Shirley Anne’s Heart

FABRIC STASHBUSTERS

Some of us have accumulated a wealth of fabric - known in the quilty world as our stash.  STASHBUSTER GROUPS are abundant in the online world of quilters trying to control their artistic impulses (aka buying fabric habit.)  Here is a new way to use up that collection…..invite in three wannabe fashion designers and have a DESIGNER PARTY FOR WEBKINZ RUNWAY FASHIONS.

First meet Kenzie and her WEBKINZ Frog - Freckles, dressed in an Asian print sundress with HOT PINK straps! 

Sarah designed a wonderful multi-piece fashion statement for her WEBKINZ puppy - PRINCESS and her WEBKINZ Kitty - Meredith (all in hot pink batiks.)   Leanna made a sleeping bag for her WEBKINZ Lion - Rory - and a wonderful designer sundress for her WEBKINZ Monkey - Bonnie.  Most of the MODELS ended up wearing HOT PINK - must be the WEBKINZ design fav.

TA DA - Stashbusting can be LOTS OF FUN!  Oreo CHIPPIE Cookie was delighted to find that a fabric container had been emptied…….and as cats often do, she had to check it out!

QUILTY SHOW AND TELL - QUILTER’S CORNER - BIRTH OF A SAMPLER CLASS

I was doing the happy dance while sharing my finished Birth of a Sampler Flimsy during class at QUILTER’S CORNER.  Here it is being held by Susan (she chose the Vintage Holiday fabric for me) and the quilt designer and teacher of the class, Sherry Whitford.  I am SO HAPPY TO SAY that this quilt - complete with 10 yards of fabric for the back - is ready for the LONG ARM process!

And my sincere APOLOGIES go to Nancy (fellow class mate and fabric consultant at QUILTER’S CORNER) for cutting her head off in this photo….sigh.  Her BIRTH OF A SAMPLER FLIMSY is so beautiful that I really just had to include it here - even with headless Nancy!

SWEETHEART QUILT

While I was at QUILTER’S CORNER I took a picture of the second quilt designed by Susan in the COZY QUILT SERIES.  I made the shop sample and I was so excited to see it hanging on the wall - it is available as a kit at the shop!  This is the SWEETHEART QUILT!

BEACH RETREAT QUILT

The first quilt that Susan designed for the COZY QUILT SERIES was BEACH RETREAT - and since I tested this pattern (and made a quilt just like this one) I just had to take a picture of it in the shop.  BEACH RETREAT is also availabe as a kit at QUILTER’S CORNER.

Shirley Anne’s Cotton Candy Snowball Quilt

I am so excited — this week I finished this quilt top (that I started in September 07 - but better late than never!)  This is the first scrappy quilt that I made entirely from STASH that I had on hand - no new fabric was purchased in the process of making this quilt.

I combined the snowball block with the nine-patch - and voila.  I really like the soft pinks, blues and yellows - and it reminded me of COTTON CANDY - hence the name (oh yes, my name is Shirley Anne.) 

I took a close up picture of the border.  I saved the corners from the SNOWBALL BLOCKS and put four together to make MINI SNOWBALL BLOCKS.  I alternated the mini-snowball block with pink fabric blocks (with the exception of two snowball blocks sewn together in the center on the sides ) to make the border.  It was REALLY satisfying to be able to use these little corners that I used to throw into the scrap heap for ZANGIE CREATIONS.

Now in the tradition of making a quilt TOTALLY FROM STASH - I made the back of Shirley Anne’s Cotton Candy Snowball Quilt from 15 1/2″ square blocks with an outside border.  TA DA……I finished that today too.  It is a good feeling to get another UFO off my list (well almost - it still needs to get quilted and the binding put on - but somehow I FEEL like I have finished it at this point!)

Tags: Beach Retreat Quilt, Birth of a Sampler Quilt, Cats and Dogs Furry People, Furry People, SAO's Grandangels, Shirley Anne's Cotton Candy Snowball Quilt, Sweetheart Quilt by drsao
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Tomorrow is the LAST BIRTH OF A SAMPLER CLASS and I really really really wanted to get the top completed BEFORE class……but Cuddles kept impeding progress (she decided that SLEEPING on the pieces was a grand idea!)  How long can a cat nap last anyway?

I hung in there and I am PLEASED TO SAY that as of a few minutes ago, my BIRTH OF A SAMPLER QUILT TOP is finished - and it was indeed a nine-month project - and yes, it shared some similarities to labor…..LOL.  Actually I am so excited that I am inclined to send myself flowers (isn’t that what happens when you give birth?)

