This is Brenda Rithmire’s Searching for Beauty quilt that she made and neamed “Color in Covid”. Well done, Brenda! Barbara Black was at the guild meeting and got Brenda’s permission to share this photo. Thanks you to both Brenda and Barbara for sharing :-).
Quilted Covid is a lot better than virus-Covid! If you are interested in the free pattern and videos that go with it you can find it on my website, on my youtube channel, and/or on Creative Spark. May you stay healthy and stitch happily :-).
Vicci Conway took my Birds in Toyland wool hand applique class in Georgetown, TX, a while back and she finished her project in late October. It’s so cute and perfect to share right now. Thank you, Vicci, for the holiday smiles :-).
You can find my book, Birds in Toyland, here. If you are interested in the online class, click here. Happy stitching!
Sylvia Phillips sent pictures of her newly finished quilt, Sunny Days. The quilt and her story both make me so happy! the pattern for the quilt is from our book, Curl Up Quilts. This is a quilt that will put a smile on your face!
Sylvia wrote:
I made the Sunny Days quilt using the scraps from my “stash”. I had lots of Christmas themed bits. I do love yellow and I was delighted with how this pattern worked up..(pictures enclosed) I will be 86yrs old in a couple of months so my quilt making has slowed down but your designs always spur me to make just one more.. Sylvia Phillips…Lititz, PA
I appreciate the fabric and color choices because they elevate what is a pretty simple design. Sylvia’s quilt keeps you engaged because there is a lot to see.
Sylvia, thank you for sharing your quilt with us, and for telling us your age because that is wonderful to know! Quilting can be a life-long passion. Speaking for myself, I intend to keep at it even when my work might not be perfect. I will be thrilled if, at 85, my sewing technique is as good as yours is. Thank you, and happy stitching!
I recently bought matelasee bedspread that doubles as a nice, light-weight blanket. I love it and it was totally perfect until Jim decided to take a running jump at the corner of the bed.
OMG… And then he did the same thing on the other side. This is why I don’t have quilts on the beds!
I decided to use my sewing skills to mend the rips with thread. I knew the mends would show, so I embraced it. The gray #8 perle cotton is a little darker than the spread and, yes, indeed, those stitches show at every rip on both corners of the bed.
Surprisingly, the mends don’t bother me nearly as much as the rips did. And it doesn’t hurt that I now have a fake fur throw at the bottom of the bed.
It’s gotten cold so the fur throw is coming in handy. And if Jim goes after it with his claws, it won’t hurt it.
Stupid cat. Sigh.
I often sit on a wood barstool to work. While I have natural padding, the seat is hard! I couldn’t find a more comfortable barstool or cushion but I ordered something in that came padded with two sheets of foam. Great!
After two months of sitting on plain foam I decided to make a ‘real’ cushion to fit the stool. This is not great foam, but it was free and here. I cut both pieces to fit the top of the stool.
Once I was sure the foam fit the seat, I cut fabric for the cushion top and Easyliner Grip shelf liner for the bottom, adding 1/2˝ seam allowance on all sides.
I sewed the fabric and Easyliner right sides together using my walking foot, a long-ish stitch length, and a scant 1/2˝ seam. The grippy stuff does not slide on the bed of the machine so sew with it on top. There isn’t fabric between the Easyliner and the foam. You could add fabric, but I couldn’t see the point. Leave an opening to insert the foam.
Getting the foam in place wasn’t exactly easy, but it was possible. I pinned the opening closed and whipped it shut by hand. I would have sewn it on the machine but decided that would be way more trouble than it was worth.
I thought about making this cushion for weeks. Why? After less than an hour I have a functional, cute cushion that will last a long time. I might eventually get fancy and purchase high density foam to make another one—but not today :-).
Take a look at the projects that you keep putting off. They might be like this… faster than you think and very grin-inducing!
eeBoo’s NEW Holiday puzzle this year has EVERYTHING, and it just arrived here! So much detail to enjoy as you work on it together. Sure to put you in the holiday mood.
The Dutch Quilt Sampler is just like a wonderful quilt, the more you look the more you smile—patterns, colors, appliqué animals. It is delightful! I love the bird. Did you find the tiny frog? (Below, left.)
Over at Lorna’s house, they’ve put together the Green Kitchen twice because they love it so much, and of course they do. So cheery! (Above, right.)
The Alchemist’s Home has been so popular we only have a few left, and you can see why. It has a lot going on, even the trees and sky in the background are beautiful (birds and little bird houses). Look in each room, and find the living and the friendly ghosts co-inhabiting this old Victorian home. There are just so many moments to discover as you put this together. There’s even an antique sewing machine.
Lorna and Chris went to the beach for their birthdays a few weeks ago along with Judy, Bear and friends, Kathryn and Nathan. They took puzzles :-). The round Moths puzzle was the favorite. Each moth is gorgeous and unique. It really does change how you think about and work on a puzzle when it’s round. Kathryn and Bear look like master puzzle builders in the time-lapse video, below.
The round Hummingbirds Puzzle is inspired by vintage ornithological illustrations, and captures the magical beauty of the hummingbird. I have hummingbird lovers in my life, and this will make a perfect gift.
Kathe Holden designed this whimsical 1000 piece puzzle from Moda —Tomato Pincushions! Obviously an ideal gift for the sewers and crafters in your life.
We still have a very few glow-in-the-dark 100 piece puzzles. Geared to kids, but definitely engaging for all ages, because the designs are beautiful. Bats and Bioluminescent creatures turn into fascinating jigsaw puzzles.
Click here to find all of these puzzles, plus a few eeBoo games, on the Puzzles & More page.
Piece O Cake Blog 