Memorial Day

On this Memorial Day, enjoy this full version of Taps.  Thank a soldier and remember loved ones...http://www.flixxy.com/trumpet-solo-melissa-venema.htm

Baby Footwear...

 One of my daughter's Young Women leaders is having a baby shower today....she is having her first baby girl.  Said daughter informed me that we needed to get a gift.  I have had these little baby footwear patterns for a year now, but to CHICKEN to make them...imagine that.

 They are a bit fiddly to make, but I really enjoyed it!!  You first quilt the fabric, then cut them out and sew.  Free motion quilting is not my forte--but hey, I let loose last night on the feed dogs and went to town.  The quilting leaves much to be desired, but they are so small it doesn't matter.

The pattern shows a proper bow where I put the rosebuds.  I wanted rosebuds so I went Vanessa Christenson's blog to her ring tutorial and it was perfect for these little shoes.  If you need a baby gift or have adorable grandbabies, you can find the pattern here.  I was gigling quite a bit making these.  They are so adorable!!  There are also boy footwear patterns available on her website that are adorable as well!!

Kaleidoscope...

 I first saw this pattern over on the blog Cluck Cluck Sew.  I just fell in love with it.  I needed to make a baby boy quilt and the colors are great for a boy!!

 I really had fun putting this together and kind of sad I will parting with it soon...

 I will be making another one of these for an upcoming grandbaby....

 Make Life, an older collection by Sweetwater is one of my favorites...I had a few fat quarters in my stash so I added some additional fat quarters to have enough fabric to make this...Love how it turned out...

Found this fantastic brown gingham to back it with--love it...What do you think???

Wedding quilt...

 My angel of a niece is getting married on Saturday.  My mother has been slaving away, making this wonderful dresden quilt for her wedding.  This was quite an undertaking for my mother and she has done a wonderful job...

 This is a shot of the bordered edge...Love the all over quilting design...The binding is done in the same green as the narrow border...

I helped my mom piece the back and I bound the quilt after it was quilted to help my mom.  It was necessary to add some width to the back so I pieced this strip into the back with a couple of partial dresdens...A label was also added to memorialize this special day coming up on Saturday...

A close up of the dresden...My mom used fabrics mostly from "The Caroler" a Mary Englebreit fabric...Hooray, it is finished.  Off to St. George for the wedding on Saturday.  We will leave at the crack of dawn on Saturday to get there...Think of me as I am making this drive....Hope I stay awake!!

Sunday Best...

I just love this little tie pattern.  My LQS asked me to make this up and I was getting really excited to do something fun and funky with the ties for a little boy quilt....this is what they made the kits up with...

Civil War fabrics--not crazy about this kit for this cute quilt, however, we'll see how it makes up.  I love Civil War fabrics and the quilts they make are so beautiful and traditional, I just wanted to make this up in something else...I'll post a pic of the finished project!!

May Little Birdie Stitches...

This is the May block for Birdie Stitches.  This BOM has been really a delightful project.  Can't wait for June...

Scrappy Finishes

This quilt was really fun to sew.  The pattern was from a free quilting class at the Red Rooster before they went out of business.  We exchanged 6" squares and this quilt was born.  Great way to do some stash busting...

This quilt pattern was by Bonnie Hunter from her Leaders and Enders book, "Happily Scrappily Irish."   I enjoyed making this quilt so much.  It was made entirely from stash.  I would like to make another one and use up more of my scraps.  I tossed everything in this quilt and it was fun to see it come together.

A close up of the quilting.  I loved how it adds dimension to this quilt.

Once loved quilts...

Do you ever wonder when you see old quilts, why did the maker choose certain colors or patterns?  Was this quilt specifically for an upcoming wedding or was it for decor?  Was it made for someone by a hired seamstress or by the mother or grandmother?  Was the maker skilled, or was this a first time quilt?  I often have many questions when I see old quilts.  This selection was from a recent trip to an antique store on Saturday.  My husband and I just had to take that trip down memory lane...

I always ask myself a lot of questions when I see these old quilts...maybe it is because I just want to know their story...how they came about...who loved using them...how did they end up without an owner in an antique store after so much love....