Miss January

             

This is the January block for the Aurifil 2013 BOM which has been organized by Pat Sloan for Aurifil.  Each block in this series is going to be designed by a different designer!  This one was designed by Erin Russek.  She is the lady who designed the ‘Jingle’ medallion that I had up on my blog a couple of Design Wall Wednesdays ago.  ANYWAY, this is going to be a lot of fun.  You make the block and then post a picture of the block you made over on the Flickr group that has been set up for this BOM.  There will be commenting and chatting on the Flickr group and drawings for prizes.  Prizes are always fun, don’t you think?  And at the end of the 12 months, you have a nice quilt.  I’m making mine in mostly reds and greens since I want a new Christmas quilt.  Month 1 down, 11 more to go!  Wheee

Enjoy,  Merry Gay

Twas the Night Before Christmas…….

A couple of days ago, I changed my profile picture on Facebook.  You know (if you’re on Facebook, and who isn’t?), the big one that stretches across the top of the page?  That one.  Well, I changed it.  Now, instead of the founders of Zeta Tau Alpha, you will see the Christmas pillowcases which I made a couple of years ago.  These ……..
          
This prompted a discussion among my friends as to how they were made and what pattern was used, etc.  And I told my friends that I would put all of the information into a blog post.  So here it is!
                   
As I said before, I made these a couple of years ago and they were so much fun to make!  I really have intended to make more, but I’ve been too busy making other things.  I know……… excuses, excuses!  In any case, here are the particulars so that you can make some of these too.  They are designed by Meg Hawkey of Crabapple Hill and you can find them here.  And let me tell you, they are a breeze to make!  You can transfer and do all the embroidery in just a couple of evenings.  All of the embroidery is back stitch, so it’s easy peasy.  Just grab your tall glass of iced tea, sit down and plug in your Downton Abbey cds and you are set!
Meg includes all the instructions for assembling the pillowcases.  I will say that I glanced at them before I did my own thing when putting them together.  I used the picture on the cover of the pattern more than anything else.   But sheesh, they are PILLOWCASES for Pete’s sake.  It isn’t rocket science.  Oh, let me show you a picture of inside the cuffs …..
             
that is a really bad picture.  Sorry.  But you can see that I used a contrasting fabric for inside the cuffs.  I used rick rack along that edge to make it nice and crisp and cute.  The thing about it is that you can be just as creative as you want to be when you make these.  You can change up the way the rick rack goes, add some piecing along the top of the design …… or the bottom.  These are really fun to make.
Oh, and I need to tell you that she makes a whole bunch of different ones.  The Bluebird pillowcases that I used to feature in my profile ….. the pattern came from here.  And I have some Peter Cottontail ones on my work table right now.  Here, I’ll give you a sneak peak …..
            
          
I haven’t started assembling these yet.  As you can see, they will not be a matched pair!  But that’s another blog post. 
Enjoy,  Merry Gay

Design Wall Wednesday

I have a relatively empty design wall.  At least it is empty today.  I have worked on the borders for the 'Bluebird Quilt' for the past 3 days.  And I have shot some pictures of that ongoing work.  Jingle is also off the wall and on my work table.  Hopefully I will have some progress pictures by the weekend.  Until then.....

Enjoy, Merry Gay

Design Wall Wednesday

             

I am starting the new year out in a flurry of activity!  I have 4 projects on my design wall today!  The big applique piece is the center medallion for ‘Jingle’, Erin Russek’s BOM for 2013.  It is glued on, but has yet to be stitched, so it’s not as far along as it looks.  There is a lot of stitching yet to do in that piece!  Like I said before,  this is the center medallion for this quilt.  There will be other smaller blocks surrounding it, but it will be a mystery exactly what they are until they are unveiled, one each month for the entire year.  She has told us that it has a Christmas theme, hence the name ‘Jingle’.  And the center medallion is called Miss Kringle. 

                   

Here is a closer look.  I’m hoping to have this done by next week.  I have other projects to work on, you know!  Some of them are on the wall with Miss Kringle.  To the left you see 3 blocks from The Barrister’s Block, a sampler quilt that was a year long project from last year.  I wanted to make that quilt, but really didn’t know how I wanted to do it.  Now I know.

