Category Archives: Quisters (Quilt Sisters)

Back in the Saddle Again

Three weeks without a post! That’s the longest gap in the five years since I started this blog. What could possibly account for such a lapse? Two back-to-back trips followed by a fun-filled week of family visiting from out of town.

The first trip was to Paducah, Kentucky with my quilt group, the Quisters. Yes, Paducah — home of the National Quilt Museum and site of the American Quilter’s Society’s Quilt Week the last week of April. What a thrill! More on that in a future post.

Home for one day, then off to Central Oregon for a family reunion that my twin sister Diane and I were responsible for planning. It was a great success, with 83 family members coming from as far away as Texas, Virginia, and Florida. Most of the relatives are in Oregon, remaining in the state where our common ancestor settled after emigrating from Switzerland in the 1880s. This reunion has rekindled my interest in family geneaology, which I hope to pursue in between quilting projects. I could use a few more hours each day to accomplish that.

While my relatives were here last week, I squeezed in a bit of sewing time to make a sample block of the quilt design I have chosen for the Pine Needle Quilt Shop’s retreat on Hood Canal in June. I’m teaching two sessions back-to-back at a beautiful retreat center in Washington State.

As my regular readers know, I am a huge fan of the Quick Curve Ruler and the designs created by those talented sisters (Jenny, Helen, and Sherilyn) at Sew Kind of Wonderful. For the retreat I chose one of their free patterns that call for the QCR Mini Ruler. The pattern is called Mini Mod Tiles and looks like this:

Isn’t that fabulous? This wonderfully scrappy quilt was made and quilted by Jenny Pedigo of Sew Kind of Wonderful, finishing at about 34″ square. (Photo used with permission.)

My sample block, finishing at 10½” square, is made from one focus fabric, a Dena Fishbein print from the Painted Garden line for Free Spirit:


That fabric was in my stash just waiting to be picked for this project. I chose a vibrant yellow tone-on-tone print for the connector pieces and couldn’t resist the temptation to add a square of color in the center of the block. My background fabric is a white-on-white dot.

It’s good to be back in the saddle with blogging and sewing.

 

 

 

Posted in family, QCR Mini, Quick Curve Ruler, Quisters (Quilt Sisters), update | 8 Comments

Farewell 2016, Hello 2017

Here’s to 2017! Specifically, here’s to lots of sewing and quilting in 2017. I’m already looking forward to several projects — and not just new ones. There’s a stack of UFOs beckoning that I am actually enthusiastic about tackling. But not today.

On this fresh new day of the year, I’m looking back on what I created in 2016. Rather than going in chronological order, I’m grouping my finishes by categories.

This was the year of the Junior Billie Bag, the quintessential quilter’s tote designed by Billie Mahorney. I made a bag for myself . . .

dawns-jr-billie-bag-2016

. . . and one for my friend Deborah . . .

Debeorah's JBB other sideDeborah's JBB one side
. . . and one for my friend Miriam:

mirs-jbb-1-800mirs-jbb-3-800
Next category: baby quilts. This is the first of two incorporating a charming giraffe-themed fabric panel:

Abe's quilt
Abraham’s Quilt, 40″ x 49″ (2016)

Here’s the second one, using the same fabrics in a slightly different setting:

Malachi's quilt 1.2016
Malachi’s Quilt, 41″ Square (2016)

I didn’t use a pattern for these quilts, preferring to play with simple shapes (squares and rectangles) so that the giraffes on the fabric panels would be the focal point.

My third baby quilt of the year was this one using the pattern Just Can’t Cut It from All Washed Up Quilts:

stefans-quilt
Stefan’s Quilt, 46″ Square (2016)

All three were quilted by longarmer Sherry Wadley.

All by itself in the mini quilt category is Ring Toss, based on the pattern Mini Rings by Sew Kind of Wonderful:

Coco's quilt
Ring Toss, 32″ Square (2016)

Mini Rings was quilted by Karlee Sandell of SewInspired2Day. Oh, and that’s our new rescue kitty Princess Cordelia (Coco for short).

