope that I could make something, literally, out of nothing. I spent a long time going through my stashes in the sewing room. Amy stressed she wanted a blanket that would be cuddly and that it be “big.”Dennis was called in to service to be the “first impression” when he saw fabric laid out with the fabric squares. It did all depend on what I had on hand. When asked to make a project for someone and there is no additional fabric included I have made a promise to myself to use what I have before purchasing. I sure don’t need any additional yardage in my totes. The red was too strong and the earth tone stripes would have looked good if making a dogie blanket for Bell and Sophie.
As luck would have it I have yardage that was reminiscent of the prints found years ago on bags of chicken concentrate that could be bought at the feed mills. Darlene Zimmerman of Fairfax has a sweet line of those vintage looking prints and this pick was indeed one of hers.
The quilt top for Oliver, using some of his baby clothes.
Once we had decided on the color of fabric to make this project look cohesive, I began counting squares needed to get the sewing machine warmed up. I used five inch squares in the body of the quilt (I no longer thought of this as a blanket), and that is where the easy part stopped. Amy had cut certain types of baby clothes where she wanted the entire motif to be shown. Some had snaps, some had zippers that were going through the motif. I am too anal to not have the 2 + 2 methodology in place. I decided to put the larger motifs on the side boarders, snaps and zippers included.
Tomorrow we are heading for a quilt shop in Mankato. I have the top completed at the size of 60″ x 80″. I was so fortunate to have the sizing for the knit blocks, the fusible web for the boarder motifs, and the base fabric for the squares to be showcased on. It did make a nice sized dent into my stuff. I will need to purchase batting and a fabric to be used on the back. I was given a free hand on this project, and I hope it will bring a smile. I do know that the size requirement is done. Now the cuddly part will come in to play with the batting and the yarn ties to hold it all together.
The iron is unplugged and the sewing machine is cooling off. I am about to have a cold cup of coffee that was left from this morning.
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Noreen
Today we had to be happy with the 34 degrees. The sun just couldn’t break through, so I had to make my own bright environment, via the fluorescent lights in my sewing room.
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Noreen
Not a Clue
It tickles me when I am taken aback when I receive requests for sewing projects. Dennis’ granddaughter, Amy, asked me to make a blanket for her son Oliver out of some of his baby clothes as a keepsake. Long before anymore details were brought forward, I was thinking in the world of measurements, amount of fabric, etc., for this little bit of heaven from baby clothes.
. . . and so Oliver’s quilt begins.
Last week, Amy’s mother stopped by with the goodies. It was a small plastic bag with pieces of fabric that had been cut out of clothing that ranged from sizes of newborn, three month, and six month clothing. If I was lucky there were several from a size one. When I had a chance to visit with Amy about this keepsake, I immediately looked for a chair to sit down on. The keepsake blanket is anticipated being large enough to allow for Amy and Oliver to cuddle under. Hello! We are actually talking about a twin sized quilt.
All the scraps of clothing are knit and a stabilizer will need to be added to the back to allow the fabric to be sewn without stretching out of control. No problem. When I began putting scraps into usable squares, I knew there was not enough for anyone to cuddle under. Big problem. Out came my fabric scrap bag. Half of the squares will be Oliver’s clothing and I will add to that to make the project doable.
This is an example of the innocence of young mothers, also known as not having a clue on how to get from point A to point Z. I will forge on and hopefully in time to come there will be a finished product to share.
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Noreen
It never gets old to have a road date with Dennis. The sun was shining and even with a bit of a wind, the 21 degrees gave us hope that more nice days are coming. Our poor furnace had huffed and puffed for the last 21 days. Groceries are tucked away in the pantry and both of us had haircuts . . . that should do us into 2015. We stopped at Perkins for the meal of the day. Hats off to my dad, Raymond. The potato pancakes were a real treat, but not quite as good as those Mom used to make for Dad.
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Noreen
Belief is wonderful. I just knew there would be some warmer weather once we could get rid of the bitter zero degree temps. Workers finishing items that call to be outside will so appreciate the respite. I don’t think my furnace will mind catching a break either.
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Noreen
It is a very quiet day, here on Stauffer Avenue. All the “fixings” that were used and needed for Megan’s visit are tucked away . . . until the next time. Sweet!
