Spelling Bee - Progress 6

 

I have a car and an F now for my Spelling Bee quilt.  Was hoping to stitch up the Bee too, but I didn't get as much time as I thought I would at the machine.  Next time ...

Lori Holt's Sew By Row Cross Stitch

 Lori Holt's Sew By Row cross stitch is finished!!

I tried really hard to catch up and keep up with the Fat Quarter Shop's SAL for this pattern, and almost did except for those might sewing machines.  Boy, there is a lot of stitching in those!!  Actually, deceptively there was quite a bit of stitching in a number of the rows of this design, but definitely all worth it in the end.

I've been protecting this little spot on my wall since we redecorated in the autumn and am so chuffed to hang Sew By Row right beside my Stitching Nook where I can see it often beside these other two pretties too!

Spelling Bee - Progress 5

 

I managed a few more blocks for my Spelling Bee quilt in March.  

And these ones too.  

I have a few of the little picture blocks cut out for my next stitching session - very cute!

A, B, C

A    is for Awesome quilt by Lori Holt.

B    is for Beginning another project.

C    is for CT who "needs" this quilt ;-) even though she may not get it until she's 15!

Yes, I'm rifling my fabric boxes again for something new.  This is all my Lori Holt prints and similarly coloured/styled Riley Blake prints that were left over from my Happy Days BOM quilt.  Um, no, that quilt is not finished yet :-o  I've added a mix of low volumes to have a scrappier feel to the quilt background and to keep working at reducing my stash.  So the plan is to use mostly these fabrics, but I will dip into my general stash for greys and other bits I might need as this quilt progresses.

No sewing yet, but I made a start cutting. I did wonder at my sanity as I cut squares that were 1.5", 1" and even 0.75" in size! This is all of the cutting for the first row blocks, the sashings and the low volume inner scallop borders. There is still such a lot to cut, but I already know this will be a VERY long term project and that's ok.  I plan to enjoy this one - it's such a beautiful design and I know CT will love it - eventually!!

Spring Tulip Window Quilt

I have finally had a chance to use my Quilty Fun book to do more than just look through and swoon over. Yes, I actually made something from it!

It's not a very big something, admittedly, but it's made using this super cute Spring Tulip Pattern in Lori Holt's book.  Would you like to see what I made?

Ta da!

It's a mini spring tulip window quilt!  Are you wondering why this is a window quilt?  Let me explain.

Photo courtesy of Ikea website

Coming soon(ish) to our house for little Miss CT's enjoyment is the Ikea children's kitchen and well, it's a great little kitchen but it needs a bit of prettifying and some 'personality'.  So, I made a few fun kitchen accessories to brighten things up!

I stitched up a simple tea towel with pretty lace trim which is much too extravagant to ever touch a wet dish, but oh it's so pretty and was a perfect excuse to use some long stashed Lori Holt fabric.

Then, I had fun figuring out how to make some mini oven gloves and am quite proud of the results.  I'm really hoping Missy likes these because she is rather fond of my old, dingy pair. 

Of course, every little chef should have a reversible Lori Holt apron too, don't you agree?  My figuring out for the apron was a bit iffy, but I have since rectified the positioning of those ties so that they are right at the top of the apron sides. More haste, less speed the night I was stitching this, I think.

But, I digress. I have left you hanging about the window quilt, haven't I?

Well, along with the tea towel, oven gloves and apron, I wanted to hang something from that little rail you can see above the kitchen's sink and hob.  I considered simple little curtains, but making a mini quilt to hang there when there's already a rod in place, and when I have Lori Holt's book to inspire me, just seemed like a better solution to me.

So, yes, I have been a crazy lady in the Ikea store (and at one of our playgroups who have this kitchen) using a tape measure to record dimensions of rod widths, drop height and the space between the handles on the cupboards - you know, so that the oven gloves can hang there ;-) Gone too far, do you think?  (No need to answer, I already know.)

I used Lori's Spring Tulips to create a little quilt that is approx 25" x 10" and the plan is that it will hang over the rail in place of the intended utensils on their hooks.  (Funnily enough, I have decided against giving little Miss Tornado her own set of metal utensils and pots and pans with which to create even more 'symphonies' on my tiled kitchen floor every day - plastic all the way for us at this noisy phase of her life.  Do you like my optimism calling it a "phase"?)

I want the quilt to be a little backdrop for her kitchen, like looking out the window to see a little happy row of tulips!!  So, that's why it's a window quilt.  With me?

After the patchwork piecing, I kept the quilting to simple echo lines around the tulips and a little bit of stitch in the ditch around the borders.

I thought I'd show you the velcro tabs I made for hanging this mini quilt.  Once the little kitchen is built, the rod will be fixed in place and therefore not possible to pop out and slide through a normal hanging sleeve.  My solution was to make three fabric tabs and stitch velcro a quarter inch from the top and bottom of the inside of the tab piece.  Then, I hand stitched the tabs in place, catching a little bit of wadding in as I went (but not the front of the quilt) for added stability.

Can you see the line my hera marker made on that middle tab in the photo above?  That line is 1" closer to the bottom of the tab than the top of the tab.  It is the line at which I folded the tab and stitched it in place.  It allows an extra inch on the top part of the tab for the space taken up by the rod.

Do you see what I mean?  If you've made a hanging sleeve before you probably understand what it is I'm trying to explain.  I'm really happy with how these tabs worked out.  

Here's the quilt again, just because I like to look at it!  Happy Lori Holt and Riley Blake fabric in all its cuteness.  Now I just have to hope that I measured everything correctly and it all fits when the kitchen is assembled!

I wish I could see it all together now, but I'll try to take an update pic to share with you when the time comes.  For now, Mama Elf's job is done.

I'm also declaring this a finish for my FAL 2017 Quarter 4 list.

ETA - for pictures of the finished kitchen, click here.