Wedding Quilt

Last spring Hollin and Kimberly set a date for a summer wedding and we talked about the kind of quilt they'd like. Eventually they'd be getting a king-sized bed so we decided on a California king-sized quilt. I chose colors based on the colors their bridal registry said they wanted for their bed linens and duvet cover. I went to my Electric Quilt program and began drafting an idea based on the Disappearing Nine Patch.  

July 6th Block construction drafts

 

DNP: traditional setting

 

Because of the size of the quilt, this setting would need 80 blocks. I wanted to finish it for Christmas! I wondered what it would look like if I set it on point; that would allow the pieced block size to be bigger and have open set blocks where quilting could be showcased. Ah... much better.
 

I fudged back and forth with block sizes in EQ, letting the program do the math for me. The final dimensions needed to be 90" x 109". That meant the DNP block would finish at 13 1/2" and the cut squares for the blocks would be 5 1/8". Not a quilter friendly measurement but do-able! Now to fabric shop...

Squee!

I have a new charm for my scissors. It's called a Squeedle and I bought it at a Christmas craft fair.

I think it's the cutest thing I've seen in a long time! I spent a lot of time in the booth looking at all the crafter's different Squeedles. Each one is handmade from blown glass, so they each have a personality. I wanted to take them all home! I bought earrings for my DIL too.

She laughed out loud when she saw them and put 'em on right away. FUN! Maybe I'll buy a set and use them as stitch markers for my knitting, they make me so happy!

Kauai Dreams

I started these hand applique'ed blocks after our trip to Kauai for our 25th anniversary. That was eight years ago.

I wanted to use this multi-colored batik for the lattice, borders and binding, so I searched many shops for a bit more. That's partly why it sat for so long. But once I decided to gift it to my husband for Christmas, it went together quickly.

I was also finishing the wedding quilt for my son and DIL, so once Kauai Dreams was quilted and bound I thought it was done. The day before Christmas I realized I wanted to wash it so the quilting would show more. Oh no, Frank's going to be home in three hours! I damp dried it in the oven on warm. (yes, my oven needs to be cleaned)

It's finished! It's a wall hanging! Frank was pleasantly surprised.

It's currently hanging in the kitchen nook adding a delightful island note to our holidays. Aloha!

Merry Christmas

Woo-hoo! All the hand-made, hand knitted gifts have been given. I have a lot to show you. More later!

Tis the Season

Working on Christmas gifts; making great headway. Binding, blocking knitting, quilt label-making. It feels like I'm part of Santa's workshop!

Headphone Cozies

Dh has a new pair of headphones. They came lined with 'pleather', a soft  poly-vinyl. But even though the weather is cool, they're uncomfortable, because pleather doesn't breathe. So together we made upcycled cashmere cozies.

We made a pattern by tracing the earphone. Then I fused interfacing to the wrong side of the cashmere sweater remnant to stabilize it.

We decided to make them removable in case they need to be replaced in the future. I sewed velcro on the top and bottom.

Then we attached self-adhesive velcro dots to the earphones.
 

  
Voila! Now the earphones don't stick to his skin, much nicer.

There's a lot of Christmas sewing, crafting and knitting going on this month. Stay tuned for lots of posts and pictures after Noel.

Really Red

I've been having a blast with the red and white wall hanging for Christmas. I don't have a name for it yet, I just keep calling it "The Christmas Red and White. Not very inspired... Back in July when I started I had my doubts about the high contrast of the clear colors, but the more blocks I put on the design wall, the better I liked it. This is what my sewing room looked like this week.

 Leftovers cut for the strip drawers.

Pieced border units. I didn't strip piece the borders because I wanted to mix up the prints. I didn't actually count all the fabrics, but there are about 35-40 prints in this quilt. It's a wonderful scrapbook of thirty years of quilting. I enjoyed mixing the old and new prints in just the right amounts to balance the color.

Loved using red thread instead of the proverbial white.

  
Even the trash was a cheerful red and white. Once the blocks were pieced I tried different layouts. It's one thing to preview layouts in EQ, but even better with the actual blocks.

Off set centers

Straight set with white on the outside

Straight set with red on the outside. It was fun to see the different looks I could get with just 16 blocks.
 

Click to enlarge