Lap quilts is the next category. Once again I used a Sew Kind of Wonderful design, adapting the pattern Chic Diamonds into this quilt I named Dragonfly Kisses:

dragonfly-kisses-dh-aug-2016

It was quilted by Sherry Wadley.

The next quilt, Where It’s @, was started in July in a class with Karla Alexander of Saginaw Street Quilts. It’s based on her pattern Rewind. I really stepped outside my comfort zone with this quilt, and I absolutely love the result:

where-its-recropped
Where It’s @, 57″ x 72″ (2016)

The last quilt in this category is Stella by Starlight, a “kaleido-spinner” using the Spinners block by Heather Peterson of Anka’s Treasures:

stella-bound-front
Stella by Starlight, 51½” x 71″ (2016)

I call it a “kaleido-spinner” because the six equilateral triangles in each block were cut from identical repeats of the focus fabric, creating a kaleidoscope effect of sorts. The four small hexagon blocks are true kaleidoscope blocks.

Both Where It’s @ and Stella by Starlight were quilted by Karlee Sandell.

The next category is runners, both bed and table. I made one of each, using the same focus fabric in each (Wander by Joel Dewberry) and the same block design (Spinners by Anka’s Treasures) with completely different outcomes. Here is WanderLust I, the king size bed runner made with five blocks:

WanderLust complete
WanderLust I, 20″ x 88″ (2016)

I liked the focus fabric so much I made the bed runner reversible:

WanderLust back and front

It was quilted by Coleen Barnhardt of the Quilted Thistle.

Here is the same focus fabric made into WanderLust II, a “kaleido-spinner” runner converted into a wall hanging:

wanderlust-2
WanderLust II, 20″ x 53″ (2016)

This was quilted by Debbie Scroggy of All Quilted LLC.

The final category is a bit of a hodgepodge. I made a quilted cover for my stepmother’s new iPad Pro . . .

ipad-pro-cover-with-straps-from-back-to-front

. . . and a cardholder for her bridge hands:

2016-09-28-14-43-32
For my friend and fellow Quister (Quilt Sister) Vickie I made an iron caddy that doubles as a pressing mat . . .

iron-caddy-3
iron-caddy-2
. . . plus a matching 4″ x 4″ fabric box that she can use as a threadcatcher:

4x4-fabric-box
For myself I made some accessories to match my Junior Billie Bag: a rotary cutter coat made from my tutorial . . .

rotary cutter cut

. . . and a scissors case . . .

scissors-case-3
. . . and a sewing caddy that sits upright in a Lucite stand:

caddy-open
A 4″ x 4″ fabric box (yes, it’s a threadcatcher) completes the ensemble:

ensemble-2

dawns-jr-billie-bag-2016

As you have surmised, I’m crazy in love with that fabric line (Paradise by Alisse Coulter for Camelot Cottons). I expect you’ll see more of it in 2017, as I bought a lot when it was released a couple years ago.

I’m sending a shout out to the talented longarm quilters who transformed my 2016 quilt tops into beautiful quilts — Coleen Barnhardt, Karlee Sandell, Debbie Scroggy, and Sherry Wadley — and to you, my loyal blog readers, for your continuing interest and support of First Light Designs.

A toast to you all on this first day of 2017!

 

 

 

Posted in 4-Patch Wonder, baby quilt, bed runners, Billie Bag, cats, faux-kaleido quilts, hexagons, iPad cover, iron caddy, Junior Billie Bag, kaleido-spinner, kaleidoscope quilts, QCR Mini, Quick Curve Ruler, Quilter's Affair, Quisters (Quilt Sisters), rotary cutter case, sewing tool caddy, tote bags, update, wall hanging, wonky Greek key | 7 Comments

Mystery Birthday Gift

Do you have any idea what this is?

iron-caddy-1
I’ll give you a hint. It measures about 19″ x 25″ and folds into a three dimensional object that is both functional and pretty.

Once I show you the other side, you’ll have a better idea:

iron-caddy-2

That gray fabric is a treated heat resistant fabric commonly used on ironing board covers. Aha. So this is a portable ironing surface, right? Yes, but that’s not all. Look what it becomes when folded just so:

iron-caddy-3

It’s an iron caddy. How cute is that? Not to mention practical. It’s great for transporting a still-warm iron that was used in a quilt class.

