A Quilt For Mama

Hi Everyone,

This post has been a long time coming, I started this project last January. You know how that goes, right? Some projects take a few hours, some take 11 months (mostly hibernating), but I digress.

Just before Thanksgiving this year, I pulled this out and got back to work, I wanted to get it finished and quilted for my mom for Christmas, and I still had a long, long way to go. Now, I've only made one other quilt, and it was just a bitty little thing, simple patch work and diagonal stitching, easy peasy. This one though, it was a horse of a different color, but such lovely colors they are.

A quilt for my mom. 

 Here's the quilt label I made, I incorporated it with a little bit of piecing (scraps from making the quilt top), right into the back of the quilt. The pattern I used was called "Turning Twenty Again". From what I understand this is a fairly well known quilt pattern, named because it's made of 20 blocks that can be turned any way you like that pleases the eye. The finished size of the quilt is 70"x84", big enough to lay over a queen size bed.

God willing, this quilt will outlast both my mother and I, and some day someone might wonder who made it, and why (I always wonder that when I find a quilt in an antique or thrift store), so I included that information on the label.

  Can you see this beautiful quilting?

 I had this quilt professionally quilted by the wonderful and talented, Shannon Freeman, I just found this morning that Shannon has set up a Facebook page for her business, This Chick Stitches. Shannon is awesome, and funny and kind and boy howdy, if you're lucky enough to have something quilted by her, you will be thrilled with the results!

Shannon quilted this quilt using a dense, edge to edge meandering daisy pattern... freehand!! I'm telling you, she's amazing, in the picture below you can get a better look at the overall quilting.

Ooof! I love it so much. This quilt would not be what it is without Shannon's considerable skill & talent, thank you Shannon!

Here's a better look at the entire back of the quilt.

(Oh, and see that guy on the mower back there? He thought it was funny to zoom past me on his mower while I was trying to get these pictures in my neighborhood park, and kick dust, dry leaves and broken acorn bits all over me and my quilt... why I oughta! *shakes fist*)

Hey look, binding!! I'm not afraid of it anymore, guys! And I have to say, I'm pretty proud of those corners! My skills at that particular task have definitely improved.

 I did all of the binding in one marathon day. Done in the traditional method, sewn to the front by machine and the back by hand... 11 hours, non-stop y'all!

Eeek, so proud about that darn binding!

Oh, these colors! I love all the jewel tones mixed with the neutrals.

One last shot of the quilt... hanging in a tree by the river.

Happy to report that mom loved her quilt, I gave it to her on Christmas Eve. It was a surprise, she had no clue this was what I had planned for her, yay surprises.

Now... will I make another one like this any time soon? I'd like to say not bloody likely! But you never know... I've already got two more quilts in the works, so we'll see how long these take to get finished. Joy!

Sew, what do you think, friends? Did any of you guys make/give quilts for Christmas? Please, do tell and point me to them, I want to see!

oxo,

Lisa

Now THAT'S a pincusion!

Hi Kids!

How's your week been so far? Going well? Getting back into the post holiday swing of things? Why is it that short work weeks sometimes feel longer than regular weeks? Hmph...

Ok! This here is something I made for my pal, Jill for Christmas. I saw this first on Pinterest (ack! I can't find the link, I'll find it and edit this post tonight!) and knew that I HAD to make one because it looked like fun, because I knew Jill would love it, and because I already had the perfect fabric.

I give you the worlds largest pincushion!

 No joke, it's a biggin.

I knew Jill would love these fabrics because we've talked about this line before.

 I cut into my Bliss stash to make this, and I'm so glad I did. I was a little worried once I got into the project, this was a fiddly job. Let's just say that I'm really glad I have one of those handy ergonomic seam rippers, because I ripped this little baddie apart several times.

 The end result was worth it though, I think it came out sew cute, and Jill loved it, yaaaay!

See, I told you it's big! It's the size of a small cake!

mmm... cake.

I love the way it looks, and now that I've been through the whole thing and have a feel for it, I'm going to be making one of these for myself out of my Happy Mochi Yum Yum fabric, (I ♥ Happy Zombie!). That's my favorite fabric line of all time. I have several projects lined up for in in the coming months.

