New Endeavors

I have been up to some new and quite interesting things lately.  For a while now, I felt unchallenged by quilting and was having trouble coming up with new projects to sink my teeth into.  I was talking to a friend about this, and a general lack of interest in other things as well.  She suggested that I look for a way to combine my two loves, quilting and animals.

This was a great idea, so we brainstormed for a while and we came up with doing pet memorial quilts for people.  I started by coming up with designs and doing research on photo transfer products.  I made up samples of the designs and shared them on facebook.  People liked them!  Great!

I forget how we got into the next phase - thread paintings - but I tried to do a thread painting of one of my dogs.  It turned out pretty good, so I did a few more.  I kept sharing them online and people really liked them.  Soon, someone asked me to make for them.  Whoopie!  So, while the photo transfer quilts are great, these thread painted portraits really took off.

I named my new endeavor DogGone Memories - Sue came up with the name, so I need to give her credit. I am currently working on a website with my gracious brother's help. Now that the holidays are over, it is time to focus on that so we can grow into the next phase of this project.

I love new projects and this one promises lots of learning and growth.  Classes in techniques, learning how to market the project, exploring, designing, and creating.

This is just one example of a thread painting I have done.  Isn't this puppy just the cutest?  This is going to be fun!

Margo

This is my favorite handbag pattern:  Margo by Lazy Girl Designs.  I have made this so many times.  The zipper can be a little tricky, but if you follow the directions closely and pay attention to the photos you will get it right.  I often have overthought the zipper part, which led to much unsewing.  Just follow the directions, really.

When I find a new birdie fabric, I just have to snap some up and make something.  This bag is perfect!  The green is very calming and zen.  The white just makes me happy.  And the grey with the birdie feet tracks makes me smile!  It has a bright pink interior and blue pockets so you can see well inside.

I have been very busy

 As you can see, I have been rather busy.  I have a rather long Christmas list and I attempt to hand make as many gifts as i can.  That usually leaves me with wondering what to make.  I think I have made everything for every body.  However, I have come up with a few ideas for this year.

Lots of these are gifts, so I will not say who they are intended for.  I have had a lot of fun designing these - choosing which fabrics are appropriate for each person.

This is a decoration for the house - a table topper.  As Christmas and Hanukkah coincide this year, I thought it would be fun to have some  Hanukkah inspired decorations.

 A couple of twin quilts of the same pattern, in differing colorways from a collection of fabrics at the shop where I work.

 This one is a cheater panel, but it is very appropriate for the person I am giving it to.

 This is a scrap quilt that was inspired by a quilt I found online.  I used my scrap stash very effectively - only buying the background fabrics and backing.

Here is a close up of the swirl quilting I did on it.  I backed it with flannel to make it extra cozy.

I think this will be the last quilt I make for the home for a long while.  We have plenty of quilts now and I am running out of room to store them.  There are worse problems, I suppose.

I guess I will have to think harder on things to sew in the future. 

Until next time,
One Little Birdie

The Night Sky

So my niece is having a baby.  Her nursery theme is the night sky.  naturally, I had to make a baby quilt.  Inspired by one I had seen on Pinterest, this is the result.  I rather like it and she seemed to at her baby shower.

Yes, I have been Busy

Yes, I have been busy.  But I thought I had better get blogging.  The two quilts I have been working on are the results of the effects that working in a sewing store has on a creative person.

The fist one here is a very bright an modern quilt for our personal use.  I have turquoise walls in my bedroom, so finding bedding that matches can be interesting.  One of my coworkers was working on a sample quilt for the store and I got the idea from that to make this quilt.  The focus fabric is the black with the leafy print and the rest of the fabrics are essentially blenders.  The blocks are very simple, so this was a quick one to piece.  Which is a really good thing because piecing is my least favorite part of quilting.  My favorite part is the designing, picking out just the right fabrics.  Next is the quilting.  Now that I have access to long arm machine, it is even better.

The quilt is too large for my design wall - it ended up at 106 X 120 - more than big enough for our bed.  Good thing I can use the long arm - no way I could handle a monster this big at home.

This is Genny.  She was helping me in my sewing room and was being a very good girl.  Her favorite job is being an area rug and keeping me company.  She will also offer her opinion once in a while on my progress in her own way with a series of dramatic sighs.  Genny also makes sure that I take frequent snack breaks and lets me know when it is time to make dinner.








This is Chai, Genny's little sister.  She is not one to be upstaged by Genny, so she thought she should also have a photo op and give her opinion.  That opinion consisted of telling me that I was spending too much time sewing and not enough time letting her into the yard or scratching her belly.




This is the result of my boss getting in a new collection of fabrics.  Normally, I would not choose anything like these.  But seeing those bolts on the shelf, I just kept looking at them thinking how great they looked.  I just had to make something with them.  I have to say I am not sure that the block pattern I chose is actually the best one for these fabrics, but I think it is working.  It ended up being a square quilt, 74 X 74.  It will most likely be a holiday gift for someone.  Now to choose a backing for it and get it sandwiched so I can quilt it.  I can do this one at home, if I can get it basted.  Finding basting space is the big challenge.

I have another idea germinating for a holiday gift quilt, so now it is time to choose fabrics for that.  Onto the next project!  Gotta keep busy!

Ciao, for now
One Little Birdie