Wee Wonderfuls

dense

The thing one quickly realizes when trying to cover a wall with doll quilts, even a small wall, is that you need a certain density or it doesn't work. To that end this week produced a few more additions for the wall. They're all pretty much quicky specials -- three of them I made yesterday.

Pinky here is made from thrift store linens. I ran out of batting so it has just flannel inside and I did a pillowcase binding and a stippling quilt pattern. close up here.

Here's a little fussy cut number from some folky vintage fabric and orange gingham. I made this one earlier this week and hand quilted it and hand sewed the binding. I like hand quilting when there's a little gingham grid to follow. Makes me less obsessed with getting my stitches even. close up here.

I found this cross stitch at a thrift store ages ago. I thought this would whip up into a quicky little quilt but it went through 3 different bindings until I found this one, a tiny vintage polka dot binding tape, that actually worked. close up here.

Another fussy one, this one is made from my stash of japanese storybook prints and the yellow dot flannel was Oscar's crib skirt. close up here.

This one I made from a thrifted kids quilt I've been holding on to forever. It had lots of stains and tears but some great big appliques that were waiting to be saved. This little house just needing some binding and it was all set!

I hate to jinx myself but I think the wall may be full. I have one I'm on the fence about. I've nailed all but that one to the wall. I need to sleep on it. Now I'm waiting for hand-me-down bedding to arrive in the mail and to get the curtains up and then I'll have some nursery pics to share :)

miss bunny and her outfits doll quilt

This doll quilt has been brought to you by the amazing phenomenon of... yard work! The exciting new activity around here that keeps both Tim and Oscar entertained for hours on end. It was heaven to sit in my craft room all weekend and putter while watching those two outside the window puttering in the backyard. We've become the putterers which is just how we've always wanted it. It was awesome to have a big chunk of time to work. I was able to sketch out the idea and start embroidering on Saturday and finish up on Sunday.

I think this may be my favorite of the doll quilts I've made. I used all my favorite colors and fabrics and of course I'm a sucker for anything paper doll-y! I was helping a friend of my mother with some ideas for a redwork baby quilt and got inspired to try one out for myself.

a quick pop in on the craft room

Back in the old apartment before we moved I would sit around at night daydreaming about decorating and styling glamorous photo shoots of every "corner of my home" with big dramatic results. The reality, as I keep saying (rather defensively) is it's just an everything-in-a-place-any-place free for all over here. I feel like an ass for not wanting to share my amazing new craft room because it isn't just so or not wanting to show all the pics of Oscar's room because it's "in progress". Especially since this is probably the nicest it will ever look! All clean and spare, before the "craft misc" boxes are unpacked and before I really start working in there. So I tidied up the craft room this morning and decided it was time to peek in. Then of course I realize it's a bear to photograph because it has really bright sun in the early morning and then is pretty dark (for photo taking but fine for working) the rest of the day. So I tried every setting on my camera and this is what I came up with.

We really lucked out with this house because we got one of the standard 3 bedroom ranches that litter this neighborhood that actually had an addition added back around when the house was built in 1957. So we have less backyard but two good sized rooms off the back of the house. Dick and Dot had three kids so they used one of these rooms as the master bedroom. We decided to make their master my craft room/the guest room. The other room we set up as a playroom and it's pretty funny in all its wood paneled loveliness, but that's a photo shoot for another day.

So one wall of the room is all closet and that's where I've stored all the fabric. Another wall faces the yard (with a snazzy space heater in the middle) and that's where I've put my sewing table and work table. Another wall I left open and am using it as my feltwall to hang quilt projects. And the last wall holds shelves, the daybed and some awesome built in shelves (another Dick masterpiece).

the sewing table and some new shelves.

the work table

the day bed

and the built ins. it's like dick knew I was coming! this is one area I really need to work on. I just threw things up there as I was unpacking. I'd really like to set up lots of little just so vignettes but for now it's like a softies high rise. close up here.

And that's my big shiny white craft room with at least twice as much space as I had in the apartment, big fluffy new shag carpet and it's own bed! I'm a happy girl.

a new little quilt

I finished up another little quilt for junebaby's wall this morning. I followed this pattern here. It's a fun pattern to make. I highly recommend it!

I have two more little quilts swimming around in my head. A fussy cut number and one with some embroidery. I hope my energy lasts and I can get to them.