It is a HUMONGOUS BABY - 112″ x 112″ - but she is beautiful (all mother’s say this!) and I love the VINTAGE HOLIDAY fabrics.  Thanks to Susan of QUILTER’S CORNER for selecting the fabric for me (every time I see the little lavendar 1 1/2″ squares I will think of her….and thanks to Sherry Whitfield for designing the quilt and for teaching the class.

This is a close up of the corner…. 

While on the subject of GIVING BIRTH, a cute little mother finch hatched some baby birds in our hanging fern!  I think she had FOUR babies!  You can see her “purple/red” head poking out of the nest!

Now, don’t I wish the “good fairies” would sneak in during the night and sew together the pieces for the back of the Birth of a Sampler quilt!   When I get to this part I always “THINK” about HIRING someone to put the back together for me or put the binding on for me…..and then I think about how much that would cost……and in the end, I rally! 

Tags: Birth of a Sampler Quilt, Life Comments by drsao
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Singer Featherweight 221

I am really excited - on July 20 - I am getting a Singer Featherweight 221 - all the way from England from Graham Forsdyke (who I understand is the King of the FW and of the antique world - thank you, Peggy, for that insight!)  I have been wanting a little sewing machine to take to classes and on retreats…….and I considered a little green HELLO KITTY Janome - but then I decided that I really wanted a Singer Featherweight.  However, I was a bit reluctant to buy one on E-bay!  At the VIRGINIA SCRAPPERS Sew-In on Saturday I just happened to be sitting by Peggy (there are no accidents in this life) and Mr. Forsdyke had sent her one for someone who never claimed it.  AND…the rest is HISTORY!   I will post a picture when I get it!  TOO MUCH FUN!  Here is a little blurb from the internet.

Singer Featherweight Portables

I think it will look something like this!

by Carolyn M Ybarra
ISMACS News
Issue 27

SLEEK AND shiny with a simple, elegant, and compact design, the Singer 221 - nicknamed “Featherweight” - is the semi-precious jewel of the sewing machine world.

For those who collect toy machines, it’s too big, weighing in at 11 lbs 1 oz. (5.0 kg). For those who collect antiques, it’s too new, having been manufactured in the United States between 1933 and 1964 (with the white-colored 221K version made in Britain from 1963-68). For modern seamstresses, it’s too basic, sewing only a straight stitch without even a reverse setting on early models.

Even during the years of its manufacture it was sometimes ignored by the sewing public, as looking too much like a toy, and being too expensive for depression-era and wartime pocketbooks.

For modern-day quilters, the Singer Featherweight, like the baby bear’s bed in Goldilocks, is “just right”.

Quilt tops are pieced together from small scraps of fabric using quarter-inch seam allowances. Quilters, therefore, value a machine that can sew a straight lock stitch without the slight zig-zag that characterizes the straight stitch on most modern machines.

The featherweight, although constructed of aluminum and thus very lightweight, runs smoothly and quietly due to its well-balanced rotary-hook mechanism. This lightweight machine that comes with its own handy case (resembling and roughly the size of an old-fashioned cosmetics case or record case) is also valued for its portability, by those who attend classes and conferences with fellow quilters around the world.

Finally, its sleekness, elegance, and mechanical simplicity appeals to the design sense of women and men who appreciate the beauty of color, line, and texture in their quilts. Now collectors are starting to take notice, too.

Star Struck - GETTING READY FOR MY BONNIE HUNTER CLASS

I decided to make my Star Struck Quilt (in Bonnie Hunter’s Class August 2 in Williamsburg, VA) using my leftover stash of VINTAGE HOLIDAY fabric - and since the pattern is on the Quiltville.com website, I went ahead and made a couple of blocks.  Yes, I think I am going to like this.  I am having TOO MUCH FUN!

Rearranging Furniture

Then, I got this URGE to rearrange my sewing area - sometimes the MOVING FURNITURE BUG just bites me!  So here is my sewing and cutting area - it is almost like having a new room!  Isn’t it amazing what moving a bit of furniture around can do for your spirits!  Seriously, this really made me happy!

TOO MUCH FUN!

PINEAPPLE CRUSH MYSTERY QUILT

Inspired by my “new” work area, I decided to start sewing together the blocks for my PINEAPPLE CRUSH MYSTERY QUILT (my Orange Crush is at the long arm quilters already.)

And of course Cuddles tried her best to help!  She actually gets BETWEEN me and my sewing - in fact she just sits herself right smack dab on my sewing machine!  You can see how I actually accidentally sewed some of her tail fur into one of my quilt blocks!  She just APPEARS out of no where!

