Better Late Than Never

I have had lots going on, but at least remembered to take the last photos and post them before the moon quilt is delivered to that sweet baby boy this weekend. I loved using painter's tape for marking the straight diagonal lines, but there were some blocks that it was hard to see against. Who knew painter's tape was going to match the quilt so well? I need to get some Frog tape just in case my next project is blue! I used a bamboo quilt bat that I like very much. I think if I need some filler in the clothing I plan on for my fall sewing, I will consider it. Nice, soft feel, and not stiff at all. I really like it.

I did free motion quilting around all the letters, and I have not had a lot of experience at that, but I think it turned out okay. This quilt is meant to be loved, dragged around, and generally scrunched up, so I tried to give it the foundation for lots of wear. It will be given with a re-stitch warranty, should anything come loose, but I think it's  going to last.

In Italian, the literal translation of 'to give birth' is "dare alla luce"...to give to the light.

Benvenuto alla luce, Lyric.

And The Stitch Goes On

It has been a delicious relief to have the humidity drop ahead of a thunderstorm. One that didn't quite make it to us, unfortunately, but it is bearable outside now. I was really hoping for a drenching rain to water the grass, flowers and shrubs, and generally wash away the grime that has accumulated on everything since the last rain we had. But I'll take the cooler temps even without the rain.

I Love You To The Moon And Back detail.

I decided to free motion stitch the letters down before I layer and quilt this piece. I figured that if I did that now, and stitched the blue background after I sandwich it all together, they will pop a little more. The edges of the letters are meant to fray a little after washing to give it a used and loved look, but with all the stitches, they won't be going anywhere.

This quilt was one out of my imagination. I did google the name of it, with 'baby quilt', and got some hits, but nothing like this at all. I get myself into these situations of sewing but mostly they turn out okay. I do fine, unless I am sewing for someone with a deadline attached. For some reason, that takes all the fun out of it for me. 

After and before cushion covers.

My step daughter asked me to make new covers for her cushions. It was something I had never tried before, but how could I say no? Old on the right, new on the left. I even picked out the 12 zippers and reused them in the new covers. They were in great shape, and it seemed a shame to toss them, aside from the fact that new ones weren't nearly as well made, but yet, they were still expensive. It would have cost about $60 for upholstery-grade new ones.

The plaids match on these cushions, even to the gussets on the sides of the back cushions. Thanks for forcing me to understand the finer points of that, Grandma. I learned to sew from her when I was in the 5th grade. I stayed over night with her on a Friday, and Saturday morning we got up and make a jumper for me, in an uneven plaid, and it matched, everywhere. She made it impossible for me to buy plaid off the rack, because it never matches. So, 6 back cushions, 6 seat cushions, and 12 zippers later, my machine was all ready to go/sew after 4 months of sitting in the box from our move. I LOVE my Babylock.

More photos will be added as this quilt goes together. In between stitching the letters, I have rotary cut strips for a miniature wall quilt. I have missed sewing time, and am fortunate to have the equipment and supplies to sew as much as I want...so get busy, Peg.
PHOTOS©pegyates/2012

...And I Begin Again...

Epic failure at this blog, but I am going to give it another go.
Most important, the husband was able to resume his travel after the medical adventures, and the first trip was to Japan in January. Quite a big step across the ocean for a first go, but it was uneventful.
I was a little twitchy, with him on another continent, meds, and a list of the meds packed in his carry-on bag. I tried to get the list for him from the pharmacy, and they told me they couldn't give it to me, that he would have to come pick it up. "Really?" I said. "You will let me pick up his drugs and call in refills, but you won't give me a list of his drugs?"
"It's a privacy matter." they said.
"Well, it's a convenience matter for us, because his hours are long and I do as much as possible to clean up the fringe for him by doing things like this."
"Sorry Mrs. Yates, but he will have to come in himself."
And they didn't even ask him for his ID, to be sure they weren't giving it to the wrong person.
Add two more trips to Pearl Harbor in May and June, and you have a ballistic missile man who is back on the horse. The last two trips were successful test missions, so, Yay! Oh, and I also had a hysterectomy in August of 2011, so with that, and moving from the river in October of that year explains a lot of why I didn't keep up my rambling....uh...I mean blogging.

On to more things:
Another baby quilt is in the works. AJ & Lea are expecting their first baby, a son, named Lyric, in September. She has such a way about her, and tells her husband on Facebook that she 'loves him to the moon and back'

Well, this quilt was a no-brainer, given that way of sharing love, so Lyric's quilt will reflect those words, surrounded by blue patchwork. I am going to put a hanging sleeve on it, in case she wants to hang it on the wall, but it will be easily removed if she wants to cover him up with it.

This is the center panel, and I am stitching the letters down before layering and quilting it. The strips of fabric under it, to the right are being sliced for a wall hanging. I need to make up for lost time, and so at least two projects are up for prep work, along with the quilt which I hope to have done it a week.

There, Peg. That wasn't so hard, was it. A little bit, every few days, and you will be an official blogger.
PHOTOS©pegyates/2012