Thanks for all the nice comments on the house pics! I've been wanting to put up more photos everyday but there's one little problem...tidying up. I'm at that point in pregnancy where if I bend over to pick something up I'm pretty convinced I'm never getting back up. I'm working on training my little toddler cleaner upper  -- and he's doing an amazing job helping out! -- but even he can't keep up with his own mess. I'm going to head in there now and see if I can make any progress on the fabric tornado that Oscar created making "kanga's new cave" while I was working on this quilt. Or I might just take a snoozer on the daybed... I mentioned it was a craft room/guest room right?

snaps

My camera and I are fighting today. I'm not sure what I've done to upset it but most of the jazillion photos I took this morning for house show and tell are crap. Here are some of the living room that turned out okay. We've taken to calling this wood covered central wall the "console" for lack of a better term. I love it! One of Dick's grand achievements. It's finally visible after the wall of book boxes made it to the basement and now it's in need of some accessorizing. My living room sewing projects are finished - the pillows are made and ottoman is covered. And our last new furniture for a very long while, the new slick  office furniture from the CB2 came on Friday. It may be a little too slick in here now. Maybe once the art and books are unpacked it'll look more homey.

Now this is homey... Oscar eating his breakfast on the front stoop this morning.

baby gifts

One of the things I'm most behind on because of the move are my thank you's. Let me catch up a bit. This doll quilt came in the mail before the move from Marisa and I just unearthed it from one of those marvelous "misc" boxes (you know the ones with the alarm clock, the toothpaste, the phone bill, etc). Isn't it cute! Her applique is amazing and I can't get over the tag on the back. I'm tempted to hang it up backwards! Thank you Marisa :)

You probably all saw the amazing doll quilt the angry chicken made me on her blog. It arrived the other day in the mail and as Amy would say, it is making me crazy! As always, she nailed the perfect look and I'm so digging its vintage feel. As I look at the quilts I've assembled so far I think vintage is definitely the theme. Softer colors, more traditional patchworks. They look amazing all together. I'm getting ahead of myself. I still have at least 4 more of these to make to fill up the wall so maybe I'll just stop talking about the quilt wall every day!

Sneaky Amy also sent me some of these! And I love LOVE the paper she wrapped them in. Amy, did you do these dots yourself?

And from an even sneakier chicken, Lyn, came these awesome booties. I wrangled the poor girl into a getting something sent to me from amazon.uk scheme and she was so gracious about it and then went and snuck in a present on top of it. Thanks Lyn! xo

Busy weekend ahead for us. I decided it was time to let non-family members come by and see what's going on around here so we have some hosting to do. If I can get everything done that I'm hoping to I may have a bunch of pics to share next week. Have a great weekend!

Spring Stitchettes reprint list

For those of you who missed out on Spring Stitchettes we've set up a mailing list for the reprint. Pop over here and be counted and you'll be the first to know when the new ones come in. Thanks!

better living through chemicals

thanks for all the iron cleaning advice! I wasn't having much luck with the natural methods so I sent Tim outside with the oven cleaner and it worked like a charm. thanks Michelle! guess I'd really crudded it up. here's the shiny new iron posing with its friend the new ironing board cover. I totally cheated on the cover. I seamripped the top from the gathered bottom part, laid it flat over my fabric and cut around it and then sewed the new cover back to the bottom. worked like a charm! all the velcro stuff and the drawstring underneath were still in tact.

the sewing is going well, although nothing is easy with this giant belly (and no there will be no cute "bump" shots as I've long past the cute stage!), I knocked out some pillows, now I'm going to tackle some quick curtains and then it's time to assess the progress of the quilt wall for the baby's room...

taking it easy

with five weeks to go I've decided to finally heed everyone's advice and take it easy. don't want this junebaby being a maybaby! so to Tim go all the remaining house and yard projects and I'm going to tackle the much less taxing sewing projects that are piling up around here. I've got curtains, baby bedding, duvet covers, etc that I'm itching to get at and the craft room shelves are full again so I'm ready to go!

first up a new ironing board cover. I know... ick!

and speaking of ick, anyone out there know how to fix this? I never know what to do when my iron gets all mucky.

what's better than a flat box

my most favorite thing to do these days is to tear the bottom tape off a box and break that brother down! then I stack em and take them to the garage in big satisfying piles. and maybe I talk a little smack at them too. it's me against them these days and they will not win.

here are a few unearthed items from the last few days...

birdie from alicia that looks like she was made just for the nursery

treasured japanese fabric that matches my new sofa perfectly. soon to be a pillow I think.

a mountain of 0-3's

and while I'm working on the new nursery one last look at the old one. baby boxcar's broken down crib and left behind mural :(