Pillowcases

I wanted to share some pictures of what I've been working on lately. I've been making pillowcases. These are so easy and so much fun. What got me started was the American Patchwork and Quilting 1 Million Pillowcase Challenge. This web site has all the information and some patterns too. What I didn't like was the fact that the pillowcases have raw edges on the inside, so I found a Youtube video of how to make one with nice, finished edges on the inside.



For more detailed written instructions for how to do this, go to Robin Gallagher's website.

The only thing I did differently was to sew a decorative stitch along the edges of the small trim. I think that little extra touch adds a certain elegance to the pillowcase. I wanted to make some pillowcases to give to two of my nieces for Christmas. The first one is a cute flower and butterfly print.



The next one is a cute Tinkerbell print.


And the last two are from some fabric I found in the discount fabric bin at my Hobby Lobby. I'm thinking that I might keep these two for myself.



I also bought some pretty cowgirl and cowboy fabric. Those are going to be really cute too. Then I bought some more floral fabric to make some more. I'll post more pictures when I finish those. I think I'm hooked. For now, anyway, until my next obsession.

Spring Beauties

I wanted to share some pictures of the spring beauties that are blooming in my yard. I used the free tool Picnik to soften the edges of this pretty pink iris.


My peonies are also getting ready to bloom.


And, oh joy! My hydrangeas look like they are getting ready to bloom this year for the first time in about 2 years! This year I fertilized my plant and put lime around the bottom hoping to get a pink flower. It'll be interesting to see what color they are.


Oh my, I want a white hydrangea so badly. They are so pretty. We used to call them snowball bushes when I was growing up.

Hawaiian Applique

This week I've been reading a book by Jennifer Chiaverini titled The Aloha Quilt.


One of the characters in the book takes a trip to Hawaii to help a friend start a Hawaiian quilt camp. She decides she wants to learn to make a Hawaiian quilt as a momento of her stay in Maui. After reading in the book about the quilts and their meanings, and how they are made, I started thinking about trying one of my own. I've done applique before but not with very successful results and it wasn't that enjoyable. I've never been able to figure out which technique I wanted to try to make it easier to do. All those little pieces to be placed and appliqued and so on. So, I did a little research and found a web site that has a few free patterns and some basic instructions for how to make a Hawaiian applique quilt. The web site is here. You can choose one of the free patterns that are on this page, then if you click on "Quilting Instructions" it will tell you exactly how to cut out your block, quilt it, etc. This is the best web site I've found with all this information in one place. Then, for eye candy, I started doing image searches in Google for Hawaiian quilts and found these:






This was enough to get me started, so I printed off one of the free patterns from the web site and decided to start small with a pillow size block to get hang of this applique thing. It wasn't too bad and I know that with practice I will get better. When I finish this pillow I want to make another one, but a little larger, maybe a small wall hanging size.

Here is my block. I finished appliquing it last night. I haven't quilted it yet, but that's the next step. I'll post progress pictures later on.

Yesterday

It's really unusual I know for me to post twice in one day, let alone once a day, but I was reading my blogs and I came across this beautiful video that my piano teacher made of her singing "Yesterday" by the Beatles. She's playing the piano and her daughter, who is an awesome photographer, took the pictures that go with the video.

Spring Time

Yesterday at work some of our staff went to a luncheon. Corsages were given to the ladies and they had a few left, so one of my coworkers brought them back and gave them to those of us who stayed behind to hold down the fort. I think they are beautiful.


This morning I was looking out my kitchen window and saw all these beautiful wisterias.




At last, but not least, are my azaleas that are blooming right now.

Just for Fun

Last weekend Eddie and I went to our friend's house to a party to celebrate her baby's one year birthday. My friend told me that she had looked at one year old birthday decorations and didn't find anything that she liked. She said she decided to make some tissue paper flowers. Well, after I saw them I had to know how to make them, so she showed me how and I made these. It's amazing what you can do with tissue paper. I had another friend show me how to make some carnatins out of toilet tissue.

Nostalgia - These Boots Are Made for Walkin'

I've been thinking about nostalgic things lately. When I was in junior high school, there was a popular song by Nancy Sinatra called These Boots Are Made for Walkin'. I thought I would put the video here for you to see. And, my girlfriends and I each had a pair of those white "go-go" boots. Thought we were hot stuff walking around in those things.

Madeline's Sweater

A couple of months ago I knitted a sweater for a friend's baby girl. Her name is Madeline and she has just celebrated her first birthday. I miscalculated a bit and this sweater is much bigger than I thought it would be, but her mom says that she will grow into it soon, so I'm happy about that. I hope Madeline likes it when she's big enough to wear it.

I found the pattern on the inside of a yarn label. I bought the yarn at Hobby Lobby and the yarn is I Love This Cotton yarn. I'm not sure if the pattern is in all of the labels, but it was in several of the skeins that I bought to make an afghan with. It was a very simple sweater and lots of fun to make.

New Dish Towels

Thanks to a sale at Kohl's I got some new dish towels yesterday. They are so bright and pretty and remind me of Spring.


I'm also thinking about painting some terra cotta flower pots to plant a Christmas cactus cutting that I have rooted from another plant. These photos that I found on the Internet are very inspiring. I'm not exactly sure how I'm going to paint them, but these photos will help give me a few ideas.

Who Do You Think You Are?

I am excited about this show. I have been working off and on on my family genealogy on my mother's side for several years. I have learned lots of interesting things about my mom's family. If you watch this show, it might spark your interest in finding out your own genealogy. I hope so.



Who Do You Think You Are?

Sewing and Quilt Themed Cakes - Part 2

Here are so more of those beautiful cakes.

Sewing and Quilt Themed Cakes - Part 1

I am in absolute awe of what cake decorators can do. I watch Ace of Cakes and the cake decorating challenges all the time. I never thought about sewing and quilt themed cakes, but when I saw these photos, I just had to share. I found about 30+ photos of these wonderful cakes, so I'm going to post them all, but in 3 parts. Here are the first photos. I hope you enjoy them. I know I did.