From the Vault - House Quilt (Spring Blocks)

Last December we looked at a row of winter houses from a house quilt I made in 2003.  Today we'll look at the spring row.

 

It starts out with a rainy block.  I think that aqua fabric is supposed to be stylized seaweed, but in this quilt, those are raindrops.  

A (rather large) cat sits in the window, looking a bit cranky.  The white fabric above the window is a curtain.  The house block  is quilted with free-motioned flowers and leaves.  The grass in the front lawn has free-motioned flowers.

This is with the curtain dropped.

This is the next house on the row.  A spring blooming tree is made of Oriental parasol fabric.  The house is surrounded by a bed of tulips, and the quilting is a sun in the upper left, with sun rays streaming to the lower right.  The window is appliqued with a satin stitch.

The gutter on this house is 3-D, twisted organza that has a ribbon woven into it.  Quilting is horizontal lines, which is supposed to evoke siding.  The door knob is a button.  More spring-blooming trees on the right, this time with rose buttons to add dimension.

Lots of blooms here!  The large picture window has a view into the house where there are many flowering plants.  An iris garden skirts the edge of the lawn.  The door has a "port hole" window made from a button.

Now you've seen two seasons, the top half of the quilt.

Not Just Another Pretty Face

If you don't know where you are going, any road will get you there.

                                                                       --- Lewis Carroll

Thursday Was Purse Day - Bee Happy Purse

Thursday is supposed to be the day I show you purses I've made.  Today is Friday.  I didn't have time to write this post yesterday, so it's a day late.

This is the front of Bee Happy Purse.  I saw some big fat bumble bees around my new plants this week, and I was reminded of this purse I made in April, 2009.

I used a lot of hex shapes on it, because of a bee's honeycomb.

The bee on the right is visiting a flower to do whatever bees do, and the bees on the left are going back to their hive.

The front of the purse is made of felt.  That's fun to work with!!!  The upper right corners were trimmed back to show the lining fabric.

The handle is made of leather cord and wooden beads.  Little knots of yarn act as bumpers to keep the beads separated.

To strengthen the hole on the purse, I added another layer of felt (yellow hexes), then put a grommet through the two layers.

The back is the same fabric as the lining.  This fabric looks a bit like honeycombs, and the colors aren't a reach either.  Honey can be different colors depending on what the bees feed on.

It was more fun to glue the buttons on than to sew them.  This was back when I used a hot glue gun, but now I prefer Aleene's tacky glue.

Lastly, the center button is the purse's namesake.

Tea for Tuesday

I've been trying to get rid of some of my teapots.  A person doesn't need so many.

I bought this one at a garage sale several years ago.  It has a bamboo handle and thus seemed to have a slightly Oriental feel.  I pulled it out of my storage bin and found a set of Japanese plates that looked nice with it. 

I bought the plates at an antique store about five years ago.  I didn't really like them a lot when I bought them, so don't ask me why I did.  I think it was because I was just starting to shop at antique stores and they were something I could afford.  Now I only buy things I really like, but I still don't spend very much money on an item.

Both sides of the pot have this "medallion".  It looks like metal, but I don't see how it could be.  It's curved, and if it was metal, it would melt in the firing process, wouldn't it?  It has a matte finish, unlike the shiny glaze on the cobalt blue part.

I think cobalt was a good choice for an Oriental pot, because it reminds me of the work kimonos which were cobalt blue.

 

I have three vintage kimono segments that I bought at the International Quilt Festival in Chicago years ago.  I never did anything with them.  I've never done anything with that book, either.  I don't like it when I buy things and don't use them for years, and then my interest shifts and I finally realize I'm never going to do anything with those things I just couldn't live without, like vintage kimonos.

That's a lesson to me to not buy more than I can use in a reasonable amount of time.

On a Roll

Last week I made a tool roll.  It was a pleasant little project, so I made another one.

New one on the left; both made of flannel.

I made coasters with the leftover fabric.  Both projects are from Quilting on a Time Budget.