The pattern is by Sisters’ Common Thread. I made one for myself three years ago with a few modifications that I wrote about here. My good friend and fellow Quister (Quilt Sister) Vickie admired mine and asked if I might make one for her birthday this year. Why yes, I might!

Since Vickie’s favorite color is purple, I chose fabrics from the purple colorway of Benartex and Kanvas Studio’s Dance of the Dragonfly line.

I also made a little 4″ x 4″ fabric box to go with Vickie’s iron caddy:

4x4-fabric-box

Here is the matched set:

iron-caddy-and-box-2

Don’t they look good together?

Later this week I’m celebrating Vickie’s birthday with my fellow Quisters. Sure hope she likes her present!

 

 

 

Posted in iron caddy, Quisters (Quilt Sisters), update | 6 Comments

Quilting up a Storm

I wish I could say that I have been quilting up a storm — but no, that happens to be the name of the raffle quilt I didn’t win:

Quilting Up a Storm OCQG raffle quilt 2016
Quilting Up a Storm ( 51½” x 66½”), made by members of the OCQG

Isn’t it a beauty? It was made by  members of the Oregon Coastal Quilters Guild, inspired by the artwork of Dennis McGregor. The quilt was on display for the two full days of the guild’s 26th annual quilt show, Quilts by the Sea, held earlier this month in Newport, Oregon.

The next best thing to winning the raffle quilt was admiring it in person, along with the 235 or so other quilts on display at the show. Here are a few of the ones that caught my eye:

For Kennedy, made by Cindy McEntee and quilted by Lisa Taylor:

For Kennedy made by Cindy McEntee quilted by Lisa Taylor
Flower Baskets, made and hand-quilted by Toni Brodie:

Flower Baskets by Toni Brodie
Mistletoe & Holly, made and quilted by Deborah Cagle:

Mistletoe & Holly made and quilted by Deborah Cagle Salem ORDeborah is one of my fellow Quisters (Quilt Sisters). She made this quilt as a gift for our friend Peggy, also a Quister, and then made a second version for herself — all in the space of one year!

This quilt, Thirty-Something Shades of Red, was made by Velma Freudenthal, the guild’s featured quilter:

Thirty-Something Shades of Red by featured quilter
Endless Chain, also made by Velma Freudenthal:

Endless Chain by featured quilter
Prairie Sweets, made by Nancy Terhaar and quilted by Lisa Taylor:

Prairie Sweets by Nancy Terhaar quilted by Lisa Taylor
Roses are Red . . . and White, made by Nan Scott and quilted by Lisa Taylor:

Roses are Red . . . and White by Nan Scott quilted by Lisa Taylor

Detail of Roses are Red . . . and White:

quilt shows Sisters and Newport 2016 182
Prints Charming
, made and quilted by Jean Amundson:

Prints Charming by Jean Amundson
Detail of Prints Charming:

detail of Prints Charming by Jean Amundson


Koi in the Garden
, made by Sue Clark and quilted by Lisa Taylor:

Koi in the Garden made by Sue Clark quilted by Lisa Taylor


Gennifer Flowers
, made by Nancy Terhaar and quilted by Lisa Taylor:

Gennifer Flowers by Nancy Terhaar


Soldier’s Waltz
, made by Maureen Gallant and quilted by Lisa Taylor:

Soldiers Waltz by Barbara Gallant quilted by Lisa Taylor
Detail of quilting on Soldier’s Waltz:

Soldiers Waltz by Barbara Gallant detail of quilting by Lisa Taylor


Star, 
also made by Maureen Gallant and quilted by Lisa Taylor:

Star by Maureen Gallant quilted by Lisa Taylor

Carpenter’s Square
, made by Judy McCoy and quilted by Jennifer Rinehart:

Carpenter's Square by Judy McCoy quilted by Jennifer Rinehart

View from the Lighthouse
, made by Jacque VanDamme and quilted by Cindy Young:

The View from the Lighthouse by Jacque VanDamme quilted by Cindy YoungDid you recognize the lighthouse in the center of the quilt? It’s the same panel by Dennis McGregor used in the Oregon Coastal Quilters Guild’s raffle quilt. The original painting was commissioned by the guild for its 25th anniversary show last year.

