Do-It-Myself Day

I needed another folding table to use in my studio, so rather than heading out to the local CT store, I decided I would build my own, as I knew we had the components for it hanging out in the barn. 

I used a damaged door for the tabletop, choosing the good side for the top, but because it was hollow-core, I needed to glue some plywood supports to the underside where the legs are attached, as the door just has a thin skin on it, and wouldn't support the screws.  My husband helped by cutting out the plywood pieces, but I did the rest myself.  Of course, it took me awhile, as I had to re-drill a few of the holes due to wrong placement, but that's okay, I am satisfied that I did it mostly by myself!  It is a nice new sturdy work surface, but because it is hollow-core, there'll be no dancing on this table!

Christmas Spiral Runners

I finally found the photos I was looking for earlier!

Back in early December, I had spent a day or two whipping up some of these spiral table centerpieces for gifts.  They were a follow-up of some I made last winter, on a previous blog post.  I didn't get around to quilting these babies till Christmas Eve, which is often the case, because I didn't have any "plan B" gifts ready!  (Note to self: try harder to get gifts made earlier next year!)



 I quilted them all together as shown in the photo, with the same panto, called Holly Berries from Lorien Quilting.  I finished them with a narrow binding, alittle tricky around the 45-degree corners, but not too bad. 

I really like the highly-contrasted ones better, they were really effective.  Although the pink/green ones had "matching"  fabrics, they weren't as exciting, maybe because the green had a print on it.  Of course, having them side-by-side didn't help!

Quillow Project Done!

As I struggle to find images that I'm sure are somewhere on my computer, I guess one of my New Year's resolutions should be to GET ORGANIZED! 
Since Christmas, I've been trying to work on a few of my own projects and finish up some others. 
One that I recently completed is a quillow I made for a friend who is undergoing cancer therapy.


It is just a simple rail fence which I've inserted Scripture verses from a panel from Block Party Studios, called "the Comfort of Psalms".  (I have some for sale if anyone is interested).  There are some plain center strips that could be places where his friends and family can also sign or write a word of encouragement as well.
 










Well, it feels good to get that project done, and now to focus on the others!

Happy New Year!

Hello there!  Sorry it's been so long since I've "written"!   Hope you all had a wonderful holiday and are feeling refreshed and ready for another busy, joy-filled year!

December is a crazy month for me and I am now feeling rested up enough after Christmas to share some words and photos. 

 Karen brought me this wonderful Border Creek Mystery quilt top she had recently completed after participating in the mystery at a local quilt shop.  I think it is absolutely gorgeous and made with such happy colours!  She doubled her number of fabrics by reversing most of them, and it sure was effective! 



I wanted to accentuate the star formations with continuous curves in the star points, and I snuck a few leaf shapes in some of the in-between-star-points.  The appliques had some in-the-ditch stitching s well as some inside the applique itself, to ensure it stayed on through many washings.  In the "blank" background, I framed the medallions with some double lines, rather than using a background fill.  This was a moderately quilted piece.