Wow! Someone asked me to post some of the things I've made since I ventured back into the sewing world. So, here goes. These are quite immature, simple things, but I am learning new "how to's." Hopefully my work will show improvement and complexity with time. I enjoyed making these but looking back they certainly are beginner projects!! I'm embarrassed that I actually "gifted" people with these things!!! I'm sure some of them have been relegated to the Goodwill or the dump.
My frend, Vicki Britt (on the left in this picture), had heart issues for many years. Vicki was a fun-loving, whacky lady, a great cook, and would give the shirt off her back for anybody. She loved to party, and looked forward every year to the huge Parrot Head (Jimmy Buffet) party. In 2009/2010 things became worse and the prognosis of her time on this old earth was extremely short. Vicki was a patient at Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas. As such she was entered into a program of patients receiving mechanical heart valve pumps that had to be monitored 24 hours per day, were hooked to batteries (BIG ones) and could never be disengaged. To be allowed to participate in the program Vicki had to have a support group of people to be trained in the care and maintenance of the unit and her. About 10 of us (friends and family) agreed and went for the training. (For more information about this pump, review http://www.chfpatients.com/implants/lvads.htm.)
Vicki made it thru the surgery, was doing great in the hospital, but as with all things medical she was at the mercy of insurance. Lovely coverage required her to be moved from the hospital to another facility after x amount of time. The specialist was not wanting her to be moved until she could be admitted to a certain facility with knowledge and experience in dealing with the uniqueness of of her equipment. That didn't happen, there was no bed at the choice facility so she was moved to the non-choice place. She was found dead the next morning.
This afghan was made by me and given to Vicki while she was in ICU (where she was located for a very long time). Those of us who knew Vicki miss her very much.
I am a member of a quilting group sponsored by my employer (I am now retired but still a member). The group makes quilts for the USO Reading Room at DFW Airport. Military personnel can visit the Reading Room, choose a book to read to their child while recording it, and choose a lap quilt that is sent to the child (and can be children). This denim and flannel rag quilt is the first item I made for the group. Books for this project are provided thru an annual book drive sponsored by the quilting group.
My beautiful granddaughter, Madison, has been wanting to crochet, knit, sew, and do many things as long as I can remember. I used to just sit and watch her when she was a baby and toddler - she is just so amazing. She's fiesty, funny, and reminds me so much of her mother, my youngest daughter. Anyway, one of the things she liked when she came to my house was looking at one of my dolls for which I had crocheted a long yellow dress with green trim. Madison wanted one of those. So, in 2010 in January I started working on something for her birthday. This is the final outcome of that adventure. I don't get to see her, I miss her so much, but I hope she has enjoyed my efforts.
Chloe is also my granddaughter, the younger sister of Madison. Chloe has a sparkle in her eye from the moment she gets up until she falls asleep. She is one of the great loves of my life as well. I made this bag for her birthday in 2010 and we filled it with various art and drawing supplies.
This is the inside of the bag. I learned a lot making this bag and will do a number of things differently next time (and better). Now that I have a serger (thank you, Debbi!), I can do a nicer job of the interiors. I've also learned how to do them by joining the interior and exterior so that the seams are all to the inside.
This was my first experience printing a photograph to fabric "paper" and then incorporating it in the project. I'm hoping to learn other ways of doing this.
This Dresden Plate patterned quilt was made for my middle child, Megan. All the blades in the plates are cut from fabrics used throughout a lifetime, from dresses, jams, shorts, shirts, curtains, whatever fabric I've saved thru the years. So this is somewhat of a memory quilt. I really liked the turquoise fabric. I chose to do this quilt via "quilt as you go" method, and it would have been easier to take poison and die than to try to line up and get those sashing strips even. I watched several tutorials on this method before I started and I now know that all those folks on the videos were either drunk or lying! Had I been thinking straight I would have known that instead of doing what they indicated I should have joined them from the backside and then done the top stitching from the front! My quilting buddies agree. Think we'll make a video ourselves because our way is SO much easier.
