The Final BOM

Yes, that's right...I've finished BOM XII. I bought the finishing kit a while back and have started piecing that together too. I can't wait to send this thing to the quilter! I did a little calculating. Seems like there were a LOT of pieces to this quilt top so I counted up all the pieces that need to be cut for each block as well as the sashing. How's 593 sound? It is a lot. Anyway, Block XII is called Harmony and was designed by Me And My Sister Designs.

Stayed tuned for a picture of finished top!

Miss L's turns 10!

Well, it's come and gone and I feel bad about missing the date. Better late than never. Miss L turned 10 on June 8th. I can hardly believe it! Her "sister" sent her a lovely birthday card. Check out the bikini top. I wonder where she got that suit!

Happy Belated Birthday Miss L!

Class of '09

Remember Allie and her laundry bag? Well, she graduated high school last Friday night. Her parents had a party for her on Saturday. I decided to make her a little something. I took a photo of her and her boyfriend from his prom, printed it out on fabric printer sheets and made a pillow with some of my Anna Maria Horner fat quarters. I just love those fabric printer sheets!

I should have taken a picture of the back. The fabric was another from Anna Maria Horner's fabric line, Garden Party. A gorgeous polka dot. I also made some graduation cap pops to decorate the table (and to eat too). I saw this over at Bakerella's site. If you've never visited her site then you are missing out. Here are my graduation pops.



For directions on making these pops as well as many more wonderful things, visit Bakerella. You will not be disappointed.

I crafted for me

I made myself a little sewing caddy. I cannot tell you how much I like this thing. It holds everything. Generally when I sit to do handwork, I forget 1 or more things. I make a few trips back and forth to my sewing room until I have everything I need. When I saw this dandy gadget, well, I had to have one. I chose some fabric from my Anna Maria Horner fat quarters and some Amy Butler fabric.
The top piece is weighted with rice. It's filled with fiber and serves as a pin cushion. The attached flap has pockets to store scissors, ruler, marker...whatever. The bag (for threads, yarns or any scraps you accumulate) has a button on the inside and hangs from the loop.

Here is a picture with the bag attached.

Perched on the arm of my couch ready for business!


You can get a free tutorial of this project here.

Flower Fairies

Cicely Mary Barker was the illustrator that created the famous flower fairies. Michael Miller fabrics came out with a line using her illustrations. They are very beautiful. I wanted to make something with this fabric but I wasn't sure what. I decided on a smocked bishop style dress. The thing about this style dress is that it needs to be partially constructed before going through the pleater. The edging on the sleeves (in this case lace) and the pleating on the sleeves if any also have to be done before pleating the main dress. The seams make the pleating a little more challenging. I will document the whole process the next time I do one. This fabric is a heavier weight cotton which just added to all the pleating fun. By that I mean I had to do it twice. Smocking was also not as nice as when done on a fine cotton batiste because there was a lot of friction on the threads when passing through the fabric. This required that I keep my thread lengths relatively short to minimize fraying. I can't say the process was a fun one and I even considered tossing the whole thing but I pushed on. Here is my smocked flower fairy bishop dress.

Honey, I told you so.

A couple of days ago I walked into my husband's office to use the computer. I immediately stopped short because while working at his drafting table, he placed several building plans on the floor in one of Miss L's "favorite" spots.

Me: Honey, you put paper on the floor where Miss L likes to lay. This is one of her "favorite" spots.

Honey: It's only for a short while...she has at least 2 other "favorite" spots in this room alone and 6 more throughout the house.

Me: Honey, I'm going to be in here and she likes that spot when I'm reading email.

Honey: It won't be for long and there are plenty of other places for her to lay.

Me: Shrug.

Fast forward approximately 2 minutes into the future.

Crinkle, crinkle. Crinkle, crinkle.



Me: Honey, I told you so!