The coasters are made the same way as those rag quilts everyone was making 10 years ago.  The stack on the left hasn't been washed yet.  The stack on the right has, hence its poufiness and ravelled edges.

Orange fabric on one side; floral on the other.  The orange is the same fabric that lines the tool roll.

The fabric for the pocket has a crafts theme - glue gun, paint brush, pincushion, scissors, buttons, thimbles, and thread.  I didn't have enough of it to use on the coasters, so I used the dark brown binding fabric instead.  That contrasts better with the light green, and thematically makes more sense for a coaster.

My quilting lines were nice and even on this roll, because I remembered to use the line guide attachment on my sewing machine.

My coasters are 5 1/4" with 4 1/4" batting sandwiched in between.  The ones in the book are 6", but mine are smaller due to a combination of shortage of fabric followed by a cutting error.

After making the sandwich, with right sides to the outside, you first you stitch diagonally.  They didn't say mention it, but I backstitched at the beginning and end.  Then you sew a scant 1/2" in from the raw edges, being sure to not to catch the batting.  

Lastly, you sit in a comfy chair in the sun and make little tiny snips all around the edge.  Don't cut on the diagonal thread that runs to the edge. 

The closer you make the cuts, the better it will fray up after you run the coasters through the washer and dryer.  I lost 1/2" during the laundering process - these coasters are now 4 3/4", but that's still a fine size.

 

This roll isn't tall enough, but if it was, you could use it on a picnic to carry your utensils.

I was going to make two more of these to sell at our guild, but I'm going to switch to drawstring bags now.

Portable Spring

This time of year, I, like most people, can't wait for lots of flowers in the yard.  Last weekend I stopped at a garden center to pick up a couple of pansies.  I wasn't expecting such a large selection of plants.  Wow.  Move over, dog, and make some room for plants!  

Sometimes I like to mix a variety of plants, and sometimes I don't.  I kept these primrose together, isolated, because it looked like one big bouquet.   I first tried them in a larger pot, farther away in the yard,  but they were so short they were hard to see.  So I replanted them in a purple metal pot, and set it on black elevated legs right next to a spot we walk past frequently.

Primroses are so hardy.  Even the ones you buy for the house can be planted outside and they come back reliably the next year.

Nothing says instant garden like a hanging basket.  I like this plant stand because it folds flat for winter storage.  Sometimes I put it on my outside table for a large centerpiece.

The daffodil and hyacinth bulbs were forced to bloom at just the right time.  By buying them potted, I didn't have to dig any holes last fall, nor worry about squirrels digging up the bulbs.

The fairy princess was outside all winter.  She had been next to a bush, and wasn't very visible, so I forgot about her.  One of her wires rusted and she fell off her perch, but I fixed her up good as new for this year.  This time I stuck her in a pot where I'll be sure to see her often and not forget about her this fall.

Both the daffodil and hyacinth came in these pretty silver buckets.  I like a little sparkle in a garden.

The Oesteospermum on the right came in that yellow pot.  I'll be able to use it again next year.

The nice thing about my portable spring is that I can move the plants wherever I want.  Since this picture was taken, these plants have already moved to a new spot that I can easily see from my sewing room window.

Plans often change when I get home.  I was going to plant the columbine in the ground, but I don't know if rabbits eat them or not.  You'd think having a dog and lots of dog odors in the yard would keep rabbits away, but no.  Now the plants are elevated and should be safe for awhile.   Being a perennial, I'll eventually move them into the ground.

Most of the flowers I bought were yellow and purple, so I threw in some orange accents for a little relief.

When the weather warms up and I get the rest of my flowers, I want to get some for the hummingbirds.  I think they might go for these.  I thought they only liked red flowers, but that's not true.  

Maybe they'll go get a drink of water since it's right in the neighborhood.  Last year we switched to a hanging bird bath because racoons kept knocking over the standing one.

As you can see, I came home with an almost instant, and totally portable garden.  Some hanging baskets, some flowers already in nice pots, and some that needed planting.  By the end of the day, everything was in a light enough pot that it can be carried into the garage in case it gets below freezing.