…some recent “makes”

Life whizzes by at lightning speed sometimes. I’ve been wanting to show some projects, but never really have time to sit down & write a blog post…

So, I’m just going to throw a bunch of pictures out here:

 

Quilts made for my friend’s grandtwins born the first of the year.

 

A headband andladybug tutu for a newborn(with hand-sewn yo-yo “spots”)

 

A tray for vintage letterpress blocks (plus a few “faux” blocks)

 

Some magnetic owl Post-it® note holders for teacher appreciation week

 

Assisted in applying htv to a canvas for a Mother’s Day gift

 

Etched a cookie jar

 

Helped with a GCU grad cap

 

A few graduation money holders

I shamelessly copied Sara @spinningwheelantiques #windchimes today! #secretgarden #addictedtocobaltglass #musictomyears

A video posted by mshing (@4mshing) on Jun 17, 2016 at 3:09pm PDT

And a windchime for my garden

 

 

 

Quilt cat

See the cat.

This cat loves quilts.

The cat is on the quilt.

The cat naps.

The cat is in the way!

This cat loves vintage quilts.

The dog naps on the chaise.The cat naps on the quilt.

Silly cat.

Silly, silly cat.

Baby girl pennant quilt

Teachers are underpaid & under-appreciated. Teachers’ spouses, even more so…  We learned at last spring’s concert that the boys’ band director & his wife were due to have a baby girl join their coupledom this month. I decided I wanted to make a quilt for her.

I had seen some darling pennant “modern” quilts on a few of my favorite blogs. I drew up a design of my own:I thought I would be able to find a fat quarter bundle with the pink colors I envisioned… NOT! I ended up having to locate 8 fabrics and had them cut 1/4 yard of each.I embroidered the letters of her name on the little flags, then backed them with a lightweight fabric. (…was still trying to decided if I wanted lace around each one, as I had indicated in my plan…)I pressed the “loop” into my narrow seam-binding & tried my layout. Oooooops! -- The size of the pennants made for a bit of a bigger quilt than I’d expected…The tops needed to be bastedand then pinned to the bias strip.Had to check the layout again & make sure the birdies I decided to add looked O.K.I made the “quilt sandwich” and stitched on the seam binding and around each pennant. Next came the appliqué-ing of the darling blue birds. (These were from Embroidery Garden machine embroidery designs.)Now, I’ve never said these words before, so please excuse me if I linger over them -- Then I took it over to my quilter. Actually, I begged my friend Cindy to quilt some clouds for me. I didn’t even offer her a quilting design to follow! She had some beautiful projects of her own that she was working on completing, but she squeezed my little job in anyhow.Doesn’t the back look cute, too?After I straightened the quilt, I determined that the corners would be kinda cute rounded (to balance the angular pennants & complement the loop in the “rope” somewhat…)

I was soooooooo excited to be able to utilize my Clover Wonder Clips that I’d purchased from HL with a coupon!When I was complaining on social media about how much I hate finishing a quilt; Friend Cindy said to bring it over ‘cause she loves binding! (I restrained myself from taking her up on it…)Never fails! (graphic violence alert! ) If I’m hand-stitching a light-colored fabric, I will accidently get a tiny poke on a finger and will have one drop of blood…(I couldn’t even tell where on my hand the needle got me!) Fortunately it did not leave a spot after sponging with antibacterial hand soap…So… I guess I’ll just end this post with a couple of my favorite shots of the finished quilt…

 

 

 

 

 

 

Granny Paddle

Many times I’ve had people clearing out grandma’s closet ask me if I’d like some fabric. Usually I say “Sure!” and toss it into my hoarding ummmmmm… stash. Should’ve said no on this cut from my mombecause truly, my family is a slightly fanatical when it comes to anti-University of Arizona sentiment.(my favorite thermal for whatever cold days there might be here in the desert…)

(the guys ready for a game – but the one on the left was sick so they took Grandpa instead…)

(even Auggie has ASU spirit!)

We do, however, “associate” with a few members of the other side. I decided to make a “Grandma’s Paddle” for a friendwho was crossing the pond to visit her newest grandbaby. I bet it never gets used…

a few costumes for “The Elves & the Shoemaker”

I showed you the tailcoat I sewed for the dapper Trescott here. I also added purple ruffles to a blouse and stitched a purple ascot for his neck. The shoemaker’s apron was something I whipped together at the school just prior to dress rehearsal…
Hot-gluing Madame Grotsky’s headpiece was a fun project.I used flower pins to add extra tucks to her dress to shorten it a bit.
The elves' raggy clothing I drafted based on a child’s pajama bottom pattern & various-sized tee-shirts. (Somebody needs to teach some people how to use a measuring tape! The sizes we received on costuming forms from a few parents, were, ummmmmm – OFF!)
My biggest challenge for this show was to transform Theodora a refugee into a spirit when she is accidently shot by the soldiers. I had to slightly alter the bodice to fit her slight frame. After some tucks just below the shoulder, I added a strip of velcro to close the back. (Then I needed to tack on a fluffy bow to cover the two inches of fabric that stuck out from her back!)

Theodora transforms into woodland spirit

Here’s a video of the skirt of the dress cascading from where it was hidden under her overcoat. I simply stitched little plastic curtain rings around the bottom of the bodice and correspondingly on the edge of the underskirt (there were four layers to gather up!) Opening night had a much better transformation than the one I was able to film the last show.

Of course I have to leave you with a couple pictures of my son!