All in all, I'd say this wasn't exaclty an easy sewing project (although, I'm sure it was just me... I was kind of stressed when I was making it) but the results were pretty darn good (I think) and I'll definitely make it again.

Let me know what y'all think!

oxo,

Lisa



Christmas In A Jar

Hi Kids~

Now that the gifts have mostly all been given, I can spill the beans a little more about what I've been up to these last few weeks.

I first saw this project on Pinterest, and I thought it was great for several reasons some of which are that it was fast, easy, inexpensive and has a big visual impact, so I tracked down the original source and yay! There's a tutorial! I followed the tutorial exactly, easy peasy. 

I give you...

The Waterless Snow Globe!

Aren't they great? I'm so smitten with these. I actually made five of them as gifts.

I love the whole 'gifts in a jar' idea, and this year I've seen lots of new ones that are really fun & unique. This one was at the top of my list.

Each 'globe' looks a little different depending on the style of light post, and different ribbon.

And don't they glow! These tiny lights actually put off quite a bit of light.

I think they look a little like a scene from The Lion, Witch  & The Wardrobe, you know the one...

All I need is a little Mr. Tumnus. Maybe just a tiny red scarf.

I'm happy to report that everyone who received this as their gift loved it, and I have to confess, I'll be making at least one more of these to keep for myself. Another thing I think is so great about these waterless snow globes is that they're very portable, they run on a small battery pack which can be easily be hidden, or tuck into some greenery, then you can place them just about anywhere you like, and not fuss about access to an outlet. 

So what'ya think, pretty neat huh?

Gosh I love Pinterest! It came in very handy for me this year, stay tuned for more Pinterest inspired, handmade Christmas gifts!

oxo,

Lisa



Cozy Little Christmas!

Hello sweet friends!

From my house to yours, I'm wishing you all a very, merry Christmas! I hope your holiday is festive, and bright and happy!

We're having a lovely quiet day at home this year, easy & relaxing. I thought I'd share a few snaps from around the house, I love to decorate for the holidays. I haven't added anything new for the past few years, but somehow these little things seem (to me at lease) to look different, and more cherished each time I see them, and it's so nice to pull out these familiar treasures each year, that I don't mind a bit. Comforting memories of years gone by...

The Little Cabin, it is so special to me, I'll have to tell you about it sometime...

 Gather round the fireplace.

A woodland mantle, Miss Moose, Santa, Snowman and Mr. Bear, all present and accounted for. I love these critters, they've been with us for many years.

Well, I guess there is at least one new thing this year, these delicate & sparkly glass mouse ears commemorate our visit to Disneyland this winter. What memories!

This jolly fellow lives in the kitchen window. I love a fat man who comes bearing cookies! You should see his velvet trousers, quite stylish.

Believe... because when you stop believing, you get socks & underwear.

The manger. This is also very special to me, remind me to tell you about it. It was years in the making, from a very talented lady who we love so much.

Stay cozy friends!

And have yourselves a merry, little Christmas now.

oxo,

Lisa

p.s. Did you notice who's on the television in that last picture? Teeheehee, Lola really is the star of the show in this house!



It's beginning to look a lot like...

You know what it's beginning to look like... it's in the air, it's here there & everywhere.

And so, long after I *should* have started, I have begun in earnest. 

The Christmas making season is underway in my little corner of the world. These are the first Christmas cuties I've completed this season.

I made them from a pattern from Fa La La La Felt, a great book I picked up last year from Amanda Carestio.

 These are the first project I've made from this book, and I have plans made for several more, I was instantly in love with these little portraits so they beckoned to be first.

Miss Bunny

Mr. Fox

Party Kitty

I made these from felt I already had in my stash, and isn't that the great thing about craft stash? Once you've aquired a fair bit, very often you can just plunk out little (and sometimes big!) projects without ever venturing to the craft store. I love that.

So my friends, what are you working on at the moment? Any Christmas goodies? Do tell, I'd love to pop over and have a look!

oxo,

Lisa