My first finished quilt in 8 years!

Well, I finally did it--I finished a quilt! Hurray for me! I made the quilt for my friend who just had a baby boy and had worked on the Obama campaign in our town. It's an Obama Baby Quilt!!! I did straight line quilting and tried free motion quilting writing out the baby's name (Ayende) and words like dream, love, hugs--along with quilted hearts and the date. It's not perfect but I learned alot along the way.
I learned that you have to control your machine speed and work on moving the quilt evenly as you free motion quilt. I still haven't figured out what to do when the bobbin runs out. Those areas looked messy so I free motioned hearts over them. I feel much more confident about finishing up the other quilt tops I've done. And, the best part of making a quilt--giving it away!

Yay--I'm sewing again!!!

Wow, it's day 48 of surgery recovery and I'm feeling great! I was feeling out of sorts for a while even though I had no complications. Just recovering is tiring. But, hurray, I'm feeling back to normal. I did some sewing. I made this class set of juice pouch pencil holders for my class. The kids love them and they're a simple to make way to encourage creative recycling.

Everything old is new again

I guess the new frugality isn't all that new. People have always been refashioning clothing. Check out this post at UnsungSewingPatterns . Seems you could buy a pattern and have instructions for cutting it out from other clothing! Hmmm... great idea!

Amy of parkcitygirl is hosting a Blogger's Quilt Festival October 9-16. Just pick any one quilt you've made and blog about what it meant to you. There'll be prizes involved, too. I just love prizes, don't you!?! On another note, it's day 35 of my surgery recovery and it's all great. I'll post a pic soon.

I've been recovering from surgery...

Well, I haven't posted because I've been recovering from surgery and haven't done any sewing. I had a nip tuck on August 19th. These are the before and after pictures, taken from my iPhone. The after is 18 days after a lower face lift and eye tuck. Yes, I know, it is an unnecessary vanity surgery. But, after losing a lot of weight I felt my face kind of fell and, you know, when your favorite dress is too big you give it a few stitches, insert a couple of darts, and boom, you're back in business. That's what my surgeon did for me. I'm now at day 27 and less swollen than in this picture, but you get the drift. It is a big change. Overall, I'm happy with the results. It was not painful, but it really isn't for the faint of heart. It kind of messes with you when you look in the mirror and you're swollen, or you feel that you don't look like you. Now that the swelling is down, I look like I did in my 30's and I'll be 49 in a few months. I admire people who sew and my surgeon, Dr. Jeanette Martello, is the best. You can't even see her tiny stitches around my ears! And her bedside manner--to be admired! Oh, well. I hope you all don't think it too weird. I know it's vain. My excuse--I'm cuban. We're a bit vain!!!

Apon and Quilt Top...

Hurray! Here's my cute little refashioned apron! It was a bit long (still looking dress-ish) and I didn't want to cut and hem so I folded up the bottom 6" and sewed it up onto the front. Then, I sewed three lines making four divided pockets. I'm so pleased with myself! I watched "A Town Without Pity", an awesome 1961 movie with Kirk Douglas and Robert Blake while finishing up my projects. Tagline: The story of what four men did to a girl...and what a town did to them! Really good movie. Now here's my completed OldRedBarn quiltalong quilt top. I love the fabrics. I haven't decided if I want borders or not. I'll play around with some fabrics, then decide.

I won! and Updates...I love Julie Kundhi!

First, I want to thank Chase for her fun giveaway! She made these awesome paperdolls using snippets fabric. I think my lovely niece Fiona would give my prize a great home! I can't wait for it to arrive. I'm going to try out the paper doll tutorial and make some more. Check out her blog PageLyraHandmade-she's very creative and has a fun spirit!
Well, I've been putting together my oldredbarnquiltalong top. I'll post a pic when I get further along. For today I'm posting a peak at an apron I'm making. I have a blogcrush on JulieKundhi. She's a genius! She upcycles clothes in awesome ways, and I specially love the apron she refashioned. But what I really love about her is that she changed the way I view things. I look at clothing differently now.




Just because it's a jacket doesn't mean it can't be turned into a messenger bag! And, just because it's a dress doesn't mean it can't be turned into an apron. Here's a sneak peak at my Salvation Army $2 dress that I'm turning into an apron! I'm adding fabric that I cut from a JoAnn's $2 per yard special. I just have to sew up the sides and add the waistband/ties (in the blue and yellow print that will match the neck strap.) I'm in love!