Sew Happy News!

April and her fiance!!

Engaged!! :)

Happy Monday!

Well, some happy news to start off the week...our oldest daughter, April, got engaged last week!! So we have a spring wedding in the works!! We are very happy for her and quite excited too (Photo of the happy couple above.)! Of course it makes me start thinking about wedding quilts and all things white and satiny. And that reminds me...I have some other quilts to get cracking on if I am going to have time for everything! Still working on youngest daughter's quilt, but between the heat and being sick, progress has been delayed a bit.

For all of you dressmakers out there: I just started using Burda patterns http://www.burdastyle.com/patterns this summer and am loving them! Hancock Fabrics had Burda patterns on sale last Thursday for $2.49/each, so I picked up about 10 or so!! Now that's the deal of the month!! Burda patterns are made in Germany, but they are very easy to sew and go together very nicely. A friend of mine who make all of her own clothes got me onto them. Oh, and did I mention, I also picked up some fabric for 70% off at Hancocks the other day!

I am counting down the days to the Des Moines AQS quilting show!! The show starts Sept 29 and I am thinking of making a list of the specific items I will be hunting for at the show. Hopefully, I will be able to also find some unusual things that quilt shops in the area don't have...that's always fun for me...like treasure hunting! We have our reservations all made, so now it's just hurry up and wait!

At last we have been getting some rain here. Last nights storms...with hail... knocked out our phone service! But I think the long heat wave of summer is finally over and we can cool off now. Whew! That was one long hot summer with over 70 days of 100 degree heat...hottest on record here!

Well, short and sweet for today. This will be a busy week...we have some friends coming to visit from Japan, our daughter's engagement dinner, work and whatever sewing I can fit it!

Happy Sewing and Quilting!!

***And I finally got Plano Quilt Show Photos loaded up...See top of blog for slideshow! Enjoy!!***

Weddings...Royal and Quilted

Congratulations William & Kate!

The Wedding Quilt

Close up of Wedding Quilt

Butterflies for the Bride & Groom

Back of the Wedding Quilt



Lily at the zoo...more interested in her stroller!




Lily with Grandpa at the zoo


Happy rainy Monday to you! Last night we had hail, rain, thunder and lightning and today it is cold and rainy! I don't believe I have ever known it to be this cold in May in Texas!! Truly amazing weather we are having.

Congratulations to William and Kate and their Royal wedding! I must confess that while I did get up at 4 a.m. to see Princess Diana and Prince Charles' wedding, I did NOT get up that early to see William and Kate's wedding! I am too many years older to get up that early now! However, PBS showed the whole wedding and stuff afterwards several times, so I got my fill of all things Royal wedding! I thought Kate's wedding dress was beautiful with all of the gorgeous white on white embroidery! Very elegant and old-fashioned!

And the Wedding Quilt I was working on finally got finished and delivered on the actual Royal Wedding day!! Nope, it wasn't for Wills and Kate, but it was done on time (photos above). I like the way the quilt turned out...and let me just say that halfway through the quilt I sure did hate it! But, as I am sure you have all experienced on projects, by the time the blood, sweat and tears are gone and the project is done, you love it and don't want to let it go! In the end, I really wanted to keep this quilt, but needed the money and kept my promise to my client! I used a wedding brocade for the back and the white blocks on the front, and I think it worked very well. The quilt is not heavily quilted...just in the ditch overall, around the borders and Xs across the large white blocks...it was pretty much all I had time for, since the piecing of the top took sooo long. But, with the beautiful wedding brocade fabric, I didn't think (and hubby agreed) that it actually needed a lot of extra quilting. What do you think?

I am taking a bit of a quilting breather and plan on making some summer dresses for myself this week. Oh yes, I have lots more quilts to make, but need a break before I dive back in. The bluework embroidery is still in the works and I will work more on that this week. What's on your sewing table? Do you have some projects lined up for spring and summer? Tell me about them!