The guild had a display of mini quilts that included these charming ones:

wall of mini quilts OCQG Aug 2016
Here’s a close-up of Flower Pot, made by Lorna Myers:

Flower Pot by Lorna Myers (mini)
Rounding out this post are a few more of the quilts I liked:

Breaking Amish, made by Marge Hoyt and quilted by Lisa Taylor:

Breaking Amish by Marge Hoyt quilted by Lisa Taylor


My Butterfly Collection
, made by Betty Wilson:

My Butterfly Collection by Betty Wilson


Ring of Fire
, made and quilted by Linda MacKown:

Ring of Fire by Linda MacKown
and Royal Chanticleer, made and quilted (and beautifully embellished) by Linda MacKown:

Royal Chanticleer made, quilted, embellished by Linda MacKown
It was a terrific show, beautifully organized and presented, and my Quisters and I enjoyed our brief getaway to the Oregon Coast. I have a feeling this will become an annual event.

 

 

 

Posted in Quisters (Quilt Sisters), update | 10 Comments

Short Seattle Sojourn

The Dear Husband and I got back yesterday from a three-day trip to Seattle, occasioned by the Detroit Tigers coming to town to play the Seattle Mariners in a three-game stand. The DH, a Michigander by birth, roots for the Tigers. I root for the Mariners, but both of us appreciate a good play in baseball, regardless of which side makes it.

We boarded Amtrak in Portland Monday morning for the relaxing 3½-hour train ride to Seattle’s King Street Station. It’s been three years since the grand waiting room in King Street Station was restored to its original 1906 glory but I never tire of taking in the view:

Seattle King St Station aug 2016
Here’s a close-up of the ornamental plaster ceiling . . .

Seattle King St Station ornamental plaster ceiling aug 2016
. . . and the fluted Corinthian columns:

Seattle King St Station fluted Corinthian column aug 2016
Did you happen to notice the glass mosaic tiles on the column in the picture above? That design on the edge of the column would make a striking quilt block, don’t you think?

Seattle King St Station tile detail aug 2016If the design shows up on a quilt of mine, you’ll know where I got the inspiration.

More quilt inspiration can be found at Union Station, right next door to King Street Station. Originally a train station, the building was restored about 15 years ago after sitting empty for three decades. It’s now the headquarters of Sound Transit, providing express bus, commuter rail, and light rail service in the region, but the grand hall can be rented out for weddings and other events:

Seattle Union Station interior aug 2016
What about that quilty inspiration? Look no farther than your feet:

Seattle Union Station tile floor detail aug 2016

Seattle inside Union Station aug 2016

On Tuesday we visited my best friend from college, who served us an elegant lunch in her gracious home. We were in a suburb of Seattle but I felt like we had stepped into a bistro in Provence:

Seattle lunch at sandy's in kirkland wa aug 2016
Here’s a look from the other side of the room:

Seattle lunch at sandy's in kirkland aug 2016
Isn’t that a beautifully set table? Sandy served an elegant cold spinach soup made from a Julia Child recipe. We sipped wine (Vouvray) and water from vintage glasses, which of course made them taste that much better. The roses on the table are from Sandy’s gorgeous garden.

No trip to Seattle would be complete without a stroll through Pike Place Market, so the DH and I did that on our last full day:

Seattle pike place mkt aug 2016

Seattle pike place market fish aug 2016

Seattle pike place mkt produce aug 2016

Seattle pike place mkt flowers aug 2016
I always make it a point to visit Undercover Quilts, which recently moved to a new location at the north end of Pike Place Market:

Seattle at Underground Quilts aug 2016
Did I support my local quilt shop? Why, yes, I did.

A few blocks away I stopped in at AllSaints, a clothing store on Fifth Avenue — not to shop for clothes but to admire the décor. Over 500 vintage sewing machines line the exterior windows and interior walls of this store:

Seattle allsaints store aug 2016

I was in my element!

