holiday indulgence

what a wonderful time of year!

a few new quilts

this chicken quilt was made as a gift for my aunt. i wanted to add to the 50+ already in her collection. the pattern consists of fussy cut centers surrounded by wonky log cabin strips.

the back is a strip of white sheet with the most awesome green leaf fabric!

i finally "signed" my name to the work by quilting the bottom right corner with - Deana.

what is really cool about this is that my mom and aunt were having morning coffee in texas and called me this evening (germany time) to open their presents together. (in case you don't recall...i made my mom a bluebonnet quilt.) my uncle bob (or bob-arazzi, as we like to call him) was there to take pictures of the event!

i felt like i was there with them as they talk, talk, talked and ooohed and ahhhed with delight at the gifts they received. i never knew until this experience what a wonderful feeling it is to have given a handmade gift and have it appreciated so much. so...thank you schmoopie and crazy auntie linda for including me in the exchange!

this was a baby quilt i made for a dear friend's grand-daughter...

the material is from the Patch Arts & Crafts store; the pattern is "wonky courthouse steps" from a magazine i've kept for probably too long.

instead of hand stitching the binding, i tried the awesome technique i saw on Tina's quilt using rick rack as finishing.

first felt trial

okay, here's my first project involving felt... it's from a halloween magazine. i wanted the whole thing to be big, bigger, biggest; but, i couldn't get the xerox to cooperate when enlarging the pattern. it's cuter in person...but i can't help obsessively & compulsively trying to smooth the edges...and no one told me how difficult hand sewing felt edges would be! BOOOO!

three day quilt...kinda

this quilt was an awesome exercise in sewing outside the lines. i wanted to practice my applique again; and, i love poppies - so i thought this would suit both urges.

the background was super fast sewing;

the applique pieces were fast as well;

but, the bulky fabric made the app. edges hard to sew with a little brother machine...

hence, the "sewing outside the lines" comment.

i went out of bounds a few times; but, i think it adds to the laid-back/comfy feel of the overall design.

this is not my normal color scheme; but, i wanted to try my hand at something a bit more sedate. you know, just to see if i could do it...what do you think?

christmas in september...via apo!

my love called this afternoon and said that i had...not one, but ZWEI! packages!

and they both had "fabric" labels!

one was this awesome gnome fabric that i have been waiting on for about 2 months; and, the other was a jelly roll of the neptune fabric...YEAAA!

now i just have to wait for the mushy-room fabric that goes with the gnomies, how i hate the word "BACKORDER"

chrismakwanzakah in september!

here's the back, it's solid red with the one star block made from scraps from the front...which is why it is kinda disordered

i've got my mojo back!

these are coffee mug sleeves i am making as wilkommen gifts for my mom and the crazy ladies she is bringing to deutschland next month. the tabs will have velcro closures, disguised by cute buttons. i will post pictures of the final products tomorrow...hopefully.

it's not right that i re-arranged the craft/guest room as soon as chris drove away with our visitors...or IS it? i have freed the machine...mwahh, ahh, ahh. now i just have to decide which project to start on. oh, decisions, decisions...

i finished the binding on the chrismakwanzakah quilt today! pics to come...

skeleton in the closet

new post coming soon
i have a skeleton in my closet
it calls my name deep in the night...
why do you foresake me? i have served you well.
done all that you have asked of me. save me from my dark existence!
it is the sewing machine i have had to store away
while guests take over my craft room...

chic or treat

jelly rolls...YEAAAAHHH! i just love how much fun they are! this quilt was easier than taking candy from a kid and it was a good time! i have started experimenting with pieced backings and have decided that i like 'em...almost as much as i like CANDY!

turning over a new leaf

i guess september really is the time for going back to school! i learned so much from this project:

i had to research applique techniques; experiment with something other than a straight stitch; and how to improvise with the fabric i have when i forget the importance of following directions

i am happy with the outcome. i didn't like the leaf pattern supplied in the book; so, i designed several different shapes on my own. i think it gives it more interest and makes me feel like the top is a bit more personal.

i am so inspired by the changing colors of this time of year. okay, i am inspired by any and all colors; but, when i found this pattern (and the perfect jelly roll of batiks from hoffman fabrics) just had to make this my little homage to all that is fall.

i am a pisces afterall

this was a fun project

my first experience setting blocks at an angle

i used small wale corduroy for the large blue border - what a fun texture to mix in!

corinnea: you are going to bankrupt me if you keep getting so many super cute fabrics for the store!

i still need to sew the backing and long-arm this one...so i guess it's not technically a QUILT yet

special request

christopher: "when are you gonna make a quilt for ME?"
this was my response...

bluebonnet quilt

i ordered the bluebonnet material as a half jelly roll and added the yellow spot, blue spot and black and white lattice patterns from fabric we have at the shop (Patch Arts & Crafts, aka: d-na's 401k depository)

this one is a gift for my mom (aka: schmoopie)...a beautiful wildflower from texas

took a few pictures

i took a few pics! i'm suprised i was able to tear myself away from sewing the backing for the chrismakwanzakah quilt before the sun went down. i'm still getting used to the odd chronology of the blog world, so i am breaking the pictures into a few different posts (cause i'm tired of trying to figure out how to write backwards!)

this was one of my first attempts at quilting. i learned A LOT from this experience...

i love, luv, liebe the fabric; and, was delightfully suprised at how well the ombre fabric used in the binding coordinated with the top

i want to do another (maybe more sedate) project with this line

get lost in these thoughts

as my first official blog (and i can't believe i'm blogging...), i want to suggest a "must read" by david foster wallace. just google (and i can't believe that's an official verb now...): "david foster wallace commencement speach wall street journal" i know it's long; but, it's soooo worth ten minutes of your time!
and i promise to work more on my little piece of internet real estate tomorrow...