SHOPPING

Since I was having so much fun, I decided to expand my fun with a little shopping - so I went to The Quilter’s Corner to get my BLOCK OF THE MONTH pattern and fabric!  I will have fun making this - maybe later tonight!

ANTIQUES - ONE OF MY FAVORITE THINGS

Since I was ALREADY OUT SHOPPING and having TOO MUCH FUN I decided to stop by a cute little MIDLOTHIAN ANTIQUE MALL - very near the quilt store!  And yes, I found treasures…..a basket, refrigerator jar, and fabric! 

I just HAD to have this cute little basket to keep my bargello strips organized in (I absolutely LOVE BASKETS - it is on my LIST OF FAVORITE THINGS!)

And definitely on my LIST OF FAVORITE THINGS is old refrigerator jars.  Before Tupperware - people used to store leftovers in these.  I use them for my sewing supplies….and this latest one is to store my pincushion in (since CUDDLES takes the pins out of my pincushion and carries them all over the house - I figured that this would be the pefect solution!)

When I saw this fabric, I just had to buy it…..

I just KNEW that I would think of something to do with it!

Birth of a Sampler - LAST BORDER - Corner Pieces

My last project today was to make the four corner pieces for the final border on my BIRTH OF A SAMPLER QUILT……each block is 20″ square!

All of the excitement was just TOO MUCH FUN for Cuddles - she fell asleep on my bargello strip!  I guess I will have to work on something else!  :) 

TTFN and HAPPY BIRTHDAY AMERICA -

have a happy and safe 4th of July everyone!

Tags: Birth of a Sampler Quilt, Cats and Dogs Furry People, Furry People, My Favorite Things, Pineapple Crush Mystery Quilt, Singer 221 Featherweight, Star Struck Quilt by drsao
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Our nine months are almost up for our BIRTH OF A SAMPLER QUILT (class taught by Sherry Whitfield at “The Quilter’s Corner.”   Sherry designed this - and I am pretty impressed.  

I must say that I was a bit apprehensive about making a 20 inch bargello border…..but I plunged right in.   It takes eleven 2 1/2 inch strips each of ten fabrics……this is going to be a spectacular (and very large) quilt!

I think I had strips of fabric draped across every chair in sight!  It took awhile to get all of these strips sewn together - making sure that the seams were all going in the same direction!  Actually it was pretty easy - but at the same time it was not really exciting…..lots of sewing in a straight line…..I am afraid to do the math……..11 x 10…..x (this is hard on the brain!)  It is better not to count!  AND….it helps to have TIVO!!

After cutting all of the pieces into different widths it was time to sew - dropping each new column down by 1/2 block.  I was so excited to get one “wave” finished!  And then two…..

And in between Grandangel Sarah’s swim meet and practice, and Vacation Bible School, I managed to get one side of the barbello border on….THREE CHEERS!!!!!!!  I really like it.  One down - three sides to go.  Then I make four large star corners - and it is a quilt!!!!  :)

Tags: Birth of a Sampler Quilt, Quilts in Progress by drsao
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The DANCE RECITALS (one at 3 and a second at 7 pm)  today were wonderful (and as one might have already surmised, I MIGHT not be the most objective person in the world to have an opinion!)  In fact I am such a SAP that I cry every time my grandangels dance (yes at tech rehearsal, dress rehearsal and then AGAIN for the real thing…..I just cry when I am happy - and yes, it is a tad bit embarrassing!)

Grandangel Leanna (12) danced to VISTA FROM A CAR WINDOW - a modern dance done barefoot.  I have also included a picture of all of the girls in her group.

Sarah (8) was in three dances.  The first was an IRISH DANCE - St. Patrick’s Day Parade (I LOVE IRISH DANCING!)  I love their green velvet dresses!

Sarah also took jazz this year - and their dance was YELLOW TAXI  CAB!  Sister Leanna has claimed the taxi-cab outfit for her Halloween costume next year!  (Even though Leanna is 12 and Sarah is 8 they are very similar in size.)

Sarah’s last dance was ballet to CHINA TOWN.  Sarah was so excited that she got to keep the fan!  Isn’t it fabulous to get so happy about little things in life!  :)  Sarah says this will be her Halloween costume next year! 

Lilies

I just HAD to share more pictures of my MIRACLE LILIES from QVC……even more are in bloom.

I can hardly believe these humongous blooms - they are almost as large as Nanna’s face….and I had to snap this picture on our way to the beauty shop this morning to put Nanna’s hair in a French braid for the recital.

These lilies from Roberta’s Farms (QVC) are almost as TALL AS SARAH!