Friendship - A Swap for all Seasons

 I recently participated in the October Swap on a Swap for All Seasons.  The theme of the swap was Friendship.  You can check out the Swap by clicking on the Icon on the left of my blog.

The color for the month was pink.  We were to make a card and a tag.  Lastly we were to include something pink from our stash. My card is shown above.  I used scrapbook paper, cardstock, stamps, and a button.

My tag is shown above.  I used my new Silhouette to make the tag.  I'm so impressed with the machine.  I printed the tag on my printer and then cut out the shape on the Silhouette.  The tag features a piece of vintage fabric from a 1930's quilt top, vintage buttons, trim and an image cut from a notecard.

Here are the pink items from my stash.  Instructions said to include "One Pink" item.  Of course, I couldn't stop with just one.  The bias tape, rick rack, and seam binding are vintage.  All items are on their way to my partner in North Carolina.

New Jar Pendant Light

We are in the process of redecorating our living/dining space.  I recently purchased a dining table from Copenhagen.  The table was a perfect fit in our narrow dining area but the lighting above the table didn't fit with the table.  I searched for something linear and found this Jar Pendant Light at Pottery Barn.  It is perfect for the space.  The electrician installed it this week and we love it.

I'm not sure we are keeping the blue walls but will wait until all furniture has arrived before making a decision.  I'll post more photos of the transformation as we make the changes.  Shutters should be installed next week and furniture is scheduled to arrive the following week.  My DH will be repainting the shelves and  hutch to match new wall unit (Swiss Coffee).  Seems like one thing leads to another.  Especially in a older historic home.

Is It Fall Yet?

 

The weather has been under 100 all week here in the Valley of the Sun.  We began the week with a rainy Monday.  Cool and rained most of the morning.  Made me think of fall so I decided to share one of my fall quilts.  It is made from a kit I purchased a few years ago.  I love all the fall colors and hope you too enjoy my "Salute to Fall". 

 

As a footnote, we will be back over 100 by the weekend.  After all we do live in the desert and will appreciate the warm weather in December, January, and February.

Scrappity-Do-Dah Quilt

 

This is a Scrappity-Do-Dah quilt top that I made for my sister.  She had wanted me to make a quilt for her and I finally selected a pattern.  I wanted to use up the fabrics in my stash.  I found this scrappy quilt pattern and set out to make the quilt top.  There was lots of cutting, trimming, and squaring up in this design. 

 

Here is another view of the top.  I plan to stitch in the ditch along the  sashing and then add a center medallion to the center where the four triangles meet.  I will use my Janome 12000 quilting program to do the medallions.  It will take awhile but it is to be a Christmas present.  My sister has seen the quilt top and would be happy to have an early Christmas gift!!! She will display it on the bed in her guest room.  The bed is white (a vintage bed that belonged to our mom and dad) so the quilt will look very nice.

 

I'm linking to Pink Saturday.  Please check out our hostess Bev's blog.

Sudoku Quilt Top

 

This was my quilt project for the week.  My Janome 12000 is in for it's yearly servicing and I used my Janome 11000 to complete this quilt top.  I had purchased the Sudoku squares from Moda a few years ago.  The fabric is Lovely by Sandy Gervais.  When organizing my studio last week, I pulled out some easy-to-make projects and this was one of them.

 

The kit only included the Sudoku squares.  The green sashing was from my stash.  I had originally planned to use a bright blue border but when the center of the quilt was finished, I didn't like the blue border.  I searched my stash and found this green that was perfect for the border.  I finished the top yesterday.  I have a bright blue floral for the back and may use blue for the binding.  I won't be quilting until my "baby" is back from servicing next week.  This quilt is to be a graduation gift for a special young lady.

Jelly roll quilt for Baby

This is a Jelly Roll Quilt that I made this summer for a friend's granddaughter.  The baby's nursery was decorated in light earthy tones.  I found this jelly roll and made one of the Jelly Roll 1600 quilts.  You can read about my first jelly roll 1600 quilt here. 

 

Since the quilt was for a baby, I used flannel as the backing.  The new mother loved the quilt and has it proudly displayed in her home. 

 

 

Hobo Bag

This is a Hobo Bag I made recently for a friend.  This is an Anita Goodesigns Project Pack.  The quilted blocks are made in the embroidery machine and then assembled into the bag.  I used my wonderful Janome 15000 machine.  I continue to be amazed at the lovely embroidery produced by this machine.  Complete instructions for the bag are included in the Anita Goodesign Design Pack.

 

The fabrics for the bag were included in a grab bag of fat quarters that I ordered this summer from Craftsy.  At first I was disappointed that the bag didn't include 50 different fabrics but now I'm glad it included a good variety but duplicates of some fabrics.  Perfect for this project.

 

I found this button in my stash and it was the perfect addition to the bag.  The loop is made from a hair loop.  Luckily I had a pack that included the perfect blue.

Cowboy Baby Quilt

I finished this quilt recently.  The border and center square feature cowboy themed print.  The squares in this quilt are made of charms from a charm swap I participated in this spring.  Once we swapped charms, then we had a quilt challenge to use the fabric in a quilt.  The quilt had to feature one square made from your fabric and follow a pattern provided.  The block represented your state.  I made my own design for the quilt and am pleased with the resulting cowboy quilt.

 I altered my feature square slightly but it does feature my five fabrics from the swap.  The quilt was a gift for the new baby boy across the street.  The cowboy theme seemed appropriate as the five year older brother told me his baby bother's name was "gunslinger".  Actually his name is Sterling.

As I back to blogging, I'll be featuring my spring and summer projects in the days to come.

It's time to show some new projects

I recently completed this thread catcher for a dear friend.  She too does machine embroidery.  The thread catcher is perfect for all those little threads that you clip during machine embroidery.  The top is a pin cushion.  I have one and keep it by my machine at all times.  It's like my personal "trash bin"!

 

 

The embroidery design is from Anita Goodesigns (my fav machine embroidery company).  The pack is called "Sew Fun" and contains many wonderful sewing related embroidery designs.