Using antique quilt blocks and other projects

Artist and fabric designer, Kaffe Fassett likes to incorporate antique blocks with his wonderful fabrics as backgrounds. Here, he adds some hexagon pieced "Grandmother's Flower Garden" blocks onto a busy background fabric.

When Mother moved in with us, she brought a lot of sewing items, including a basket of blocks which her mother had pieced. After seeing what Kaffe did, I got her started on appliquing the blocks in a similar manner onto a green print background. She sewed them on using a blanket stitch with embroidery floss in various colors. I wish I had taken a photo of her working on this, but I didn't.....

 

Here is the family quilt top, inspired by Kaffe's quilt.

 

Now it has a border of pale green paisley fabric............

 

 

.......and I am quilting it with utility quilting stitches using #8 perle cotton.

To condition the perle cotton and help it to glide through the fabric, I use Thread Heaven....which comes with sparkles on top and is in a little blue box!

******************************

Other projects this week.....the dreamsicle quilt for a guild member,

Two more blocks arrived in the mail today and are now in the quilt top! (sunbonnet sue and the string pieced with pumpkins). Many guild members have made these blocks and I have a volunteer with a long arm machine who will quilt it for us!

I should soon be finished with piecing this Scrappy mountain majesty quilt ( pattern available, free on Quiltville blog).....

And I have a kit for this top also....."Lorna Doone " from Glorious Color fabrics (from a book by Kaffe Fassett).

I just love the aqua and the florals!

 

Tired of the same old fashion (or non-fashion) statement

Slacks, jeans, t-shirts, sweatshirts......not too exciting......one day I saw this....

So colorful! The cover of a magazine about textiles, "SELVEDGE"!

I found out that this was the work of designer Gudrun Sjoden, a Swedish designer.

[This is sort of another take on the "granny chic" I wrote about last week!]

Take a look...

I was intrigued enough to place an order....the service was almost instant! I ordered tights with red dots and a floaty smock in indigo blue (good color!).

I wasn't sure if I should "go for it"....but jumped in, wore it to work with a turtleneck and lightweight natural colored linen skirt which acts like a slip. for work I added purple Mary Jane shoes.......got lots of compliments...I thought surely, Mr. P would hate it......but he liked the look!

He even wanted to take my photo! Here I am with the red cowgirl boots too....(and my granny afghan on the rocker behind me, ha!)

This look is also good with my red clogs, of course!

Sometimes, a bit of fun works!!!!

Now back to my yoga pants and thermal underwear....it is 16 degrees out there today! Off to work!

 

What to serve with......

Alaska smoked salmon?

 

We always find some smoked salmon around the holidays.

Open the box and here is the package.....

Open the packaged salmon and place in a pan with fresh dill weed. It will warm on the back of the stove, while everything else cooks.

Mushroom soup, using a recipe called "Hungarian Mushroom Soup"....

Sliced cucumbers marinated in Hendrickson's Original salad dressing.

 

Potatoes sliced and ready to bake with herbs and butter.....

It was delicious, and the favors seemed to compliment each other!

********************

While enjoying our feast, we watched these 2 DVDs of delightful movies which predated the Doc Martin TV series. From our wonderful local library!

 

Gray days bright fabrics!

Here are blocks I am collecting from friends to make a quilt for another friend, who loves orange!

It is exciting to see these come together, to make a keepsake for this very special lady!

I am watching the BBC show "The Land Girls" (wonderful, set in the British Countryside during WWII ) and knitting these socks which I starts last year.

 

Meanwhile, Lisa at "A Whimsical Bohemian" blog has a bowl which she is filling with hearts made by various artists! Mine is now ready to send her way....

This is the front of the fabric "quilt" heart.....a mended heart.....

this is the back which uses newsprint/ dictionary fabric centering the word, "Memory". Free motion quilted with red fleece for batting. It was fun!

back to the land girls now.....(I have been good and did 45 minutes of yoga with our local teacher on video!)

 

Snowy Sunday

 

16 degrees F, the temperature is dropping and it is still snowing, lightly. St. Francis out in the weather, above, doesn't seem to mind!

Our neighborhood is quiet!

Mr. P just left to go help a neighbor dig his car out, after he got stuck!... a favorite sport around here

A good day for tea drinking, and reading....

And playing with snowflakes! These were made last year by my SIL, Melody! Now going into my Smash book

I just finished knitting this strawberry tea cozy.....now to enjoy a last day of Christmas treats!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Since the Christmas tree and its cheerful lights are being put away, these little lighted branches help dispell the gloom of dark winter days! Not costly, they have LED light bulbs and the branches are flexible!

 

Looking at knitted tea cozies! My next project? Granny Chic!

Yesterday, I ran across this book which looks delightful!

This, along with cold winter days causes me to think about making a tea cozy. Crocheted like the one above?...., or knitted????
These tea cozy are images for inspiration.....

Some free patterns are available on the Internet. I will probably do the one below, without the flowers!

So cute for the season!

And finally, the cutest ever....following the current cupcake craze...

*********************************************************************************
More on "granny chic"......for a dramatic, glamorous granny.....a jeweled spider!
(Found on Amazon )

Easy, peasy, not glamorous, frocks.......from Dottie Angel....who has an ETSY shop, a blog and a book...

These soft dresses tempt me, speak to my heart, which loves retro, cozy domesticity!!!! I almost want to start sewing some from my fabric stash!
But, this is a look I have tried before....here, when grandaughter Lilia was playing with her rain gear....Mr. P snapped this great photo....with granny-aproned Grandma Lila looking on....

Is this the fashion statement I want to project?......hmmm
Reality vs. fantasy, LOL!!!
But I might still read the book!

And I have made a crocheted granny square afghan!

and I finished a cardigan from Madelinetosh DK wool in "Esoteric" (color way) which I started in the Denver Airport on a layover....Sunday Dec. 1st. For my beautiful daughter-in-law who lives in all cold climate...now off to mail it, and the alpaca brown scarf for my son!