This week I’ve been sewing little pillowcase style dresses for my blog friend, Lori, to take to Bolivia. There are links to patterns and instructions on Lori’s blog, Humble Quilts, so contact her if you would like to make one or more of these dresses. It’s a great way to use up stash fabrics and small pieces of…
I decided to take my own advice and make a stocking using Lois Lenski’s illustrations from Christmas Stories. One tree design and a few other elements were used for the embroidery; the animals and the name were tinted with colored pencils. I just noticed in the photo that my squirrel looks like he’s leaning backwards — oh well. The main fabric is an…
This week we are celebrating the much anticipated release of Magpies, Homebodies, and Nomads, written by the lovely and talented Cirilia Rose. In addition to being a published author, Cirilia is a Brand Ambassador for New Zealand Mill Woolyarns, developing and promoting singular yarns for hand knitters, and she also happens to be the girlfriend of my son,…
I promised I would show photos of Emily in her Desperately Seeking Susan jacket, so here she is in her wig and accessories with her best friend, Gianna. This is their third year dressing as various Madonnas, and there’s no end in site since there are a ton of different Madonna looks. I wrote about making…
For this year’s Halloween costume, my daughter, Emily, requested the iconic Madonna jacket from the movie, Desperately Seeking Susan. Recreating this jacket was one the most fun Halloween garments I’ve ever made, and I’m really happy with the way it turned out. Finding just the right fabrics was tricky, because Emily and I are kind of obsessive about…
Tonight I’m going to the Central Cinema to see Sabrina, which is one of my favorite Audrey Hepburn movies. Central Cinema is a small theater with booths instead of seats, where you can watch a movie while also having drinks and dinner. As a little surprise for my companions (my daughter and my son’s girlfriend), I put together two…
I’m pretty surprised I’ve never made a stocking out of a vintage quilt before, because it seems like something that would be right up my alley. When I was thinking about what kind of stocking I wanted to make for Cirilia, who is my son’s girlfriend, I initially thought I might try knitting, since she…
Sheets have been a mainstay fabric of mine since I first began to sew in the early 60s. Vintage 100% cotton muslin and percale sheets are still one of my favorite fabrics for hand piecing and embroidery. They have a nice feel and are usually easy to needle since the thread count is not as…
Last Wednesday was a very good day. I stopped by Goodwill because Wednesday is senior discount day, plus it turned out that all of the linens and fabrics were 30% off. In addition to ten big bed sheets for another rag rug, I found 3 bolts of fabric (two pretty Waverly fabrics and one white…
When I was growing up in Oklahoma, we lived in an old neighborhood that had a nice mix of families with young children and older couples. Only a couple of homes on our block had air conditioners, so the women usually spent part of their summer afternoons sitting and visiting each other on their porches….
There has not been a lot of quilting going on recently at Q is for Quilter, because I have been obsessed with learning how to knit socks. Even though there is still lots more to learn, I think I have mastered the basic sock pattern, and want to attempt some more elaborate designs. I’m having…
Okay . . . I know I said I was going to post something quilty, but for the past few weeks I’ve been knitting socks as well as making quilts. My son’s girlfriend, Cirilia Rose, is an amazing knitter and knit designer who works as the Creative Director for the Skacel Collection. She has inspired…
Last week my daughter, Emily, and I visited one of her favorite shops, West Elm. Because she and her husband, Aaron, have just moved into a new apartment in a beautiful 1920s Art Deco building, I wanted to buy her a little house warming present. For her gift, Emily picked out a couple of pillows…
Sometimes I think I shouldn’t have named this blog “Q is for Quilter,” because I have many other hobbies besides quilting. There haven’t been too many quilting posts lately, but it’s not like I’ve given up quilting — I work on my Seven Sisters top every day. It’s just that I think it’s pretty boring…
Last week at the Goodwill I found a couple of pretty linen shirts, and thought maybe I could cut them up to make little girl dresses. This is my first effort, and I’m so happy with it (and the process), that I am thinking of adding another line to my donated fashions. First there was…