Before and After

This was a quicker than I thought project that made a huge difference.

I have this great comfy glider that I love, but the denim type upholstery was really dingy and I thought how fun it would be if I recovered it.  I was hesitant for a long time thinking it would be more difficult than it was, but when I finally decided to tackle it, no problems.  I took the back, seat, and each arm pad, and used them to trace a pattern.  Basically it was like making a tight fitting pillow case.

My biggest concern was how to tackle the industrial snaps that were on the arm cushions, and on the wooden arms of the glider.  Ah ha, I just cut out a button hole, or really a "snap hole", and pushed the original snap through the new cover and snapped them onto the chair frame.  Easy.

Thanks for reading,

Esther

Theresa's Quilt

This is a quilt I finished for Theresa.  This is her original design, and if your are headed to PIQF go see her and this quilt at Honey Run Quilters booth.

In the checker board areas, I did alternating up and down lines which always gives great contrast and texture.

Some McTavishing in the solid burgundy areas,

And my favorite part is the blue,

Well, that's it for this beautiful quilt, thanks for your company.

Esther

Carol's Applique, no Applique

Carol made this beautiful applique quilt, but she admitted that she got tired of appliqueing.  That's where quilting can make a difference.  

Here is the finished quilt, and you can see a few blocks that appear to be blank.

So, this is how I quilted them,

These next few photos show how I treated the border.  I was so happy with this idea of doing one design on one side of the teardrops, and another design on the other side.  And, what made me really happy is as far as I know, I thought of this one myself.  Woo Hoo.  I am highly influenced by other quilters, and use their ideas all the time, and I'm okay with that, but this one I thought of myself.   It may be out there somewhere, but I haven't seen it, so that counts for me.

The batting is a high loft polyester (from Joann's) and it shows the texture and definition of the quilting so well.

I tried to keep the quilting in the blocks simple, and basically let them speak for themselves.  Between the design of the blocks and the high loft batting, SID did the trick for most of them.

This quilt was fun, challenging, and I think a great success.  

Thanks for joining me, I appreciate it.

Esther

Other things

I have made a few non quilt things lately, and it was fun sewing and stitching something else.  The first is a Bionic Gear Bag, a pattern I bought off of Craftsy.   There is another similar type bag available, and apparently (most certainly) there is disagreement between the two designers.  Well, ignorance is bliss, and when I purchased my pattern I had no knowledge about this.  Either way, I made the Bionic Gear Bag, and I think it is genius.  There are pockets, zippers, and it is just fun.

I have a friend headed to a quilt retreat and I think this will be something she can use.

I also made a needle case.  I'm not sure why I thought I needed this, maybe because my needles are all in a metal box and I dig through every time I need a new one.  And the needles that I am using, I never have any memory of what size they are, so hopefully this will help,

 There are several pages and sections to sort your various hand and machine needles, and a two plastic pockets to hold various items.

And, I really did need some pincushions, so I made a little wool pincushion, and I even tried a little embroidery on it.  Not something to brag about, but I do like it.

I enjoyed making these projects, maybe it was their usefulness, or just making a project that I could start and finish in a reasonable time was rewarding. 

Thanks for joining me, I appreciate your company.

Esther

Dear Jane continues

I have spent a lot of time making a lot of these Dear Jane blocks.  I think I have made about half of them now.  I was so focused and a bit obsessed with these for a few months, and then I really wanted and needed to work on other projects.  I do love the challenge each of these blocks brings, but seriously now I just want to get it finished.  There is still a lot left before I can see the light at the end of this long Jane tunnel, but I am moving forward. 

Thank you for joining me on my various journeys.  I appreciate it.

Esther

Maureen's' Funky Flowers

This little stripped piece baby quilt was Maureen's very first quilt!  Since it was going to a new baby girl, I put some "funky flowers" on it.  

This is the quilt before quilting.

These flowers were so much fun to stitch, all freehand and funky.  I tried to make the flowers all different, but some of my favorites were repeated.  

I did get a lot of my ideas and inspiration from Lori Kennedy.  She has such great tutorials and I have learned much from her blog.

  Thanks for joining me, and here's to hoping September is a better blogging month.

Esther