Birthday Presents

My husband's twin grandchildren will be turning three next week, so I made these pillowcases to be used as wrapping for their gifts.

I usually use my serger for pillowcases, but it's currently having some issues. It's probably just operator error (incorrect threading), but after spending 2 hours trying to perform "sergery", I gave up and went back to my trusty sewing machine. Not as nice a finish, but acceptable. One of these days I will take the time to learn how to make the pillowcases with French seams.

More Selvage Fun

A good number of my fellow guild members have been giving me their selvages over the last several months. I've used a lot of them in previous projects, but sometimes some of them are very, very narrow, like the one you see here.

I decided to use the narrow ones to make a tissue holder like the one seen here on my friend Susan's blog. I had to sew them very carefully onto a foundation (I used a used dryer sheet) to make sure I caught all the edges. This is the result.

Thread Play

When I finished quilting the quilt shown here and turned it to see the back, the first thing my husband said was "My word, you must have used $50 worth of thread in that"!

I, too, was amazed at how much thread went into the quilting of this quilt. The cone on the right in this picture is brand new and the cone on the left is the one I just took off my HQ16 after quilting that Irish Chain quilt. The label says that there are 3,280 yards of thread on the cone when it's new. From the looks of things, I don't think I could quilt another quilt like this with just the remaining thread (it will be a long time anyway before I quilt another one that big, so I won't worry).

The thread that I mainly use in my HQ16 comes from Superior Threads. If I need a solid color, I use So Fine and if I need something more interesting, I use the variegated Rainbows. Their Bottom Line thread is great in the bobbin.

Yes, the thread from Superior is a bit pricey, but I believe that you generally get what you pay for.

Will the Tuition Money Pay Off?

In just 2 short weeks, my husband and I will drop our son off at Cornell University for a 6-week summer college session. I wonder if he will learn to do this by the time he is done...

Easy Work

Yeah, another one that only took about an hour!

This is "D-8, Dee Dee's Delight", an intermediate block made using the raw-edge machine buttonhole-stitch applique method.

As Promised

Here are some more detailed photos of the quilt I've blogged about several times in the last couple of weeks.

Everything was done freehand except for using a ruler for stitching in the ditch along the rows and borders and the beadboard quilting along the outermost border. The center white sections contain a spirally flower design surrounded by stippling.

All of the scrappy squares (a million at last count)are quilted with continuous curves (I think that's what it's called), which results in an orange peel design (more visible on the back).


When I spread this on the floor in the good light of my friend's house, I was quite pleased with how it looked. I just made sure no one looked too closely....

A few of us have convinced my friend that the ideal binding for this quilt would be a prairie point border made out of the fabrics used for the squares. At first she was reluctant, but we talked her into hosting a "Painless Prairie Point Pizza Party (Purple and Pink Pajamas optional)" for our monthly sewing session next week. Everyone who comes will help out with making the prairie points that will be needed, so we should have them done in no time at all...it will also serve as a learning session for those who have never made prairie points.

The backing is a very pretty yellow which doesn't show up too well in the photo unfortunately.

Although she doesn't read my blog, I want to thank my friend Moddy for allowing me to play with her quilt without any pressure. Although the process was often stressful, it was an extremely educational and ultimately liberating experience.

And the Winner Is...

...Isabel F. of Rosa e Chocolate in Portugal! I used the random number generator and it picked number 22 (I tried to get a screen shot of the random number to prove it, but couldn't figure out how to do it...you'll have to trust me). On her blog, Isabel admits to having a fabric addiction. My kind of woman.

Congratulations! I've emailed you for your mailing address and as soon as I have it, your winnings will be on their way to you.

As I mentioned in my giveaway post, in additional to the fabric and yarn that was pictured there, you've won two selvage hotpads that I made especially for this giveaway. They are filled with Insul-Brite and I used the pink plaid fabric for the backing and the binding. The buttonhole stitching isn't perfect on the back, but I think it looks fine on the front.

To those who asked where to buy the Laurel Burch fabric, the selvage says "Laurel Burch 'Flying Colors' for Clothworks". It's probably a line from several years ago. All I can suggest is to do a Google search for it. Who knows, someone may have it available for purchase.

The giveaway was lots of fun. I had a great time reading all the wonderful comments from visitors from all over the world near and far. Thank you to all who participated and I wish I could give you all a prize. I also enjoyed visiting other blogs...I don't know how I'll ever get around to getting anything done anymore...too much creativity out there to admire...