What do you get for a 100th birthday party gift??

Well, my GREAT grandmother turns 100 next Monday. And she still has a driver's license... Which amazes me!!! Obviously I've got some longevity genes!!! I was wracking my brain to come up with something to give to a woman who really needs nothing.. My first thought, a cake that says "Way to make it over TWO hills!" seemed, perhaps, not the most fitting joke for her (however if I make it to 100, PLEASE get me a cake that says this, I find it hilarious!) So then I recalled hearing a story of how when my grandfather (her son) was young, he was in bed sick for a week. So she put him to work embroidering kitchen towels. I have inherited a stack of these towels, and while I'm not sure they are the specific ones he worked on, I have since learned that every year (including last year) my great grandmother has diligently embroidered a set of Days of the Week kitchen towels for her annual church auction. HOORAY a great gift plan emerges!!! So in the stack of inherited towels I found 1 complete set, and its soo cute, little Dutch girls doing their weekly chores. I just so happened to have a set of 4 matching fat quarters and away I went tonight. I have the top done, now to do some machined-in-the-ditch quilting and bind w/a nice red border. (This last portion is a job for tomorrow-man) However here's the top as I'm too lazy to get my camera out AGAIN tomorrow nite when i'm all done ;o) And don't I have the cutest quilt holder with the big blue eyes??? She took one look at this and has requested I make HER one too... SIGH.

Dear Julia... hope this keeps you warm!!!

Here is the results of a quilt that was, in hindsite, way beyond my expertise level. Inset seams/LeMoyne Stars, what the hell was I thinking?!?! Well... I was thinking I wanted to make something "perfect" for one of my best friends, i.e. one of HER favorite blocks, doves in the window. So for her daughter's transition to twin bed-dom, I offered to make a quilt for the bed. I'd already made one for the newest addition to their family and since the girls share a room, I wanted to make the quilts match (fabric anyway...) Many google searches later, I found the pattern I wanted to reproduce. However, either the printing off on an inkjet or the actual instructions themselves are off... By enough that it makes a difference in overall size of quilt... Sigh... I even broke out some pythagorean theorem work to try to deduce just how much "off" it was... I settled for making all the diamonds 1/8" bigger to end up w/the 14" blocks. However, I didn't realize the sizing was off until after i'd already cut the squares and triangles?DOH>>> Oh well, after much groaning and complaining (sorry, Erin!!) I have a finished product that I'm actually not totally disappointed with... Just don't look too closely. HA!

Baby Pea Pod

I had the pleasure of creating this little cutie the last couple of weeks.  A friend of mine is due with Bebe #2 in April, and she was wanting this Baby Pea Pod to be made.  She showed me a picture of it that she had found on etsy.com and asked if I would be able to find yarn for it.  After a quick stop at what is becoming my favorite yarn shop, Crazy Girl Yarn Shop in Coralville, IA (thanks, C!), I found the "thick and thin spun" yarn, and then was asked if I would be willing/able to make it.  I thought the pea pod was CUTE, so I said I'd live to give it a go.  It worked up really quickly, and what's more, I learned a cool new technique that allowed me to do the entire thing on circular needs: Magic Loop.

All in all, a fun experience, and I can't wait to give it to my friend for her new baby... and well, I can't wait to meet the new baby either! 

erin

IKEA Fabric Bag

Over Christmas (which was late January for us), my sister-in-law, Claire, and I started discussing purses and bags and got on topic about how Claire was in need of a new one.  I was already perusing the etsy.com site, and ran across a purse made from an awesome IKEA fabric.  The purse on etsy.com was $42, but I knew I could make it a lot cheaper.

 

And, lo and behold, not five days after we discussed the purse, I would be driving through the Twin Cities, home of Minnesota's IKEA store.  Julia, Raven, and I dined at the IKEA cafeteria and then went on a hunt for the fabric.  I was delighted to find it and bought four yards... because I could.  :)  Ha!

The weekend before last, our Pella Area Quilt Guild held a retreat, and this was where I planned to make the purse.  I have experience in making bags and whatnot, but this time I chose to use a pattern, because I have zero confidence with zippers.  After a short time, I learned that I should have trusted my instincts and gone rogue.  But, I kept on with the pattern, and after a multitude of cursing, bang, and at one point, attacking a piece of fabric with scissors (no, literally attacking... it wasn't one of my finer moments), the purse was done.  It took a bit, but I was back to my jovial self a few hours later and was able to laugh about the experience for the rest of the weekend.

 

And, well... I think it turned out really great... so it was worth the effort that went into it.  And next time?  Well, next time I'm going to trust what I already know how to do.

erin