Baby, It's Cold Outside!

Icepalooza has taken over the Midwest.

I woke to this kind of icicle action:

Just a mere week ago, we had this much snow:

(and I'm hoping for much, much, more)

Oh, how I love a winter storm.

And, of course, my trusty sidekick can't get enough of the magical white powder, either.

Today, I took advantage of the time iced-in and finished up two quilts.

The Striped Monster....

100x100 inches.

I have been collecting striped fabrics for years. years.

Finally, I finished the quilt top with them:

I braved the cold for a few photographs.

It was treacherous!

And wonderful.

This is a second, baby/lap size - about 40x50 inches.

The stripes came out a little screwy - I think it was too much for my baby camera to handle.

Hourglass Updated: FINISHED!

My hourglass quilt is finally finished!

The reproduction fabrics are so fun!

This is another huge one - the total size is about 100 square inches.

Again, shadowing from the trees hides the sharp & crisp quilt colors.

I used a reproduction light blue fabric for the backside, and a solid red binding.

The patterned white contrast very well to show off these fantastic fabrics!
Light showing thru to the back side:

Stella's none too pleased :(

Tinkerbell D9P update - It's finished! and a bonus tutu

Here's another gratuitous shot of the tutu. It's super cute!

I quilted the Tinkerbell quilt myself on the Juki:

Here's the finished project. It's naptakular!

And another close up of Jasmine's name embroidered:
A matching pillowcase:
With French Seams -
My favorite quilt model, Stella, showing off the purple polka-dot flannel on the backside.

I see many naps in Jasmine's future....

Stella's Ready for Paddling Season!

Both Stella and I are done with winter

and ready for paddling season.

Stella's former pfd was worn out and needed

to be replaced, so I bought this Ruffwear pfd at Altrec.

Here's Stella diving into Carlyle Lake,

wearing her older pfd:

Springtime, here we come!

Custom Seat Cover #2: solid black

Today's sewing project: custom seat cover #2 in solid black for the RAV.

Just 6 short months ago, I made this look-at-me floral orange seat cover.

Last week, I removed it to clean out the car and realized that while I adore all things orange, the inside of the RAV looks MUCH better without a floral orange seatcover.

I wanted a black & charcoal stripe, but settled for solid black.

The second version turned out better-fitting.

Not the orange joy that I had last summer, but a fantastic piece of my making-the-things-I-need.

Here's the driver's side back seat shot.

With a gratuitous shot of my hand-made scarf.

The seatbelts can still be used.

The back/cargo area where Stella rides.

Dog Bed #6 - Red Faux Suede for Stella

Dog Bed #6 is for Stella.

I used santa-red (the shade doesn't show up in this first photo) faux suede material for a luxurious bed for Stella.

I ordered a custom-made size of foam and it is absolutely perfect!

It is "high density" and seems to have more body than the dog beds I've been buying annually for her. We'll see how long it lasts!

Here, the color comes in a little better.
The store did not have a super-long zipper in red, so I went with chocolate.
And next to the sofa, she'll be sleeping pretty!
Now, back to quilts!

29 days to Christmas... I'm wondering if I'll make the 100% handmade pledge this year?

Dog Bed #5

This fine specimen is for my mom's dog, CaseyJones.

She wanted "doggy" fabric... and got it!

The final measurement is 24x27. Which is much too small for my favorite model, Stella, to consider it naptastic.

Bed for the dog crate

Here's some shots of my first zipper project!

This is a box-pillow that will cover some high-density foam for a kennel mat for Stella (I know, I'm over the top with it))
I used exterior upholstery weight material.

If you can't tell by the photo this was some sort of two sided zipper where there's two different zipper cars and it can be opened by either end.

I ended up putting it in by exposing the teeth. I even tried my hand at a top stitch! and, check out the serging on the inside.

I watched a few youtube tutorials on zippers and asked everyone I knew how they do them.
Eventually, I'd like to learn the proper zipper installation technique!

what a hoot!

It's not perfect - the ends of the zipper need some minor adjustment....