Seattle at AllSaints aug 2016

Mindful that our sojourn to Seattle was for baseball, I took this picture of Safeco Field from our hotel room, directly across the street from the stadium:

seattle safeco field aug 2016
On Thursday morning, we were homeward bound on Amtrak. It was a terrific little getaway, and we’ll do it again next year when the Tigers come back to Seattle to play baseball. Oh, by the way, the Mariners won all three games.

A couple of days before leaving for Seattle, I went over to the Oregon coast with my quilt group, the Quisters, to see the 26th annual Quilts by the Sea show presented by the Oregon Coastal Quilt Guild. In my next post I’ll show you some of my favorite quilts from that show.

 

 

 

Posted in family, Quisters (Quilt Sisters), update | 14 Comments

Gearing Up for Quilter’s Affair 2016

On Sunday I’m heading over to Central Oregon with my quilt group, the Quisters, for a week of sewing,  including taking classes at Quilter’s Affair.

Do you know about Quilter’s Affair? It’s the week of classes put on by the Stitchin’ Post  quilt shop in Sisters, Oregon, leading up to the biggest outdoor quilt show in the world. The show is always held on the second Saturday in July; this year it falls on July 9.

For Quilter’s Affair, the Stitchin’ Post brings in teachers from the U.S. and abroad to join a group of talented local and regional experts. I’m taking a class taught by fellow Oregonian Karla Alexander of Saginaw Quilts. I’ve met Karla, heard her lecture, and admired her designs, so it’s high time I took a class from her.

She’s teaching five classes at Quilter’s Affair. I’m taking the one based on her pattern Rewind:

RewindP436FB_lg

Many of Karla’s designs are made by cleverly stacking, cutting, and sewing fabrics. Rewind is no exception. I was attracted to this pattern because of its resemblance to the classic Greek key design. Whereas the traditional Greek key is dignified, with straight lines and symmetry, Karla’s key (if I can call it that) is quirky and lighthearted, thanks to free form cutting, a freewheeling color palette, and funky fabrics.

I decided to raid my batik stash for this quilt. Instructions were to start with a family of colors and pick an equal number of lights and darks. I started with green — no surprise there — and randomly pulled other colors that go well with it. After cutting my 12″ squares, I layered them so that each fabric looks good with its neighbor on either side.

Here is my fabric pull:

fabric pull for rewind

Most of these squares are doubles, with a few singletons. For the class project 48 squares are needed. I wound up with 60, which gives me some leeway. In some cases a fabric works as a light with one neighbor but as a dark with the other. It will be interesting to see if this affects the construction process.

Taking this class will be extra fun because my fellow Quister Deborah is taking it, too. I wonder what fabrics she chose. Quilter’s Affair, here we come!

 

 

 

 

Posted in Quilter's Affair, Quisters (Quilt Sisters), update, wonky Greek key | 6 Comments

Pockets A-Plenty: Deborah’s Junior Billie Bag

Time for a progress report on the quilter’s tote that I’m making for my friend Deborah’s birthday. Known as the Junior Billie Bag, it’s a scaled down version of the tote designed several years ago by my teacher and mentor Billie Mahorney. I’m making Deborah’s bag alongside the students in my two Junior Billie Bag classes at the Pine Needle Quilt Shop. It really helps to have the individual components on hand so I can show my students exactly how a bag goes together. It will measure 14″ x 17″ x 7½” when finished.

The pockets on the inside and outside of the bag are customized to fit a quiltermaker’s favorite rulers and tools. I’m hoping that the pocket sizes I chose for Deborah’s bag will be a good fit for her. Here’s a look at the inside pockets on the side panels . . .

JBB inside side panel pockets

and the outside pockets on the side panels:

JBB outside pockets

Both outside pockets are trimmed with the solid red French General fabric loved by so many quiltmakers.

Now have a look at the inside of the bag with the side panels pinned to one of the front/back panels:

JBB inside pockets (2)

All told, this bag has 20 pockets. That’s a lot of pockets!

