Art, Craft and Needlework, July, 2011

[Harriet]

It took me years and years of trial efforts to work out that there is absolutely no knitting triumph I can achieve that my husband will think is worth being woken up for. 
~Stephanie Pearl-McPhee, 
At Knit's End:  Meditations for Women Who Knit Too Much

Whether anybody else understands or not, we get it! Here's the place to chat about the creativity that is fun for you lately. What are you working on?

Veni, Vidi, Velcro.  I came, I saw, I stuck around.  ~Author Unknown

[Sunny]

Well, it's time to get serious about what happens in the sewing room. Dgd13 and I will start sewing on her quilt on Monday. We've decided on a much simpler pattern that will be easier to sew with my machine. It will be a crisscross pattern in the middle and the other pattern on the outer borders where the material will be easier to handle. I'm hoping it will go quickly. Dgs9 is asking when I will start his quilt!

[Nancy]

I love that quote!
I am taking a break from yarn crafting this month just so you all know.
Harriet lovely photos!

[Harriet]

WonderulThingsQuiltSmall.JPG

Here is the new baby quilt, "The World Is So Full of a Number of Things" in all 1930s reproduction fabrics on background fabrics of sky blue and white. This was the quilt, finished and hanging for the baby shower. And also a photo of the piecing of one of the airplanes beside the topstitching of one of the kite tails, before that border was sewn on.

WonderfulPlaneKitetailSmall.JPG

[Lisa B.]

Wow Harriet.....just to gorgeous for words....thank you for sharing. Love the planes. All so bright and colourful and great for a new baby.

[Dove]

What a darling quilt, Harriet! So beautiful & colorful. Love the truck, boats & picket fence along the bottom.

I've got to stop by this section of the village more often .

[BookSaver]

Harriet I LOVE that quilt! The 1930s repro colors are so cool for babies.

Someone brought 2 boxes of quilt patterns and magazines to the library for the book sale. The sale is Saturday but they put out the quilt things early -- for 50 cents each. I don't have time to sew right now and doubt that I will ever have time/space to do a full-size quilt, but I couldn't pass up that price. I pulled several that I think will work for small & quick projects like Christmas decorations and seasonal table runners. Also a book of 3D fabric flowers for a pretty wall hanging with different textures.

So I have lots of inspiration for the price of less than 1 pattern or book, and the money stays with the library to buy children's craft supplies for story time. Win win!

[Harriet]

♥ Thank you all SO much. The little quilt (46x46) really meant a lot to me, and I know I put off some more sensible household things to give it my all.

BookSaver, can you see, in the close-up and in the corresponding part of the photo of the whole quilt, that I was struggling with the different values of lightness/darkness of that background fabric?

Lisa, I couldn't find an airplane pattern that I liked because I wanted to piece, and all the cute 1930s ones were applique. The pieced ones just didn't look childlike. So even though most of these toy patterns are simple, the airplane I had to draft and scratch my head over. How are you enjoying your cozy robe?

So I photocopied the airplane pattern and also saved on 'puter. It is my own, so remember if anyone ever wants it, it's yours.

Dove, the truck became awfully important, because I had vowed never to give ds26 another fire dept type thing and certainly no truck with red in it, lol. So a green, yellow and blue truck was a funny joke between us. It helped me make it a counting quilt - 1 truck, with 2 wheels, 3 sailboats, 4 pinwheels and 4 airplanes, 5 kites and 6 pickets in the fence. Yes, please come here more often - you have gotten so organized lately and that's a great step toward more creativity time.

The dark pinwheel is because dd31 wanted me to include a fabric from a cotton shirt that had belonged to their ddad.

Patterns and books for 50 cents at the library BookSaver - how cool would that be! That would have my eyes open for sure. It would be hard to choose, and easy to take too much. I would think 3D flowers in fabric might have a lot of inspiration for different little projects.

Sunny, looking forward to hearing how your granddaughter enjoys the experience of quilting by machine. (As I've already told you, ya'll are sure ahead of me on that because I have had my last two quilted by others and just bound them myself.) Smart dgson9 to say he wants to know about his!

Can't wait to hear what Twins Mom has to tell about her sewing adventures this week.

[Harmony]

That is the sweetest quilt, Harriet. We have new grandbaby on the way, and no idea yet if it'll be a boy or girl. I just might get started sooner if I only knew.... and I'm contemplating how I could do something fast but stunningly beautiful or cute, or whatever... anybody have an idea for something simple and fast that doesn't look simple and fast?

[sherinjoy]

Harriet - Amazingly beautiful quilt. You are so very talented and your children will cherish this for years. I still have quilts from my grandmother - one is a Sunbonnet Babies quilt that I love. Thank you for sharing your photos so we can all ooh and ahh.