April OPAM

The month of April was better for me as far as getting a few projects done.  I don't know how they did get done considering that we are still in the middle of renovations.  Oh well, a few stolen moments here and there and success.

First, my niece asked me to do a few items for her.  One, is a sun stroller cover that they used when they went south for a week's vacation.  It worked great.  Miss C was able to have her naps without being disturbed by passersby and it worked for keeping the sun off of her while they were walking around in the hot sunshine, but still allowing Miss C to see what was going on around her.  I made the cover using two packages of cheesecloth (there are 4 layers sewn together and the length is about 2-1/2 metres).  There are two lines of stitching to keep all the layers together.

Second, my niece purchased two hats but asked me to sew on straps so that Miss C will keep her hats on top of her head while on vacation.  Why are children's hats not coming with straps? 

To get Miss C used to the idea of wearing a hat, Mom and Dad wore a hat for supper one night.  After 5 mins. of screaming, all was well.  Mom is wearing the other hat that I fixed.

Last, a pair of curtains were made for my armoire that holds my quilts and quilt tops.  Since my studio has so much light coming in, I didn't want my quilts fading from the bright light.  Before, I just had a piece of fabric hanging down from the top shelf.  This looks so much better.

So, that was my effort for April.

Have a great day!

Granddaughter's Garden progress and a quilt show

It is coming together!  My Granddaughter's Garden is  slowly but surely getting done.  The bottom third of the centre remains to be done.

This photo shows a better idea of what needs to be done.  The black line shows the section that needs to be joined to the other part and a couple half blocks (see the X's at the bottom) need green templates and then sewn together. 

The bright pink squares that you see need to have a green template removed and replaced with a different green print. I wasn't paying particular attention and there are too many of the same green print that was used (and used in the same location) and they stick out like a sore thumb. Well, to me anyway and if I can see them, they will bug me until they are replaced.  The green print that was used way too often comes from a dress that I made for my Mom and I do love to use it in every quilt that I can.  It is a lovely memory for me.

 

In the first close-up shot, marking lines for hand quilting have already been added. 

 

So, the next time you see this top, the borders will be on and another top can be added to the battered old trunk waiting it's turn for hand quilting.

 

Two quilting guilds in our city are having a quilt show and you can go here for more information.  April 27-28, 2013 in North Bay, Ontario, Canada.  It will be a pleasure to see you all there.

 

Have a great day!

Renovation time

Not much in the quilting department has been happening .... we are in the midst of renovations.   We will be having hardwood flooring installed and all the carpeting has been ripped up and a ton of screws were screwed into the plywood.  No more squeaks!  Wallpaper has been removed from the walls and they are now ready for painting.  My quilts have once again been folded and stored in bins.  The house sure looks bare without them on the walls and displayed on the quilt ladder. 

It has been a bit stressful for the girls and they are probably thinking that we will be moving again.  Nope, this is their forever home.

Doesn't Miss Hank look lonely?  She recently gave us a bit of a scare but has rallied around again!  We're giving the girls extra attention and playtime to help them get over this upheaval.

Miss Ashes tries to hide in our newspaper box that was just emptied for recycling ....

 

....  and she takes her turn on the small piece of carpeting that we cut off for the girls to lay down on.

In the evenings, I have been working on my Granddaughter's Garden.  Yep, another UFO.  I'm too tired to do much of anything else and this is a good project to just pick-up and work on.  Slowly, but surely, this top is coming together and will be ready for borders in another couple of weeks.  For my borders, this was the layout that appealed to me.  A navy blue for the inner border and then white for the outer border.  

Then, I found and bought a gorgeous piece of striped green fabric for the outer borders. So, the white is out and the green stripe is in.

My studio has also become a painting studio.  DH replaced all the closet and room doors and I'm painting them .... slowly but surely.

My DH snapped a photo of me surrounded by piles of fabric scraps as I was working on my templates for the above quilt.

This is what it looked like from my chair.  I was just pulling fabrics at random that were within my reach.

Perhaps, it would be a good idea to get myself organized a bit so that I don't trip over the piles of fabric at my feet.  Ah, so much better!  :o)

Early one morning this week, I awoke to find DH opening the window blinds.  What a delightful sight to wake up to.  Four deer in our backyard!  :o)

Have a great day!