Rhea's Memory Quilt

I adore making memory quilts.  Relationships are big to me and making a custom memory quilt with a new client is my very happy place.

 

Especially when there is a good story attached.

 



 

 

Sweet Rhea and her brother lost their dear mama not long ago and I had the honor of making a memory quilt for each of them.  Well, she insisted the brother came first and Rhea's will come next. 

Mama loved color and bright clothing so I thought it was appropriate to incorporate that into the quilt.  Knowing this was going to be for a man I wanted to keep it masculine as well. 

I went with the color spectrum/rainbow layout. 

The back is warm green flannel with some extra squares down the side. 

It was really nice to get to know Rhea and her family through this journey.  I'm excited that I can continue to work with her and make something a little bit different but with the same clothes (I kept the fronts for the brother and saved the back of each clothing piece for her.) 

Included in this memory quilt are swimsuits, leather handbag pieces, sweaters, pants, tshirts, dresses, and other clothing.  The textures are my favorite part.  Lycra, cotton, spandex, leather... it was so fun to touch.

Memory quilts always allow me the chance to slow down and think about family.  The client's family I'm working with as well as my own.  I create these with peace in my heart and a prayer on lips.  I try to be timely but can't help but slow down and take a pause every so often as I consider the lives that will be touched by this quilt. 

I do pray that it will bring comfort and peace to the memories of her.  Love and blessings to you and your families.

xoxo

Scenes of Summer

I was really excited to make a quilt for a local out of her sorority tshirts.  About 99% of the time I send the quilt in the mail and never get to see the recipient or their reaction to their new quilt.  Well this is one of those rare opportunities where I got to meet, plan, and give the finished quilt to the new owner.

I really liked the back with her sorority's... I wanna say... name?  Chapter?  Section? Grouping?  I don't have a clue what they're called.  Obviously I was not in the Greek scene back in the college days.  One extra drinking commitment would have probably killed me.

Taking the summer relaxation thing to a whole new level, Nino is really duding it up these days.  His new favorite word is "awesome" which is usually accompanied by the phrase "check it out, mama".  Yep.  My little dude is perfectly boyish.  We were able to cut the surfer hair when hubs went out of town but it didn't take the surfer out of the boy.

My garden!  It actually looks like a garden!  Last year was SUCH a bummer.  No rain, crazy heat, and a lazy gardener did not bode well for my little seedlings.  This year however we were pretty confident that it could only get better.  And it has!

Awesome, check it out!  haha.  I see a ton of tiny tomatoes right down there.  And the pole beans are actually growing up the poles!  I find it quite interesting when they do what they're supposed to do.  I mean, how the heck do seeds know that they are supposed to climb instead of bush out?  I realize that's like a 3-yr-old question, but you gotta admit it is rather amazing.

Even the dog is impressed.  Owen doesn't know what to think of me.  Even the compost was so awesome that a few zucchini plants sprang out of it.  Hello!  I will probably come to regret this soon as they are huge stinking plants that are taking over my sweet little carrots.

And finally it was (probably) our last Independence Day parade here.  We're thinking of selling the house and getting some land.  I mean, we can't let all this gardening prowess go to waste!  Where's my tractor?

Anyhoo, we updated the banner one (last?) time to reflect the 45 years our neighborhood parade has taken place.  The rain held off just long enough so that we could all come together to leisurely stroll down Braewick, wave to our fans, and jam our faces with a few cupcakes.  My parents came in town for the event and were not disappointed.  It's everything a small Americana parade should be.  Neighborly chatting, kids with 7 lollipops at a time, drippy watermelon chins, kids braving their new bikes without training wheels... There are even some super ambitious families who dress up as famous American heroes.  Oh it is all kinds of wonderful.  We're such suckers for these things that we'll probably come back for it next year.  I DO have sign responsibility, after all.

Wishing you a very happy summer.  Frankly I'm more of an autumn person myself.  The Ohio humidity and mosquitoes aren't so great.  So it's fun and all but I'll be in a better mood when the temperature eases back down to 70.

Once a month blogger

Well incase you can't tell... I'm totally in love with Instagram.  It's just so... insta.  So if you like seeing pictures of quilts and cute kids head on over to my page there.  Of course I'm thepincushion. 

 

So it's been a super wackadoodle fun beginning to the year.  I think I've done 15 quilts so far?  Yep that 's wackadoodle.  But thank goodness they've been really fun quilts to make! 

Here are some memory quilts for two little guys from their baby clothes + mom and dad's pajamas.  I chose the granny square quilt pattern for one and a rainbow for the other.  Seriously.  I love how they turned out. 

 

 

 

Thanks for the pic, Kate! 

After that my very best good friend asked me to make the bedding for her two girls.  A perfect change of direction of working with two little boys' quilts.  Yin and Yang!

We worked together to get ruffles, stripes, and that light flowy airy feel without being too juvenile.  I think they turned out well... let's hope the girlies do too.  Never made a ruffle quilt before.  I'm not gonna lie.  I loved it.  Ever since since having my own little girls to cohabit with I am like a 7 year old all over again.  Pink! Ruffles! Flowers! It looks like my daughter is my interior designer but nope, I pick out and hang every one of my "whimsical" art pieces.

