Etsy mention!

Anda from Etsy purchased three Christmas stockings from my Etsy shop and she was gracious enough to mention them on Twitter! How nice was that? After the first mention I got a sale within the first half hour! Wow !

Aprons for the grandkids

I started out wanting to make new aprons for the grandkids. We've had plastic ones and fabric ones, but I though I would make something really cute and personal for each one. I saw cupcakes on a black background that I thought would be so cute, and I found other cute, food-themed fabrics but none I thought the grandson would like. There was the red chili peppers but didn't think the five year old would want it.

So that got me to thinking that I needed something else. Well, I have that huge stash of squares from the quilt so I decided to make alphabets and spell their names on plain cotton, canvas aprons.

It was easy once I got started. I ironed HeatnBond

on the backs of the fabric squares and then placed stencils on them, traced the letters and cut them out. Simple - right? Wrong

The letters were way too big! Back to tracing the letters. This time it was trial and error until I got the sizing right, but I'm pretty pleased with the way they turned out.

Now I was going to finish this off by doing a zig-zag stitch around each letter, but I think I may just leave them the way they are for right now because I'm anxious to move on to another project. And, anyway, the kids really like them the way they are.

Stockings are done!

Well the Christmas stockings are all finished. I'm very pleased with the way they turned out. I've been getting some hits on Etsy of people looking, but so far no buyers. Maybe it's just too soon to think Christmas. I think I need to go back and tweak the descriptions of some of the stockings, but that can wait another day. Now I'm thinking about another project. (Of course I haven't worked on Mom's quilt in a while - oh well.)

The next thing I want to do is make aprons for the grandkids. This will probably be the third set of aprons they've had, but I've never been happy with those. So, I'll let this idea swim around in my head for a bit longer and then I'll dive in and start them. I'll post pictures along the way. I can't wait too long to finish - the grandkids love to help me cook when they're here. And I love them helping me in the kitchen. The best thing we're making........memories.

Vintage stockings

The stockings have come out better than I'd hoped. I'm so pleased. The quilt patterns show beautifully on the stockings. Each one is slightly different from the last, but when hung, they will look great. I've listed the first one on my Etsy shop and hope to have the remaining seventeen finished and listed soon.

Another project.

It seems like before I get one project finished, I have an idea for the next one. I have a very old quilt that was made by my great aunt.

It has a lot of damage and deterioration from age and wear but I wanted to do something with it. I thought that I could cut it apart and make something. I decided on Christmas stockings. I wanted the design of the quilt to show through the pattern so I used a plastic shower curtain to make a clear pattern.

Then I just placed the clear pattern (which I traced off an old Christmas stocking) on the quilt and cut them out.

I'm pretty happy with the way they're turning out. I used unbleached muslin to make the backs so that it matches the original material my great aunt used. I had to do a bit of mending in spots, but it doesn't take away from the appearance of the quilts.

Now, I have to admit, I did have a little bit of help with this project as you can see by the following pictures. Molly is always there to lend her support.

Quilting

My mother used to make patchwork quilts for our family for as long as I can remember. Nothing fancy, just four inch squares sewed together in random order.

My kids and grand kids always liked to look at the various fabrics and remember what material came from which pajamas, dress, curtains or whatever, that "Big Grandma" made for them.

Well, mom had a quilt started that she isn't able to finish now due to her arthritis and macular degeneration so it's been passed down to me! Now I never would have thought that just sewing together four inch squares of fabric would be so difficult.

But I have a new appreciation for the time and handiwork my mother put into those quilts. But I'm having trouble matching up all those seams when I put the rows together! The good side, is that my mom wants to give these as Christmas gifts so I have some time to work on them. I can only hope that these quilts turn out as well as the ones my mom made.

Time flies

Boy time sure flies fast! I kept thinking I should blog today, but then before I knew it, it was weeks ago that I last posted. Well, let's see....the snow was a big story. I think all in all we had about 15 inches of snow. Can't wait for spring to be here. At least we've had a couple of warm (50) days so it's not too bad.

Apparently the blackberry jam was good. I haven't tried it yet, but those who have tried it have liked it. I think this summer we'll take the grandkids out to pick apples and let them make applesauce and then we can pick strawberries and make jam. I think they will love it.