endless love: phase three

well my granddaddy's quilt is looking mighty fine if i may say so myself. tehehe. i got the rows done today. yayyy. and SOON {hopefully tomorrow} i will be adding the borders, then the batting and backing, etc. so the very next time yall see an endless love blog, it'll be the finished product. yayyy. i really wanted yall to see the quilt in full effect. {rather than show you the completed top, then the completed quilt itself.} so that's why i left the picture out, with the middle unfinished...don't hate me...lol. so what do yall think???

it's homemade, not flawless

well i decided that for mother's day i would make my ma-inlaw a little something. nothing TOO outlandish, but something thoughtful. well i thought about her and what i could make that would be useful to her...and have it done by mother's day. {yeah right.} and here's what i thought: when she places a casserole dish on the table she always puts 2 potholders underneath it to keep the table safe from heat. well...my thought was, 'why have 2 potholders when i can make her a 'hotpad' to use instead.' it seemed like a good idea to me...lol. so i started searching for a quick-to-do project and i came across the 'rolling stones' project on this website. fabric cutting took no time at all. then i started putting the pieces together, and i swear they are SO tiny to work with. it actually frustrated me. and it frustrated me enough that i didn't even want to attempt the 'flying geese' sashing. i just finished it this evening. {yeah i know mother's day was almost 2 weeks ago, but she's been out of town, and won't be in town until sunday.} so...here's my version of 'rolling stones'...made to match my ma-inlaw's favorite green dishes. did i mention she has about 12 sets of dishes??? lol. oh, and i cheated and used a pre-made, iron-on quilt label {since this is only 8 3/4 x 8 3/4, and the adhesive smeared. oh well...it's homemade, not flawless. tehehe. {and the label doesn't look that translucent in person, must have been the flash.}

endless love: phase two

batten down the hatches yall...the quilting storm is about to roll in. lol. i spent the better half of my morning yesterday making my granddaddy & grandmomma's wedding picture come alive on fabric. i thought that this was a fun experience and i made sure that i took pictures at all the steps to share it with yall. it was very easy, all you had to do was print, iron, colorfast, lay flat to dry, pat dry, iron again, then cut...and there you have your own personal work of art. i will say that the picture fabric will shrink a bit, so DON'T cut your fabric the size you want it until after ALL the steps. {2nd time was a charm for me. tehehe.} i made the picture an 8x8 square, so that after seam allowances i will have a finished 6x6 block. yall should know that i was SO excited after having the picture on fabric, that i made a mock layout in my bedroom floor. in my last blog i said i was feeling uncomfortable about those 4 darker squares around the middle, but when the picture was put in place, my hubby & i picked a different fabric to put there, and now it just comes alive. so with that being said, enjoy phase two. i'm sewing rows together today so...phase three is coming soon to a blog near you.

endless love: phase one

o'righty. so i FINALLY decided on a pattern for my granddaddy's endless love quilt. simple as it may sound, i'm doing a good ol' fashioned 'trip around the world' quilt. i wanted the quilt to be beautiful, but NOT in any way, shape or form take away from their wedding picture. so in the very middle of the quilt, instead of a nine-patch block, i will be placing the 6x6 picture. and since this is a 'trip around the world' quilt, i was limited to how many fabrics i could choose without going overboard. i chose the following 8 fabrics, which i think are the best compliments to my grandparent's wedding picture. i played with the squares a little bit today, they are 2 1/2 inch squares, and i think that i found the placement that i am happy with, and the one that does the most justice to the picture. so, here are the 8 fabrics...a mock layout...and their wedding picture. {sorry the fabrics blend in with my counter top...and the flash made the fabrics seem much lighter in the layout picture...lol.} i'm thinking that the 4 lonely {darker} squares around the middle will be finding a new home...there's something about it that just doesn't sit right with me. lol. what do yall think???



oh, and one more thing...i cut enough fabric to make 2 of these 'trip around the world' quilts. so i am actually going to be working on them both. and so i am thinking of putting my wedding picture in the 2nd quilt and giving it to the hubby...as a surprise. {he always says, 'making another quilt...that's not gonna be for me...*hint hint*'} so i think i will sneak and make him this one. and i'll be able to hide it well, because he'll assume it's my granddaddy's quilt. any thoughts on the matter???

a 'winner' in my book

so in early january i decided to enter my 1st contest. it was a new experience for me, it was very fun, and it made my creative juices flow. you had to design a "new" 12x12 quilt block, using any fabrics, shapes, colors, etc. and although i did not win, or even come close, i wanted to keep the block. well it's just been sitting here, hanging out in my quilting stash. and i thought, "why should i keep it hid just because i didn't win???" so yesterday i vowed to make something out of it. i thought either a pillow, a small wall quilt, or a small table topper. and that's just what i did. i made a 12x12 wall quilt. it's cute, and mini, and i love it. i decided to hang it in our master bedroom, underneath this charming rustic shelf my hubby bought me about 4 years ago. so that is where it will call it's "home sweet home" and it fits perfectly. i'm SO glad that i decided to do something with my "loser" of a quilt block, because now it's a "winner" in my book. tehehe. oh and i absolutely LOVED using a feather stitch for the quilting, it added SO much character! {these pictures were taken in my kitchen, just so i could hurry up and show yall the finished product.}