We had our granddaughter, Lily, this past weekend and took her to the Dallas Zoo (photos above). She is not quite 19 months yet and it was a very hot & humid day, so it was not the day we expected...she is just too young to know what it going on and could have cared less about the animals! Oh well...we tried! I think we will have to wait until she is 5 or 6 before taking her again...the animals might be more exciting then!

Well, back to the sewing room to make some summer dresses!!

Happy Sewing and Quilting!

Mad Hatter!

Happy Friday Everyone!

So this week, I feel like the Mad Hatter! Why, you might ask? Because I have been hatting my hubby for Renaissance Fair!! This has been a new sewing adventure for me!!

I actually cut out one hat and discovered that hubby's noggin is larger than the pattern (TIP: always measure first!!)...so I had to get new fabric and start over. Hubby came in part way through the cutting process and said he liked the brim from the McCalls pattern and the top of the hat from the Simplicity pattern! Hmmmm...okay! After resolving how to go about this dilemma, I got to work and with gritted teeth and a deep breath, and got the hat made! (Remember, I generally don't make hats!)

Anyway, as you can see by the photos (above) I made the hat and hubby was very pleased! The photos don't really show the color of the hat very well, but it is a green color...very foresty...and the lining is a lovely green that is a bit lighter green, but a very beautiful fabric. The top of the hat and brim are made out of suede. I was very fortunate this week that a fabric store nearby was having a 75% off sale, so I was able to buy the $27/yard suede for only $6/yd!! Now that's a great deal! I have fabric left over of both the suede and lining, so I might just attempt another hat! (I know...let's not go nuts!) The original hat that I cut out (the too small one) will get made...eventually, and then it will be for sale on Ebay!

The quilt I am working on now is the Purple Quilt...so I am working on the purple pinwheels! It has taken me a while to get started on this quilt because the client gave me several different fabrics to work with, mainly all floral in purple and blue. I was having trouble trying to figure out how to integrate everything into one quilt...but problem solved and I am moving along on the project now. I will post photos as soon as I have more done.

Well, it is supposed to rain this weekend, so more good sewing and quilting weather!! Back to the sewing room now! Let me know what you are working on this weekend!!

Happy Sewing and Quilting!

Garment Sewing...a Slight Change of Pace

Howdy All!

The photos this week are of the Renaissance shirt I just finished for hubby. I used Simplicity pattern #4059 (http://www.simplicity.com/c-264-historical.aspx?pagenum=2), and I think it turned out pretty well. Hubby seems to be very pleased with his new shirt to go with his Renaissance costume! Yes...you guessed it, we do go to Renaissance Fairs and we do dress up!! The one that is on nearest to us right now is Scarborough Fair (http://www.srfestival.com//).  We are planning to go on a nice weekend...with thousands of others!! Do you Ren Fest and dress for it?? Post your comments and photos!!

Of course, I went fabric shopping the other day (hmmm...and today as well!!), and purchased some fabric to make hubby the hat from the same pattern. Found the fabric on the clearance rack!! (Tip: always check the fabric clearance racks FIRST!! That way you can probably find fabric that will work for your project a whole lot less expensive!) Not sure when I will have time to make the hat, but it doesn't look too complicated.

Today, I am cutting out fabric for a commission quilt...right now I just call it "The Purple Quilt", as most of the fabric is purple! I have finally located a quilt pattern for it that I am happy with, so time to begin sewing purple! Two other commission quilts are waiting in the wings, so I have a lot on my plate right now. Oh, and did I mention that I might...perhaps...start a consulting job next week if they select me. Which means more $$ for buying fabric, but less time to sew!! Sort of a Catch 22 situation for me!

We had our son and his wife and our Gbaby, Lily, over for dinner last night. We hadn't seen them in about 3 weeks and it was really great to visit. Lily is getting so big now!! She is about to start crawling (see photo). It is so much fun to watch her grow and learn...and she is just the happiest baby in the world!!

Okay...getting off my Granny box!! Well, I will keep you posted on the consulting job and sewing and quilting projects. I feel another product review coming on soon...so look for that!!

Happy Sewing and Quilting!