rosie's whimsy

Yeah, it's done!

Here’s Marty’s quilt and, please, think kind thoughts. I made plenty of dumb beginner mistakes but I am still proud of it and he loves it! In the end, that’s what success is all about

Front and back ~ held by my 6′ son

I learned a lot about not rushing and taking time to look at the big picture.

Next one is for Jennifer, my DL.

~rosie~

Miss Cherry Green

I found some really sweet Dotted Swiss in some fun colors … at a particularly good price that made it affordable to pair them up with some cotton linings (you know dotted swiss can be rather sheer!).

Do you like this combo of colors? ~teal, apple green, and buttercup yellow~

The white cotton lining is just an inch shorter than the dotted swiss ~ very demure. This is size medium. The apple green knit band measures 26″ un-stretched and will fit waists 27″ to 31″. The length is 22″. I’ve started making the skirts a tad bigger (where the skirt attaches to the knit band) than last year’s skirts so they can fit a bit lower on the hips if desired or you can wear them high waisted as well.

I know the white is pushing the season a bit but it made me feel so good dreaming of this sweet little skirt with a crisp cotton shirt and a pair of sandals!

Miss Olive

Thought I’d do a couple posts on some skirts I made in between working on Marty’s Quilt. I started with a print from a collection designed by Valori Wells called Olive Rose.

I loved the variety of browns in this fabric all placed on a lt gray background.

I combined it with a Muted Transitions gray paisley and another brown print in my stash that contained the same blush brown as the Olive Rose piece.

My patchwork skirts are pieced the same front to back so you can also give it a 1/4 turn and wear the side to the front giving you a completely different look!

I made this skirt a medium. The un-stretched knit waistband measures 26″ and can comfortably be worn by waistlines measuring 27″ to 31. The length is 31″ long.

I love mixing fabrics and I particularly love how this one turned out!

Snowed in Saturday

doin a little free form stylin’

This past week, when Tara and Lola came for a visit, we had some fun trying to come up with an easy, peasy pullover top. The first one way was too big for Tara ……it became mine . The second was better but still too big and too long …. nightshirt for Tara. This is the third attempt … getting there~but still too big through the body.

So, next visit we will try again

Quilting?

Wikipedia says

Quilting is a sewing method done to join two or more layers of material together to make a thicker padded material. A quilter is the name given to someone who works at quilting.

The process of quilting uses a needle and thread to join two or more layers of material together to make a quilt. Typical quilting is done with three layers: the top fabric or quilt top, batting or insulating material and backing material. The quilter’s hand or sewing machine passes the needle and thread through all layers and then brings the needle back up. The process is repeated across the entire piece where quilting is wanted. A straight or running stitch is commonly used and these stitches can be purely functional or decorative and elaborate. Quilting is done on bed spreads, art quilt wall hangings, clothing, and a variety of textile products. Quilting can make a project thick, or with dense quilting, can raise one area so that another stands out.

Quilting can be done by hand, by sewing machine.

I have been so afraid to use the term “quilting” for my beginning attempts at putting fabric together in a way that pleases me…. and then, of course, trying to do the stitching that holds the whole thing together.

This is Marty’s quilt so far…

On the black and grey checked material I am doing a crosshatching.. On the striped material, I am doing spiral squares … like a maize.

Remember, he picked the Love flannel for the back. The middle layer is just a layer of Moda flannel. It is a total of 63 ( 7.5×7.5) squares. I have 8 more to go with the quilting and then it is onto the binding and it’s wash. I love every part of the process and I WILL get better and then I won’t be so afraid to say I am quilting

((hugs)) rosie

slooooowwww…..

i seem to be moving at the speed of a caterpillar! I’ve done some things …. like wash and fold fabric

i even made “a” skirt

but I just can’t seem to get moving with my 2010 goals, plans, dreams, projects … no matter what I call them, it’s just not happening! I know I will wake up from hibernation one of these days and then kick myself in the butt for not utilizing my days to the fullest! I think I need a drill sergeant

we’ve been having a lot of days like this …

my reoccurring theme for the next couple months, i’m afraid. I just don’t seem to be a ball of fire when I am cold! There was a good bit of laying around on the sofas this weekend for all of us. I did get one new skirt made….and readied a few more in my stash to delivery to the Hodge Podgery on Tuesday.

Wrapped up Rosie

enough said………..

hard to get much down wrapped up like a mummy ….. next week may be more fun=interesting to write about!

a quiet monday

it’s another one of those days where I wake up at 3am and the day looms before me as a never ending uphill hike. it started out full speed …. why not … no one else was up! a couple of loads of laundry done. the kitty litter room cleaned. dishwasher unloaded. 2 fabric shopper blog posts written. 2 breakfasts … hey, if you eat at 3:30, you are bound to be hungry by 8, right? now, at an early hour of 1pm, I am ready for bed! ugh!

i survived the day ….. without finishing the post for RW and here it is Tuesday. i slept like a baby for 8 hours, woo hoo!

not sure if i will work on the project i started yesterday or cut out some new skirts.

this is for a new quilt out of picadilly designed by pamela mostek for clothworks. this will be a little more ambitious for me the way i have it thought out. i am using the large floral as a 12×12 square in the middle and then using 6×6’s and 6×12’s of all three fabrics in a pattern i worked out on grid paper. i want to use french knots to accent the stamen in the flowers of the middle block. we’ll see if this comes together. i am such a beginner ;-0

i am feeling the sewing machine calling my name , or is it my cutting table?

((hugs)) rosie