I made those whacky "matching" pillow cases, too. I think they are cute, but after washing some Texas Longhorn pillow cases I made for DH, I know they are a pain in the behind after laundry because they are the most wrinkled things you could ever see out of that 100% cotton. They have to be ironed!
This is the back side of Megan's quilt. If I had it to do over again, I would do it the regular way instead of "quilt as you go." It would have been much easier. But I think the back turned out ok.
I made this funky quilt for my youngest daughter, Brandi. Brandi and I have an afghan that I bought at a garage sale years ago that is bright orange, navy, bright red, bright green, etc. Happy colors. For such a long time we traded it back and forth for hospital stays -- it just makes the room happier. So, when I thought about doing something for her I chose the orange and bright colors. The diamonds of the stars are from scrap fabrics that were used in various projects during the growing years of the kids, or from fabric used in her sister's quilt. I like the quilts to "connect" to one another. So this, too, is somewhat of a memory quilt. (All of the quilts for the kids made in 2010 were made to use watching TV, playing, etc., certainly not intended to be heirloom quilts!). Anyway, I hope she enjoys the bright colors.
This is the back of Brandi's quilt. Again, bright happy colors.
I also made crazy pillow cases for Brandi. Hope she's been able to use them!
This is the rag quilt I did for granddaughter Chloe. It looks much better after the seams are ragged and it has been run thru the washer/dryer cycle.
Chloe also got a funky pillowcase.
Christmas quilt created for step DIL Amanda.
Back side of Amanda's quilt.
Flag quilt made for son, Chris, career military man. Told him he could hang it in his front yard and salute it on his way out every morning (or not).
Funky pillowcases for Chris.
Rag quilt made for granddaughter Courtney. Courtney is my oldest grandchild, and was a complete surprise - at least for me! She is the daughter of my oldest child, my son Chris and DIL Nicky. She is very tiny. On the video of her birth you can hear the doc saying something akin to, "Oh, my. We've birthed a midget." The nurse quickly says, "No, she's just petite." And petite she is, but oh so fully formed. There's about 4.5 years between her and the next grandchild, so Courtney was pretty much an "only" for a long time.
Back of Courtney's quilt.
I made this quilt for Courtney first - her school colors. And I worked so hard on the dang thing. But when I ran it thru the washer/dryer cycle the back seams came apart. So I threw it on top of the shelves in the sewing room to wait until "some day" when I have time to take it all apart and put back together. I just can't see the navy thread stitched in the dark blue fabric. So, I made Courtney a different lap quilt - the pink one above.
Back side of original quilt made for Courtney...still waiting to be taken apart and remade. This is done in the "quilt as you go" technique. Never again.
This is quilt for adorable grandson Jacob. Fabric is pre-quilted, I waited and waited and waited until it went on sale and I had a coupon before purchasing the fabric. Knew the first time I saw the fabric that it would be for Jakey. I put the binding on this the first time and it turned out terrible, so I had to take the entire binding off and re-do it.
Back side of Jacob's quilt.
Note: I have plans to make another quilt for Jacob (and my other grandson Nathan). I'm going to make these out of denim and applique either Texas, a star, or a boot on the block. I bought the big cookie cutters at the Alamo last year to use as the template for cutting out the appliques.
This is granddaughter Madison's rag quilt. Some day I'm going to make one of these for me! I really like the way Madison and Chloe's rag quilts turned out.
Back side of Madison's rag quilt.
Since everyone was getting a tv quilt of some kind for Christmas, I didn't want to leave SIL out. Mat is a gator fan, so I had to find fabric or something to make his. I found this fleece on Ebay and then cut it to size and put a binding on it. I left it pretty big because I would have no use for left-over fabric, and because Matt's "man cave" is in the garage and can be very cold!!
I'm going to make another quilt for Matt, but it's going to be Curious George and will probably be a block quilt. Not sure what block design - will make that decision when I get there.
