Home Sweet Home

Just got home from a week long visit to see my family in California - the weather was perfect. I had a great time with everyone and we did some fun things together -  lots of antiquing, shopping, eating, visiting and game playing. But it's always good to come home again.

One day while I was there, we had nothing planned for the afternoon. I had fallen in love with the micro mini 9-patch that Janet made recently, so I rummaged through my mom's small fabric stash and found stuff that would work to make my own version - on the right in the picture below. After my mom tried to steal it from me, I decided she needed one of her own, so I stitched up another using different colors. The 9-patches measure 7/8" - teeny tiny - and the finished size is 7" square. Neither of them got quilted before I left - we'll each have to do that on our own.

I cut the strips 5/8" wide and used the narrow edge of presser foot on my mom's old machine for a seam allowance - probably 1/8". Fun and challenging at the same time!

Looking around my mom's house I decided to snap pictures of the little quilts I've made for her through the years - I'd forgotten about some of them. This bear's paw quilt in her bedroom is probably 12" square. I also made the bear on the shelf and the little pieced heart he is holding.

This Double Wedding Ring is displayed in an 8" x 10" wood frame under glass.  It was made by appliquing bias strips onto a muslin backing - then fussy cutting the floral hearts in the center of each ring and fusing them into place.

This twister quilt is probably 5" square.

And this tumbler quilt is 10" x 15" or so - boring using only two fabrics.

This scrappy zig zag quilt is about 6" square - not sure why I gave it to her since red is NOT her color! Displayed on a small wood easel with a piece of cardboard behind it so it won't flop around.

Another project we worked on while I was there was this cute little rocking chair my sister bought at the thrift store for her grand daughter - only $4.99! I forgot to take a before picture, but it was just natural wood with a light stain. A can of red spray paint and a new cushion made with lady bugs made it look brand new. We had planned to add some details on the back spindles using black & pink paint, but ran out of time before I left.

Below is a small 21" quilt I made before I left home - it's a Kim Diehl pattern - a variation on a bear's paw block. I have a grundle of 1-1/2" HSTs all ready to use when the need arises, so it worked up pretty quickly for me. Quilted with a 1" grid over the entire surface.

I'm anxious to get back to some of the things I was working on - and maybe start something new too! Happy Halloween!