My First Quilt

31 October 2012

I finally finished my first quilt. I call it my "learning" quilt. It would never bear close scrutiny as far as workmanship, but I sure learned a lot making it — and I enjoyed the process. I started this quilt 3 1/2 years ago, but, then, my sewing machine broke, and we moved, and. . . it took a long time to return to finish it. Originally, my intention was to keep track of how much all the materials cost as well as how much time I put into making it. But, that didn't really happen. (My guess is that it took about 35 - 40 hours to make it. Not sure of the cost.)
I'm getting it ready to put in the mail today — am giving it to my oldest son.
It's an individual/lap quilt rather than a bed-sized one. I backed it with a brown flannel, so it would feel warmer (since he lives in Chicago). Also, he's color blind, especially red/green — so I used orange (the added yellow helps him see it better) and all the greens in it have a lot of yellow in them as well. The colors are not so "electric" as they appear in this photo, though. They're more autumn-like. I hope he'll enjoy it.

Now, to finish the other two quilts I've started at various times!!

Painting of Bob

4 August 2012

I painted a pic of Bob to take to our family beach reunion. It was fun, but, if I were ever to do another like this, I'd do more with the background. The spatter painting looks a bit weak.

Enjoying my new Bernina

8 June 2012

Last month I got my new Bernina 730 sewing machine! It's fabulous and I have lots of projects planned in the months ahead.
For years and years I have found myself being frustrated with some aspects of sewing and I finally realized that it was because I was trying to do things with my old machines that they were never designed to do. This machine does it all. I'm elated to own it. :-)
Here are pics of some burp cloths and receiving blankets I embroidered for my daughter, Susy. (She's expecting a baby boy in just a few days.)

Heather's Painting

29 May 2012 Heather said she really liked the little painting I did for Isabelle at Christmas, so, for her birthday, I did one like it in a much larger size. She seems happy with it.