When I first wrote about Deborah’s Junior Billie Bag (you can read that post here), I hadn’t yet quilted the second front/back panel. The original plan was to do some free motion quilting but I opted instead for a modified chevron that extends the lines of the star points:

JBB second panel

It’s a nice counterpoint to the serpentine stitching on the first front/back panel:

JBB front back panel 1

I’m having a lot of fun working on this bag and am happy to report that I am entering the home stretch. Deborah won’t have to wait too much longer to claim her birthday present!

Linking up with Kelly of My Quilt Infatuation on Needle and Thread Thursday (NTT).

 

 

 

Posted in Billie Bag, Junior Billie Bag, Quisters (Quilt Sisters), tote bags, update | 6 Comments

In the Works: A New Junior Billie Bag

And here’s a look at it:

Deborah's JBB in pieces

This quilter’s tote, a slightly smaller version of the one designed by Billie Mahorney close to 20 years ago, is a birthday present for my friend and fellow Quister (Quilt Sister) Deborah, who recently reached one of those milestone birthdays ending in zero. When Deborah opened her birthday present last week, it was in pieces but she was still happy because she’s seen mine and knows what hers is going to look like when it’s done.

I’m teaching two classes at the Pine Needle right now on how to make a Junior Billie Bag, and I’m using Deborah’s bag to show my students the steps in construction. That’s why her bag wasn’t completed before her big day. All the individual components have been made: front and back panels, side and bottom panels, pockets, long and short straps, and binding. My students can see exactly how it comes together before they take the same steps on their bags. And they can choose whatever designs they want for the front and back panels so each bag is truly unique.

The panel on the right in the photo above is ready for some free motion quilting in the outer strips of solid red. As you can see, the panel on the left was quilted with a simple serpentine stitch in the red fabric around the Churn Dash block. The red fabric, by the way, is some French General by Moda that’s been in my stash for a few years just waiting for the right project. I did use some of it a couple of years ago, along with some of the same fabrics you see above, when I made this sewing machine dust cover for Deborah:

2013-3, Deborah's sewing machine dust cover, side view

At the time I had no idea I would be making her a coordinating Junior Billie Bag down the road. I’m so glad I had plenty of fabric left over from that first project.

If you’d like to see what a Junior Billie Bag looks like completed, click on this link to see the one I finished in January. Deborah’s Junior Billie Bag, which will measure 14″ x 17″ x 7½” when finished, should be in her hands by this time next month.

 

 

 

Posted in Billie Bag, Junior Billie Bag, Quisters (Quilt Sisters), tote bags, update | 2 Comments

A Quilty Week with No Quilting

Last week came and went so fast my head is spinning. I did something quilt-related every day — but I spent no time at all in front of my sewing machine.

A quick recap: On Sunday, Wednesday, and Saturday, I taught at the Pine Needle.

On Tuesday I gave a presentation and trunk show to the Tualatin Valley Quilt Guild. As I was driving to Sherwood Tuesday evening through a torrential downpour, I couldn’t help but think, “Who’s going to venture out on such a dark and stormy night just to see my quilts?” Happily, the answer was: almost every member of the guild. (Thank you, TVQG members, for giving me such a warm welcome!)

On Thursday I had a lesson on my new Janome Horizon 8900QCP sewing machine. I say “new” but I actually bought the machine last July. Janome Horizon 8900QCPIt’s taken me this long to get that lesson scheduled. I’m so glad I did because some questions I had about using the machine were very well answered, and I can’t wait to try out some new feet I purchased.

Thursday evening was the monthly meeting of the Portland Modern Quilt Guild, where a record-breaking crowd was treated to a presentation by Marie Deatherage and Joyce Brekke on their delightfully quirky book Pieces of Portland: An Inside Look at America’s Weirdest City (Quiltlandia, 2015).

pieces-of-portland-cover

On Friday I met my quilt group, the Quisters, at the Stitches in Bloom Quilt Show in Silverton, Oregon. The show is held every January at the Oregon Garden. One of my quilts has hung in the show every year since 2010 — until this year. I plum forgot to enter! We had a wonderful day together, including a celebratory birthday lunch.

Did I miss a day? Oh, yes. Monday was prep day for my classes and quilt guild presentation.

