Packages, Packages, Packages

If you know me, you know I do not like to shop. In stores.

I do most of my shopping on the internet - or, "ordernet" as my friend calls it.

The ordernet has really changed the way I think about the retail process.

It's been fabulous, really. The comparison shopping without driving around town or without driving from town to town.

My postal carrier, however, is not so excited by my retail needs.

Below you'll see how I get my packages delivered.

So, of course, the obvious joke would entail a variation on the theme of"going postal..." but I can't joke about it.

Not while my precious, precious, fabrics, books, and whatnots suffer the fate of the delivery process!

Grandma's Apple Pie

Early this morning, I made Grandma's Apple Pie for a friend's birthday.

It looks wonderful! I'm sure the birthday girl will love it.

Grandma preferred a crumb-top, but I did not have brown sugar,

so I went with a lattice-topped pie.

Stella's gig at the Nursing Home

Stella and I have been a Therapy-Dog team for about 2 years now.

We're loving every minute of it.

Today, we visited a nursing home that serves about 100 residents.

Stella and her big nose are hit at the nursing home.

Here's a shot of Stella waiting for her shift to start, already in uniform.

(fancy polaroid iPhone app)

We wouldn't be the Therapy-Dog team we are without the mentorship of Teddy and his human, Katie.

Here's a few post-shift shots of the dogs:

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!

Reproduction 1930's Fabrics Project: Hourglass

Here's a shot of the Repro Hourglass quilt in-progress.

These lovely prints were a gift from a fellow quilter.

Last night, I finished 53. Only 100 more to do!

There's a few other colors not represented in this photo... more coming soon.

Each hourglass is about 8 inches square.

I expect the finished project to be a queen-size.

Now, to pick a fabric for the back!

New Fabrics Delivered!

I just received some new fabrics from my favorite online fabric store.

Beautiful prints without a purpose-

The photo above is Meadowsweet by Sandi Henderson.

The photo below is Hope Valley by Denyse Schmidt.

Oh! The possibilities!

Dark Waterfalls: Finished!

"Dark Waterfalls" or "Purple Majesty" also was quilted by Melear Fabrics with my favorite wishbone pattern, too.

This quilt has small and large 1/4 courthouse step blocks and 4-patch blocks.

It was a lot of fun to make ... and I even snuck in some bonus reds! The binding is a black-on-black.

Solid purple flannel on the backside makes this perfectly naptakular.

After the quilting and binding, it measures about 70 inches square.

This was made for my soul-sister, Elaine.

I think she's going to love it!

Orange Crush: FINISHED!

My glorious orange crush quilt is finally finished!

This one's going on my bed ;)

The gals at Melear's Fabrics did another fine

job quilting this on their longarm.

Here's a close-up of the quilting.

She used one of my favorite designs - the "wishbone."

Here's what I chose for the backing.

It's yellow with a pink design -

but it reads as orange.

This was the first time I'd pieced the binding with different fabrics.

I had some left over from the blocks and supplemented

with some bonus orange & white polka-dots.

The photo above shows the polka-dots.

I think I like it more than a one-pattern binding.

Check it out:

Pre-cut Pinwheels

This is a pre-cut pinwheel kit I bought from John Flynn Quilt Company.

It went together pretty easily today, while I'm shut-in from a mini-snowstorm.

The top right corner looks better in person than in this photo!

Iron & Ironing Board

I blogged last month about my iron melting down. I chose the cheapest one on my list, the Classic Black and Decker. So far, I've been very, very, pleased.

My ironing board got a new look, too.

I picked up this vintage wooden board from craigslist.

To create my perfect ironing surface, I started with the wood board, added 2 layers of muslin, then the Ironslide board cover, then a fancy hand-made ironing board cover from Etsy.

Baby Onsies

Another project for today:

Ten very cute iron-on onsies for my cousin who is expecting:

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.

Orange Crush

Orange Crush piecing is complete!

Now, to decide how it will be quilted....

Here's a close up of 4 of the 49 blocks.

All of the pieces are modern prints except one vintage print from my mom's pal.

(the vintage piece is with the red/orange flower found in the top left and bottom right in this photo)

Here's the finished top:

Sneak Peek: Orange Crush

After two years of hording luxurious orange fabrics, I have started my orange quilt!


I will call it, "orange crush."



Here's a shot of the fabrics lined up before ironing.
After this photo, I bought three more orange prints from the local quilting shop.

Here are some of the patches lined up on the ironing board:

Oh, orange! How I love you!

Handmade Christmas: Fun Cloth Napkins & Vintage Napkin Rings

The cloth napkins and vintage (ebay) napkin rings were a big hit!

Bees & Apples

Birds

Baseballs

more Baseballs

Cherries

Pears

brown swirlies

blue, black, & green square bullseyes