I digress.

Sometimes this sewing thing (hobby? job? fun little time filler?) can feel like work.  Wait, let me rephrase that.  Almost never does this sewing thing feel like work.  Well maybe when I have to baste a quilt or something, but that's about it.  As long as no one asks for batik in their quilt, I'm good.  

But then there are times when the sewing thing is off the charts ridiculously fun.  Like making bedding for my friends' babes.  Or a client orders a wedding quilt and then comes back (after an appropriate amount of time!) for a baby quilt.  I am often pinching myself and thanking God I get to use needle and thread to grow relationships with people.  It's really the coolest thing out there.

Little Charlie was born a couple weeks ago and she is also getting a quilt chalk full of pink and girlie.  I really like working with bright, saturated colors.  Hopefully baby Charlie does too!  I often stumble into my sewing lair early in the morning with my cuppa Chai and need crazy bright fabric to help pry open the peepers. 

A series of quilts you will see a bunch of in the next few months are my stars quilts.  A very good friend adopted two precious girls and my gift to them were new quilts.  She already had two biological kids so quilts all around!  Honestly I hope to get them done before they go to college. 

Here is quilt one for the youngest.  I used all Sherbet Pips.  While assembling the quilt top I starting to question myself how in the world I came up with such a brilliant idea to give a 3 year old a mostly white quilt.  Yeah....

When I became a mother I made a bunch of weird rules in my head... no binkies, no TV, and NO commercially licsenced crap on or near my children. 
Ahem.

But if it's in the form of a quilt, it doesn't count, right?  Gramma got the jammies so that also doesn't count. 
And TV is ok if everyone in the house is sick and whiny. 
Binkies... I think I actually TRIED to force it in my middle daughters mouth to get her to stop crying.  She hated it and opted for 4+ years of finger sucking anyway.  Me and my orthodontist are going to be BFFs I'm guessing. 

So yeah, my son has a Spot book that he lovingly refers to as "Pots" and even (melt my heart right out of here!) "Potsies".  POTSIES!!  So when I saw little Potsies in fabric I got it and made it into a quilt in about 38 minutes.  I bought two book panels and put some batting in the middle.  No books, just quilts.  That's how I roll!

10 Busy Fingers

Hello there, dear friends.  We have been enjoying summer and getting outdoors as much as possible.  It's been wonderful.  The days have been hot and sunny and we've tried our best to get out for an hour or more each day.  Would it not be for Charlotte Mason I would not be as intentional as I am today.

 

 

 

 However, this picture-heavy post is mostly about quilts.  Big surprise there, right?  I have had a little time to create a patchwork quilt from oooold Amy Butler charm packs.  It's been on my to-do list for years.  Simple patchwork is always my favorite design.  I love to let the colors and fabrics stand alone and do their thing without getting involved too much.

The back is a little crazy but that's ok.  The front is rather boisterous as well.  I feel it is hip and modern and mixes all those great patterns and colors in a lovely random way.

I did randomly spaced straight line quilting and bound it in Kona Ash.  It's in the shop and feels good to take off my mental list too. 

Miss Amanda got married!  She had an incredible wedding with all things rustic and vintage and straight out of  my wildest dreams.  My wedding (almost 10 years ago!) was similar to this feel but she took it to a whole new level.  I really love the organic, easiness of this quilt.  Burlap, muslin, earth tones... just lovely.

For two years now I've been making my own bread.  Don't get excited.  It was in a breadmaker.  It took literally 5 minutes to assemble and BOOM.  Three hours later we smelled fresh bread.  Nice.  Until it died. The breadmaker, that is.

I have always wanted to make my own bread for the family...  really make it.  But for goodness sake, somebody always needs something.  Well this time I've just decided to go for it.  I do 4 loaves on the weekend and hope it gets us through the week.  So far so good. 

I play a little of this, knead a little dough, and life is good!  The rest of the world can wait while I indulge in some Caroline Ingalls livin'. 

Another quilt... my dear sweet friend wanted to make her boyfriend a tshirt quilt for Christmas.  Yes!  I love that quilts are acceptable gifts among youngins these days.  He must be quite a man to be ok with a quilt.  For Christmas.  There just seems to be so much stress and hoopla over electronics and stuff.  There's an aweful lot of hype out there around the holidays, ya know?  So, I'm extremely touched to have had a hand in this really great gift.

If I do say so myself.

My baby boy.  He's so cute. 

And bedding!  A baby girl is coming in October (not here!) and she is going to have a very wonderful nautical nursery.  I made a fitted crib sheet from Sarah Jane's new line Out to Sea. 

As well as a crib skirt from the same line.  A bumper and quilt will complete the look, but these two are so sweet.  I'm not really a nautical person, but these colors are just adorable and Sarah Jane's artwork is adorable as always.