So what did I do today? I cleaned my house! Now I’m ready for the coming week, and I hope to spend lots of time in my sewing room. The first of four baby quilts in progress is back from the quilter so the very first thing on my list is to attach the binding using one of the new feet I bought for my Janome Horizon.

Then — and only then — I’m going to do something with this:

Small Wonders fabric bundle

This beautiful little bundle of half-yard cuts is from the debut line of fabric by Mary Fons for Springs Creative. Called Small Wonders: World Piece, the complete line of fabrics includes small-scale prints inspired by six countries. I was especially drawn to the fabrics you see above, representing India.

In fact, as soon as I saw this bundle at the Pine Needle, I knew exactly what I was going to do with it. I hope you’ll stop back in a few days to find out.

 

 

 

Posted in Janome 8900QCP, Quisters (Quilt Sisters), update | 5 Comments

Pretty Little Things

This is Part Two of a two-part post on what I accomplished in my sewing room during 2015. Part One featured my finished quilts (unquilted tops don’t count) and can be seen here. Most everything else qualifies as a Pretty Little Thing, so let’s take a look at the Pretty Little Things I made in 2015:

This 9″ x 41″ reversible runner was made for my sister Diane’s living room to cover a “seam” created when two small chests were placed back to back to make a larger unit:

runner completed

Here is the runner in situ in her living room in Atlanta:

Scott find round box for remotes in place
To celebrate the spring birthdays of my friends and fellow Quisters (Quilt Sisters) Deborah and Peggy, I made these fabric baskets based on the 1 Hour Basket Tutorial from Hearts and Bees. The baskets measure about 9½” wide, 6½” tall, and 5½” deep.

a pair of baskets
Pillowcases! I make several every year. Here are cases I made as a hostess gift for my friend Anna in Paris . . .

pcases for Anna and Joe

. . . and a pair made for the Portland White House:

pcases for Portland White House

Of all the pillowcases I have made for my own home, these are the ones my husband likes best.

My sister Diane commissioned me to make a pair of pillowcases to give as a hostess gift to friends in Maine:

pcases for Kathy and Paul's guest house
Her friends have a darling little terrier named Lucy who got her own little pillowcase (and pillow). It measures 6″ x 12″ and goes in her doggie bed:

dog pillow front

This sewing-themed fabric became a singleton pillowcase for me to take to Quilt Camp:

Dawn's quilt camp pcase
I drew my sister Diane’s name in our annual sibling draw for Christmas. When I asked her for ideas on what I could get her, she said, “Dawn pillowcases, of course!” I made her these king size pillowcases from my batik stash:

pcases for Diane and Ed
By the way, all of the pillowcases above were made following my tutorial, Perfect Pillowcases.

For the annual fall Open House at the Pine Needle, the quilt shop where I teach, I made these Cozy Flannel Armchair Coasters, inspired by coasters bought at a craft sale 30 years ago:

flannel coasters print

The coasters are reversible. Below are the backs of the coasters you see above. Just for fun I changed orientation of the herringbone weave:

flannel coasters brown

The coasters were a big hit so I made some more as gifts. My friend Beth got these for her birthday in her favorite colors . . .

coasters teal and purple
. . . and I tucked in this set of four as part of my sister Diane’s Christmas present:

flannel coasters red
My last non-quilt project for the year isn’t small and didn’t get made in my sewing room but I’m including it here anyway. It’s the two-fabric tablecloth I made for my sister Diane’s dining room while visiting her over Thanksgiving:

tablecloth
The tablecloth goes with the 16 mitered-corner napkins I made for her a couple of years ago out of the same large floral print used in the border. Here’s one of those napkins in a place setting:

tablecloth with setting

Oh, there’s a tutorial for those napkins, too: Make Mine Mitered.

How satisfying to have a visual record of what I made last year! Thanks so much for taking this look back with me. And now it’s time to head back to my sewing room and get started on my 2016 projects.

Avanti!

 

 

 

Posted in family, home dec, mitered corners, Quisters (Quilt Sisters), roll-it-up pillowcases, table napkins, table topper, update | 3 Comments