In Memory of...

The 3 quilts, folded

Big stack of t-shirt scraps

Quilt 1

Quilt 2

Close-up quilt 3

Quilt 3

Another close-up with corner turned down to show navy fleece backing

The 3 quilts folded and stacked

I finished 3 quilts last week for someone who wanted a special Christmas gift for her family. Her dad passed away and he had a lot of t-shirts from his travels. I love making memorial quilts and hearing the story behind each shirt. I also love that every quilt is customized for each person, no two are alike, even the 3 seen here made from the same person's shirts. They are all different, each family member will have their own special treasure to remember Dad.

Ikat Anyone?

The den

Curtain panels closed

3 corner panels

Panels opened

The window on the right (above) is actually 2 windows set close together  so I made 3 panels and we installed an elbow piece to attach the 2 rods.

The colors in the window treatments are coordinating with the artwork.

Clip-on rings on curtain panels

One of the trendiest prints for textiles right now is Ikat. There are so many variations in  pattern & colors that you can stay with the trendiest but still look unique.  I better explain. Ikat is a Far-Eastern (India, Indonesia), as well as South American, technique of dying and weaving threads into patterned fabric. Where tye-die fabric is woven or knit then dyed, Ikat is dyed then woven into a design.
This fabric has a chocolate brown background with gold and ice blue designs on it. I made 7 panels with clip-on rings for this den. I've made other Ikat window treatments and throw pillows.

Ikat pillows in gold, grey, and cream.

Dashing! Debonair! Just Call Him Bond...Percy Bond

I found this tutorial for a cat bow tie on Pinterest from www.instructables.com. I made a few adjustments on the size of pieces to make the bow tie and reduced the amount of "turning right side out" the sewn tubes of fabric. It's just easier for me to iron and sew than sew something tiny inside out and try to turn it right side out. You can do whatever works for you. Below I've written my instructions.   

Can you see the excitement in his eyes?

Cut 3 pieces of fabric: one at 1 3/4"x12"; one at 4"x5"; one at 2"x3".

Her is where i ironed then just top-stitched the pieces for the collar and bow portions of the bow tie.

Then just top-stitch the collar.

Fold the bow piece in half inside out and sew along raw edge, leaving pressed edges open.  Then trun right side out and top-stitch the bow piece all the way around.

Sew the red piece inside out longways then sew short ends to make a loop. Turn right side out so the stitching doesn't show. Then scrunch bow piece in center to make 3 folds. Slip red center "knot" over bow piece.

 Then feed collar through the red loop.

Sew on velcro, making sure to sew fuzzy side to face out and loop side to face inside. Can you see from this photo? 

Here's a photo of the fuzzy part showing and the loop part is on the opposite end on the under side.

Another finished product!

Quite a profile huh?

Shows the back with velcro closure

Ready for dinner at a swanky restaurant. Please leave me a comment below and let me know what you think!

Shocking Confession! My Crush on the Doughboy!

The finished product, my mini apple pies/crescents. 

I Confess! I use those Pillsbury crescent rolls WAY more than I should. I can't help it. I know all of the home-made dough makers/snobs have just clicked to another page. It's just SO easy to use the pre-made crescent dough, it's fast when you don't have a lot of time, and there are so many ways to use it! You can fill the triangles with cinnamon butter, fruit, hot dogs, taco meat, any kind of cheese from brie to cream cheese to American slices. Since I only have photos for fruit-filled crescents, that's the recipe I'm posting. The brie is really yummy for a party (even my kids will eat it!). I'll take photos next time I make it so I can post. The way I arrange the crescent dough makes a really pretty presentation.
Here is my take on mini apple "pies/crescents":
- 1 can of crescent roll dough, separate into triangles
- 1 apple (I like Granny Smith but you can use whatever you like), cut into 8 wedges (I use 1 of those apple slicers that cuts it into 8 wedges and cores it)
- 2T. brown sugar
- 1 tsp cinnamon

Her are the ingredients. I'm not sure why I have the butter in there. You don't really need it for this recipe. I must've been channeling Paula Deen that day! 

Placing apple wedges on crescent triangles. No, my baking sheet isn't dirty. It's Pampered Chef, it's supposed to be brown.

Rolling them up. 

In a shallow bowl, microwave apple wedges for about 30 seconds, not enough to cook wedges entirely but to make them half cooked. Let them cool. If you need to, you can place a layer of ice cubes on the wedges to cool them just enough to be able to handle them. Mix the brown sugar and cinnamon together and sprinkle on each crescent dough triangle. Place 1 apple wedge at wide end of crescent dough and roll up. You can sprinkle more brown sugar/cinnamon on top if you like. Bake at 375 degrees about 11 minutes.

Squaring Off

Sorry I haven't posted much this year. I've had a lot of family business to take care of in Houston. My dad passed away and I have been a frequent flyer. I don't usually post about personal things but I have been pondering something I do for clients. I'm thinking of making 2 memorial quilts using my dad's old shirts. Right now I am working on a client quilt but will probably start on mine soon. Stay tuned. I'll post the progress. In the meantime, I thought I would share a couple of quilts I've made in the past and 1 new one.

Some pillows and bags I've made from t-shirts along with a quilt

Put a Ring On It

Pinch pleat panels topped with wooden rings

2 panels for the French doors

Floor length panels on both sides of fireplace

Close-up of fabric pattern

Wooden rings on pinch pleat panels

Evidently pinch pleat curtains are back in style. I've had several requests for them. To make them more modern, I added large wooden rings on top. I think these were 3" across. I hooked the rings to traditional curtain hooks behind the pleats instead of sewing the rings to the top. This created less stress on the fabric. These are heavy panels with insulated lining. The room called for something large and dramatic because of the vaulted ceiling hence the large gold rings and rods. She picked fabric with the same red as the wall color but with an off-white background which lightened up the room.
I made four pair of pinch pleat curtains for this room. I keep saying "this will be my last pair!" but I keep making them. If it's sewing or cooking, "yes" comes out of my mouth so fast that I don't realize it 'til it's too late. That's okay because I love sewing and cooking. My family loves to eat so making a living sewing then cooking the groceries I buy kinda go hand-in-hand. Did I mention I still do a little catering?  More on THAT in another post. I can explain, really! Hors d'oeuvres for 200, anyone? I'll take pics.
Back to the curtains. Sometimes it's just hard to get back to a client's home to get photos of work. In this case, I din't get back to her house for a couple of months! Things happened with her, things happened with me. Life just happened. And then... Christmas. Need I say more! That's ok because she lives locally so we both knew I would be back over there at some point. And from what she told me this day, I'll be back again... for a couple more rooms with bare windows.