Needles and Pens

This past weekend, my two sisters and I got together for a marathon quilting session in hopes of completing the top for our mom's 80th birthday this December. All of the family members had (awesomely) personalized their 6-1/2" squares, so it was time to piece the blocks... working from this plan I had drawn up as a possible layout: After deciding our first choice of fabrics might be a bit too busy with all the decorative blocks, we ended up going with these: (If you knew our mom, that pink rose print practically screams her name.) We got busy right away on Saturday morning, cutting and prepping pieces for 35 blocks. My daughter, Kaitlin, helped out with the pressing (and yes, Kaitlin, if you're reading this, it was a LOT of help!) My sisters pinned and chain-pieced the 280 points onto the sashing units, while I started to assemble the blocks... Jan, please don't be mad at me for sharing this picture. (We're all a little camera shy. LoL) The first ...

Several years ago, I started a craft business, making and selling items for babies and children. One of my favorite patterns was for a baby bunting, quilted, lined in soft flannel and decorated with various types of ribbons and trim. When the business came to an end, only one bunting remained, and being one of my most favorites, I decided to keep it for a future grandchild -- or granddaughter, rather, as it was the pinkest, most frilly bunting of all. Now that my grandbaby-to-be has been confirmed a grand son , I thought it was time to pull out the pattern, dig through the stash, and make something a bit more boyish. Granted, it does have a few pink teddy bears on it, but I was really proud of myself for fighting the urge to go fabric shopping and just use what I had on hand. I only purchased the ribbon, ric-rac and buttons for trim, and I think they added just enough of a boyish touch. Coincidentally, the quilted teddy bear fabric was given to me by my mom, who once made a cute littl...

Yeah, I'm excited. Spent today at my mom and dad's house, vacuuming and rearranging the living room furniture... and I came home with a new toy! After months -- maybe years -- of debating about it, my mom decided to give me her sewing machine and cabinet today. It was a tough decision, as she used to do a lot of sewing, but she hasn't done any for several years now. Since I sew pretty-much-constantly, it'll get a lot more use here. And she says if she needs to do some mending or whatever, she can always come and do it at my house. ;o) Mom bought the cabinet about 35 years ago, when we lived in New Hampshire. I was about seven or eight years old. It still looks brand new. Here it is closed: And opened with the machine up: She bought the machine about twenty years ago, Singer's top-of-the-line model at the time, and one of their first electronic machines. Even at 20+ years old, it has loads more bells and whistles than my newer machine. My favorite feature, a wind-...