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Artocarpus altillus

017012In the end I just couldn’t put the piece down until the echo quilting was finished. The applique piece is stylized breadfruit which was so essential to life in Hawaii for both it’s fruit and it’s wood. I still need to remove my basting stitches but I’ll wait until I find some stretcher bars. Meanwhile I’ve pinned it to the wall in the sewing room.

The little engine that could

013012About halfway through the final week of Tour de Fleece I fell off the wheel and picked up the echo quilting project instead. Now I can’t seem to put it down. The kit was intended to be a throw pillow but I’m not confident my applique can stand up to the abuse a pillow takes so I think I might stretch it on a frame and hang it instead.

Ruler, fabric, sew, done!

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I sort of feel like Gordon Ramsey. I bought this 7-inch square at Quilter’s Way a few weeks ago with the intention of using it for potholders. It worked like a charm. I spent between 2 and 3 hours turning those fat quarters and some quilt batting into an enormous stack of potholders. There is a little tutorial here. I think I’m sorted for potholders for awhile now!

Incipient potholders

041Yesterday while we were out running errands I finally popped into Candlelite Quilts in Chelmsford. My potholders are all falling apart at the same time and I’ve been planning to make some new ones as soon as the sewing machine came back from it’s service appointment. What a great little quilt shop and now I know where to park! I also stopped in at Beadles which was nicely laid out but the selection was a little wanting for the types of beads (only 11′s and 6′s, no 8′s or 10′s) I use so I’ll probably still head to Beadworks in Cambridge for my beaded projects.

It’s in the mail!

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Saturday was quite hectic for us as Friday evening plans changed and it was decided my niece would come to visit a week early. We squeeze in our blueberry picking at Tougas first thing in the morning but picking was slow and it was after lunch by the time we got home. As soon as we got home I hopped on the sewing machine to finish up some baby blankies and bibs for a gift. I needed to get all the sewing machine work done before the sewing room turned into a pumpkin so the girls could use it as a bedroom. Just yesterday I finally finished sewing on the snaps so I could get my package off in the mail.

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The little blankets were quickie projects. The backing on the red quilt is yellow gingham. The Duckie blankie has a backing of polar fleece and no batting so that it’s a lightweight blanket. Gabby was quite fond of that one.

“A bad word whispered will echo a hundred miles” Chinese proverb

365.176 6/25/2010365.177 6/26/2010037Isn’t that a cheery post title? I have finally set to work on the echo quilting for the Hawaiian piece. I’ve opted to do that with colored thread rather than neutral. I’m planning to do three rows of light blue, three rows of medium blue and three rows of dark grey. I think that will take me to the edge of the piece which will then become a pillow.

De-stashed

007009I’ve been mulling over what to do with this special indigo dyed fabric for quite some time now. I bought it in Hawaii on the big island at the Dragon Mama quilt shop (it seems to be all about futons now). It was in their special kimono fabrics section and was quite pricey so I only bought two small pieces. Yesterday I sewed them up into a little barley hull pillow. I love the chrysanthemum but the backside is really pretty too.

018015While I was hanging laundry I spotted a fisher cat running up the neighbors pine tree to her den and this intriguing insect with gorgeous gilded wings.

The Road goes ever on and on

365.174 6/23/2010022023When I bought my current sewing machine I got the quilter’s edition that comes with a walking foot. I’ve never really done any machine quilting and thought it was about time I tried to make friends with the foot. Here is my first feeble attempt at using it on a placemat I had waiting to be sewn up. It still needs binding and there is a mate for it but I”d like to get a darning foot and try free motion quilting as long as I’m pushing my boundaries this week.

The cover up

365.170 6/19/2010001Over the weekend I cranked out some slip covers for Grandma’s blue willow dinnerware.  I don’t have a china cabinet and there isn’t room for one either so all my dishes that aren’t for everyday reside in tubs in the basement with nice felt slip covers.

Bags and more bags

003004These bags are a little more “guy friendly”. I did find one more pattern I want to try in “I love Patchwork” that folds up. I also found a much better solution for reusable fruit/veg bags in “Linen Wool Cotton” that uses cheesecloth. Perfect! I like that much better than the nylon netting ones I made a few years ago. I’m planning to make some of those now as well.