This is grandson Nathan's quilt. Grandson's are just the best gifts from God. Like grandson Jacob's quilt, this fabric was pre-quilted. DH and I found this fabric at the same time we spotted the fabric for Jacob's. I knew I had to have it. Again, we waited and waited and waited until it was on sale for half price and we had a coupon. That $20+ per yard is a budget biter! but well worth it.
I think the backs of these quilts are just as cute as the fronts. For these quilts all I had to do was make the binding, sew one side to the quilt, and then fold the binding over and hand stitch. I tried stitching on the machine, but I do a much better job of hand stitching.
This quilt was made for DIL, Nicky. Nicky is like one of my own children. She has been a part of our family since she was 16 years old when she and my son started dating. She was just 19 when they married, and they've been married over 20 years! Seems impossible. Anyway, I wasn't going to let her escape getting one of the silly quilts I was making for everyone for Christmas, so this one is hers.
I made this big patch Christmas quilt for friend Joan. Some day I'm going to make one for me!!!
This was an unfinished project for many years - at least 20. I made the quilt top back in about 1990. On one of my visits to see my mother I took it with me. I had some pretty candy stripe flannel for the backing and I needed Mother to help me sandwich the thing. While I went to pick up burgers for lunch, mother put the three layers together and had it basted before I got back!!! Mother was ALWAYS able to work circles around anybody else, but that was quick even for her!
Instead of completing this when I got back home, it got put back as an unfinished project once again. After Mother died, I couldn't bear to work on it because it has Mother's hand basting in it. But one day I got it out and starting tying it with red yarn and then finished folding the binding over and tacking it down. This is currently folded and on the fireplace hearth. I haven't been able to make myself remove Mother's basting stitches.
This is another big patch Christmas quilt I made for a Sunday School Chinese gift exchange. It was fun to make it for that event.
Granddaughters are extra special. God brought us one more sweet angel in December 2009, Miss Sophie. My daughters and I had a major falling out in the fall of that year and I have been on their "do not speak to her ever again" list since then. I was told not to attend the baby shower, not to show up when the baby was born, to stay away from my daughter and her children, etc. But that doesn't keep a mother from loving her child or her grandchildren. I made this afghan for baby Sophie just for her to play with - not as a nice baby blanket. I had made one for my other granddaughters in earlier years.
I didn't make a rag quilt for baby Sophie for Christmas 2010; I was afraid she would pick the fuzz, put it in her mouth and choke. So instead she got a small patchwork quilt. For this one I bought the Disney licensed fabric then spent time fussy cutting out all the princesses to use for the main blocks. I thought she would be able to use it for a doll blanket when she was a little older.
This is the back of Sophie's little quilt.
Sometimes just for grins I take some of the strips of fabric scraps that are left and sew them diagonally across a muslin block or a piece of tissue paper. They turn out like this. Each strip has meaning to me in that each strip is a "piece" of another project I've done - and sometimes at quilt gatherings I get a strip or two from a friend/fellow bee attendee and sew that into a block as a memory of that person. I now have enough of these blocks that I've sewn them together for a quilt top and put a border around it all. It awaits in the pile on my sewing table for me to do something to complete it.
There is one other thing I know I made in 2010 - a crochet afghan for donation to the USO effort. I need to find the picture of that item - I know I have one. I'll post after I find it. I also made a bunch of pillow cases but am not going to post pictures. They were just made to go along with the tv/floor quilts made for the kids/grandkids. For now this is a good luck at what I did back in 2010. I was undergoing counseling at the time due to a tragic even that happened in 2009 - getting back into sewing was a life saver. I credit my youngest daughter for nudging me in that direction because she was at the house one day (back when I was worthy of her presence) and asked me why I no longer did any of the things I used to do - sewing, playing the piano, etc. I didn't really have a good answer except that I had given up on life. I no longer feel that way.