For years I have saved my husband’s worn out shirts.  The cuffs and the collars grew worn a long time before the rest of the shirt did, and I knew that the fabric was still good.  So instead of throwing the shirt into the trash, I threw it into a lawn and leaf bag that I kept in my cedar closet just for this purpose.  Now that he is so sick, I have sorted out the shirts and cut them from the seams so that they are just hunks of fabric.  I pressed them and folded them and stacked them into 2 giant piles.  And I am going to make a Barrister’s Block quilt out of them.  Maybe (hopefully) two of them.  I want one for both of my step children.  I think they will like that.

I also have the embroidered panels of the second French Cottage Garden still hanging on the wall.  You will recall that I am making 2 of these quilts to use as bed spreads in a guest bedroom.  The other one is sitting by my sewing maching having pinwheel blocks sewn on. 

The fourth thing on my design wall…….. look over on the far right of the picture.  You will see a long sheet of freezer paper.  That is a template for making this -

            

I have spent a long time studying this photo.  There is also a tutorial somewhere on the web that I read over and over for making this quilt.  But I have decided that this quilt would be easier to make if it were paper pieced instead of all the endless strip piecing that the tutorial used.  So I devised a template for paper piecing this.  I haven’t started yet.  But you can rest assured that I will let you know how it all turns out!  In the mean time, I’m going to be sewing my fingers to the bone ……

Enjoy,  Merry Gay

For The Birds

I just love the beginning of a new year!  Brand new, crisp, a fresh start.  I always like to start making a list of sorts in December of some things I’d like to accomplish for the next year.  Not exactly resolutions, but more like a list of loose goals.  Of course, my list includes UFOs from the past.  There are some UFOs on my list for this year that have been languishing in my stash closet for 2 years!  Those have got to be finished and either put away for future use, put to use immediately, or sent off to friends and family who have been good little girls and boys and need a little reward.  LOL.  Not really.  But it does pay to be one of my offspring!  If you like receiving quilts, that is.  But I digress.

Another good thing about starting a brand new year are the Block of the Month projects offered by some pattern designers.  I always look forward to these.  I’ve sewn some really nice quilts using these patterns.

                         

Snowbound (shown above) comes to mind as one of my favorites, but also Henrietta Whiskers was a free BOM.  The Barrister’s Block was my favorite one from last year and I am still working on that one.  There are a bunch of others and I won’t bore you with the list.  Let’s just say it keeps me busy.

This year has some special offerings.  Strictly For The Birds is a free BOM offered by Denise Russart.  Lookie…

                      

Aren’t these birds the sweetest thing?  This is the bluejay block.  There are others!  You should see!  I’m not seeing a quilt out of these blocks though.  I’m seeing some throw pillows for my front porch! 

I HEARD that Crabapple Hill is doing a BOM this year and that is one of my very favorite pattern designers!  YOU KNOW I’m watching that website!  LOL.  And then Erin Russek always has a spectacular applique BOM quilt on offer.  Oh and check out Jinny Beyer’s newsletter!  OH MY!  And there are others!

I have some other items on my list of things to accomplish sewing wise in 2013, but that is for another post.  Until then …..

Enjoy,  Merry Gay

Dare to Dresden? Anyone?

Lookie what we have to look forward to in the last week in January!   Madame Samm has planned a brand new blog hop to usher in the new year! 

             

I am so excited because I have a new quilt to share with you … my Dresden Flower Garden quilt.  I’m also excited because I’ve never been in a blog hop before, so this will be a new and exciting experience for me. 

If you have any Dresdens hanging around in your sewing room, you can join in the fun by signing up with Christine from Quilt Monster Closet.   This is going to be so much fun.

Enjoy,  Merry Gay

Happy New Year

Sophie Belle and I are spending a quiet evening curled up in front of the tv, eating cheetos and drinking sodas. :)  We are looking forward to a brand new year of stitching!   See you next year!

Merry Gay