That's it.  My 10 busy fingers have to make some dinner now.  Thanks for hanging out with me!  I hope you are well and enjoying the last summer days as well. 
xoxo

A Memorable Summer

Another memory is made!  This truly has been the summer of memory quilts which includes t-shirt quilts and (formerly) bedding quilts.  I really like this idea.  My client used some very pretty bedding from Pottery Barn Kids when her kiddo was born.  Now that she's all grown up, she sent me the bumpers, crib skirt, and matching sheet to make into a quilt. 

I like incorporating little details like the piping and bows from the bumper.

It's soft and sweet and will be headed out to the big girl very soon!

This memory quilt I showed you a peek of last time.  It contains the large bear claw patch that I disassembled and tried to include without hurting the hand stitching.  A couple of Sunbonnet Sues, great-grandpa's baby clothes, and various items from both sides of baby's family make one awesome memory. 

I used high loft batting to make it extra "heirloomy" and soft after quilting 1/2' on each side of every seam.

A hand-embroidered label with a great Bible verse really touched me.

What an honor to be a part of family heirlooms!  I am so incredibly thankful for the opportunity to meet so many nice people and hear their stories.  God has brought so many new friends into my life and it's fascinating to watch Him show up in the most unusual places. 

Make some memories of your own this summer!  The little things are so important.

Hotness

Wowee it's hot in here!  I love it, though.  I am a huge fan of all four God-given seasons in this part of the world.  I really do enjoy each and every day, no matter the weather here. 

This is the first year I've planted seeds in the garden.  We usually just put my FIL's leftover tomatoes and peppers in the ground.  But this year I'm very motivated for some reason...

It's been a few weeks now and I'm happy (and surprised!) that some seeds have actually sprouted and are really and truly growing! 

These hands have also been busy in the sewing room too.  My very creative client envisioned these eclectic colors and fabrics together.  It's so super amazing to me.  Orange, fuschia, aqua... so unique and so modern.

Because I'm expecting less than 10% of my seeds to grow into food this summer (I've learned low expectations are good), we've been hitting the pick-your-own farms like crazy.  We always love those activities anyway, but this year I've ventured into the canning and preserving world.

 Strawberry jam!  Yes, it's "only" freezer jam but dagummit I made it and stacked those lovely little jars in my freezer in less than an hour.  All during baby's morning nap.   Baby steps for me.  I've never really canned before, so this was a realistic first step.  Next year I'm jumping in completely.  Probably.

My goal this year was to get outside as much as possible.  Like all the time.  We live within walking distance to a Starbucks which has been a great motivater for the girls to learn about money.  The values of each coin, paper, and when it's gone... it's gone.  My oldest got about $8 from her Easter egg hunt and has been saving it all spring.  We taught her to tithe, save, and spend. 

Her younger sister, however, has decided her currency would be a little easier to accumulate.  PomPoms seem a lot easier to come by than shiny coins, so she tries to pay for her Starbucks cake pops with fluffy round balls.  It's great.  Anyway, she asked for a change purse and I happily obliged. 

I bought the purse frame at JoAnn for about $2.  The rest of the fabric and interfacing I had on hand (scraps).  I followed a tutorial (can't remember which one now) and had it done in a couple of hours.  

It's been a few weeks and she still hasn't lost it!  It's been filled with locust skin, acorns, pebbles, and some feathers, so I take that as a good sign she likes it.

Spring and Summer mean graduation which is good for tshirt quilts!  This one was so fun to make.  I love the colors and pattern.  It was such a unique creation and made for one of the nicest girls out there.  I used a high loft batting for the first time and was amazed at the super softness of the finished quilt.  It was hard to stop touching it.  I really loved the outcome. 

Tshirt quilt #2... another twin size quilt.  My friend here had a million gajillion shirts.  So many, infact, that I had to put some on the back.  It made for a very difficult FMQing but I was able to maneuver it and coax it into submission.  I used a gray Flea Market Fancy for the back, one of my all-time favorite prints.  I think it tied in the school colors well and added a little "girliness" to all the sporty shirts.

Currently I'm working in a wonderful memory quilt for an extraordinary client.  She's more like a dear friend that I've never met in person, but just one of those that I really connect with.  Five generations of garments are going to be included.  The quilt top is done and I'm so very excited to see it come together.

The patchwork squares are 5" each.  Then I came across this 8" old patchwork square in her stack.  Hmmm... I could not take the thought of hacking into this beautifully hand-sewn treasure from the baby's great-grandmother.   So I gently unpicked the stitches and made it into 4 mini blocks with some ivory sashing to bring it to 5".  Perfect.

More on this quilt as it comes together.  I'm so pleased with the progress and know that it will be well-loved by many people.  It is such an honor to make these special heirloom quilts.  Meeting people from all over the world and getting to know their stories is always such a blessing to me. 

From college graduates to new babies and expectant mothers (and grandmothers!), it is always a joy to connect with someone who loves quilts as much as I do and feels their power to link the past to the future. 

Enjoy these summer days.  My love and I have had some great times with the kiddies and especially alone with a little wine.  We could use a little rain but we sure do enjoy the sun.

Stay cool, my friends.