Wee Wonderfuls

Right under my nose

Look what I figured out! The table that I have my sewing machine is a table from my grandmother (all my sewing stuff was inherited from my amazing grandma) and I knew it folded out in some way but never paid any attention to it. Well, check out what it can do! Now I have a much bigger surface for quilting. I'm so excited. I just may need to start basting that Plain Spoken together this weekend and get going on it.

Thanks for all the super nice comments on my kimono quilt!! I was out most of the day yesterday and came home to such nice words I was blushing. That quilt was such a success because of the beautiful Nani Iro fabric that Jen sent me from Japan and the fact that I got to consult with the FunQuilters! Speaking of which, last night was Third Thursday at FQ, where if you've ever taken a class you can come in on that night for help & advice. I'm trying to decide what my next project is going to be. Oh I could sit here and write about quilting all morning but we have another busy day and I have to run. Here's something pretty to look at.. Lori Mason quilts (via a commenter on Loobylu). I love them!! This is my favorite, eclipse...

Kimono Quilt

My kimono quilt is finished! Man was it hard. Free motion quilting this whole thing on my little sewing machine was quite a challenge. And freehand too. Next time I'm definitely using the washable pen to draw out my quilting patterns first. And I need to get one of those tables that the sewing machine sinks into so I won't be dealing with the added stress of the quilt hanging off the machine. I don't know how I'm going to get that huge napping quilt done in that tiny bernina.

Some details for the quilters out there... I ended up not using high loft batting like I had originally envisioned and went with your standard cotton batting. I used thread colors that blended into the fabrics instead of contrasting. I wasn't sure about this at first but now that I see it across the room hanging on the wall I'm glad I did because it is very striking. I used a pillowcase binding because I didn't want a frame around the design. I was happy that I wasn't going to have to deal with binding on this one but the pillowcase deal was still tricky - trying to get it to lay flat and not have the backing show over the edges. I came up with different quilting designs for each of the sections. I used a big swirly floral pattern for the Nani Iro fabric sections. I made the design more loosey goosey on the top section and tighter on the bottom. The gray I did a wavy lily pad sort of thing, the red an abacus bead design and just stripes on the top and bottom sections. Which of course was the hardest part! I should have taped them out like they showed us in class. Shoulda woulda coulda... this quilting takes a lot of practice!

Here's a picture before it went through the washer.

WeeAuction!

People have been asking for a while now if I was going to be selling my stuff. (thanks for that!) Ok, I'm taking the plunge. I was going to auction items off on ebay but my handy husband made this cool customized WeeAuction just for me! I think I'll try to put things up every Wednesday. I have quite a few projects around here that need new homes and I'm always making new things. I'm thinking some more carrysmalls (thanks Marg for the awesome term), maybe some more pincushions, some new pointy kitties and maybe a few more kitties like Sunny & Buttercup.

I'm starting today with a zippered carrysmall and one of the felt robots. Please read the about a WeeAuction to see how it all works. And let me know if you have any questions or suggestions. Thanks!

diddie

I hate the word pouch. Just one of those things. I think it's hard to say. So I'm looking for alternatives. I was thinking pocket or pocketbook. Zippered pocketbook is fun to say. I'm also a fan of satchel. And carryall! But that doesn't really apply... carryalittle? And of course, diddie (?!).

Main Entry:	bag
Part of Speech:	noun
Definition:	container
Synonyms:	attache, backpack, briefcase, carry-on, carryall, case, diddie, duffel, gear, grub-bag, handbag, haversack, holdall, kit, knapsack, pack, packet, pocket, pocketbook, poke, pouch, purse, rucksack, sac, sack, saddlebag, satchel, suitcase, tote
Source:	Roget's New Millennium™ Thesaurus, First Edition (v 1.1.1) Copyright © 2005 by Lexico Publishing Group, LLC. All rights reserved.

Anyhoo, here's a new zippered thingamajig I made. Vintage tablecloth & embroidered ribbon on striped denim with an orange polka dot lining.

And here's another whatzit that I made a while ago for Jenn so she could match her daughter Trixie's puppy purse.

I really want to make more pocketbooks with buttons. Actually I want to make everything with buttons. I'm just afraid they're impractical and will snag on things and pop off.

Thank you Leslie!

Last week I received this beautiful package from Leslie.  A hatbox full of goodies! Yummy fabrics, cool magnets and a crocheted cupcake pincushion! I was so excited about the cupcake because that means I can abandon my own efforts to make one which have been going nowhere fast. Oscar is really getting into this trading thing. He seems to love mail as much as I do and was tearing at the package while I was opening it. He made off with the hatbox as soon as it was free from its package. Only after I was able to wrestle him to the ground did I realize that Leslie had handpainted it and that it had my name on it! So thoughtful! Of course the creator of Gifty would send such beautiful packages. Thank you Lesile :)

outgoing

ok traders, all the packages went out yesterday. hope you get them soon!

Becky's baby quilt

Here is the first of the baby quilts I need to make for this Spring's babies. This one is for our friend Becky in Boston who is having a boy. Becky really loves children's books and always sends us the nicest ones so we wanted to send her a really great book for her and her new baby. We decided on our new favorite, the Bed, Bed, Bed book with CD by They Might be Giants and illustrations by Marcel Dzama. The book has such great colors! I tried to use those same colors in making the quilt. The pattern I used is Broken Dishes and I came up with this swirly quilting pattern to top it off. The binding went ok, although I think I may try hand sewing the next one.

These aren't the best photos because the light sucks. It's rainy and dreary here with no signs of letting up so this is what I've got. Quilt goes in the mail today and then it's time to start planning the next one!

Anano Cafe

More Japanese cuteness that I'm dying for - Anano Cafe...

All sorts of cute dolls and cups and books! My favorite are the cups with girls with teddies on them (scroll down about halfway).

FYI...while looking for Anano Cafe books on ebay I found another seller of Japanese craft books, charmingbabe. The one book I found on both this and kitty's was more expensive on charmingbabe but cheaper shipping.

Instant Gratification

I was needing a little something something to put in a package last night so I made this little flower pincushion out of wool felt. I think it turned out cute (not this cute!) but it was fun to make something out of my felt that didn't take so damn long! And a neat way to use some of my vintage buttons. I think I'll make up some more to go in my vintage clothing swap packages.

Oh, and in Valentine news.. I'm so bummed. I totally missed these cute Jennifer Murphy cards. Guess I need to get on her mailing list. Did anyone get them? Want to be my valentine?

Vintage to Trade - Part 2

I'm addicted to receiving mail! Anybody else want to trade? Here are a few more things I've found in my vintage clothing stash. Let's do it the same as before except this time swappee pays shipping up front (because I'm brokee) and then deducts that from what they're sending back (unless it is something really light and cheap then I'll just send it). Actually, now that I'm looking at it again, everything is light so I'll just pay outbound shipping. Also this time around, if you're interested EMAIL ME at hillarylang@gmail.com. And then I'll leave in the comments when things are taken. Less confusion this way. Heck, do whatever you want :) Ok here's what I've got...