Ocean Waves Quilts

Another story quilt......

This wall hanging came about after I saw a really cute picture of my granddaughter Raelynn that was done in black and white. I liked the look of it, so I found some others of Raelynn and Riley that looked good in black and white, and made this wallhanging for my daughter-in-law. (Sorry about  the "wrinkle"!)

    I am in the mood to make another photo quilt. I have quite a collection of "water" colored fabrics. One color pallete is in aquas and deep blues, the other is  in peach and mint greens.   I have quite a few" beach" pictures saved, so  maybe that will be the next photo quilt. In the meantime, I have been working on the "friendship braid" quilt, when time allows. Stay tuned........  

Another "story quilt".............................

Does your family have "sayings"? My family was famous for them! I still find myself saying them, even without thinking. I made this wall hanging a looooong time ago, and just simply wrote the sayings on the blocks with a permanent pen.

It really wasn't very well done...not heirloom quality or anything. I have gone to toss it numerous times, then I  end up reading the quotes again, and I smile to myself. There is a saying on this quilt that pertains to almost every family member I have, and some friends.

Some of the quotes are old standbys such as "One day at a time". One from my mother, "There's going to be a lot of things in this life you don't like, sister!". "When the parents don't mind, that the children don't mind...the children don't"." I was NOT put on this earth to make you happy every day of your life".

    You get the general idea...It can be done using any signature quilt format. A good way to preserve those family sayings, and favorite quotes, that we do forget over the years!

  

Two new blogs added......

Below I have added two new blogs for you to visit. "Zlaty sews", and My aunt June. Zlaty is a visitor to this blog, so I have started visiting hers too! She makes a lot of great things. Check out the small video on Aunt June's blog.....I must try her method of machine quilting sometime, although it boggles my mind...or my compulsivenesss....not sure which, lol. Stop over and see it for yourself!

What do I do with broken crayons?

I saw this in a magazine, it worked really well, and the kids love it. Collect your broken crayons. Toss them randomly in  paper muffin cups. I used at least 3 or 4 different color pieces in each cup. Bake @ 200 degrees in your toaster oven(or regular oven) just until the crayons melt.

 Let cool,peel off the paper, you have chunky rainbow crayons! They are easy for kids to hold, and they love the different colors in each one. It was a project that I did with Granddaughters Raelynn and Riley the other day. Riley was too shy to have her picture taken, but she enjoyed coloring with the crayons.

Another cuddly quilt................

Not much time to sew lately, but I did get another one of these baby quilts done. When I get the kits, I try to cut them, and put them in a bag with the directions. Then when I have a block of time, I do a section, then put it away for next time. I usually do the machine quilting all at once.

    The only problem with working with this plush fabric is the fuzz! It's everywhere, and I have to vacuum out my whole machine as well. I think it's worth it, because babies really seem to like it!

    I bought one kit at Joannes that is so cute for a "girly girl". It is all in soft pinks, white eyelet, and pale mint green. There is no baby yet to give it too, but I just loved it. So, here is the latest kit finished, and stay...tuned......

Cute baby quilt..................

This is one of those "cuddle quilt kits" from Joanns. The backing is a striped flannel, and some of the squares are the same fabric. This one had dogs, paw prints, and dogs with bones!   I bound it with random  leftover 2 1/2" strips in the colors in the quilt .

These quilts are really cute, and work up very fast. It is machine pieced and quilted. I quilted it in a "squiggle" pattern. I am showing a close-up picture, so you can hopefully see the quilting.  Some of the squares are plush fabric,some flannels, and some regular cotton.  It's the perfect size for a car seat, or "drag-around" quilt.

I shopped till I dropped.....................

We had a great time spending gift cards yesterday! Everyone knows I really don't like to shop...but get me in a fabric store.....I got two more of the cuddly quilt kits for baby quilts. They contain everything except the batting to make a the quilt. They don't give you binding strips, they suggest pillow turn, so I just use up some of those leftover 2 1/2" strips. The kits  usually contain satins and plush fabrics, and flannel backings. I have found the fabrics to be really unique, and a reasonably good quality. They sew up quick, so I usually keep a "boy" quilt and a "girl" quilt on hand. They are small, but the perfect size for a car seat, or carriage.  I got these with a 40% off coupon.

    I also got a fusible batting, lots of threads(1/2 price), fat quarters,(on sale too), and two fat quarter packs. The fat quarter packs will make a really cute baby quilt. One is all dogs and dog related items, the other is all red/blue plaids. I think the two packs will make a really cute "boy" quilt. Sothanks Jared and Laurie, and Ernie, I had a fun time at Joanns! So, stay tuned........

    

The story of the first photo quilt...................

Everyone that know me, knows that I LOVE to make photo quilts. It all started when my son graduated from high school. I wanted to make a "story" of his life, something that he would have forever. I learned a lot making this quilt, about what worked with using photo transfer, and what didn't.

    This quilt has pictures of my son, Jared, from the time that he was born, until his graduation from High School. There are pictures of  all of his family, including parents, grandparents, and great grandparents. There are pictures of his friends from when he was a little boy.Under each picture is a caption relating to the picture. There is a picture of my dad saying"take off those shoes, city kid". That is what my dad said to my son everytime we visited on nantucket,lol.

 There was a picture of a girlfriend at the time, that had to be covered over when she was no longer in the picture. Of course he wouldn't listen to me at the time, when  I told him I thought that a high school girlfriend shouldn't be included in the quilt lol.

    I attached miniatures that reminded me of him, and things he liked to do. There is a miniature pizza,a painting set, a plate of brownies, and a football.The back is covered with messages from friends and family, and quotes that either reminded me of him, or that I thought would be inspirational to him in the years to come. Some of the quotes.."If you lie down with dogs, you get up with fleas". "If there is a piano to be moved in life, don't pick up the stool". "What goes around, comes around", "There's no place like home...except Gramma's" and many many more. I have made many more photo quilts since then, and it still is one of my favorite things to do........................Stay tuned

Better late than Never....................

I was going to make Peggy and Kathie REALLY roll their eyes by saying this was my first project for NEXT Christmas, lol. The truth is, I I didn't get it done for this Christmas. I had bought the panel and fabrics over at "Calamity Janes" cottage. I didn't end up using the pattern that came with it. I just used 4" squares. I wanted to use the little decorative squares that came with the panel, and doing it this way allowed me to use them. I looked in my stash, and lo and behold a friend had given me enough Santa fabric for the back!

    I used the June Tailor fusible batting, with no problem, and machine quilted it. It is amazing how much easier that batting makes machine quilting go. No matter how much I pin conventional batting, I always get puckers on the back. This batting  also gives a very "flat " neat look to the quilt.

    I do intend, by February, to start my gifts for NEXT year. By putting it in print, I challenge myself to do it! Stay tuned.........

Back to the story quilts.....

It is SO cold here on Cape Cod! I hope everyone had a safe and Happy New Year! We stayed in, watched a movie, and had munchie food. A perfect new years eve!

With the holidays, I haven't accomplished much in the sewing department, so I thought I would show you a few previous quilts, and tell the story behind them. Again, I invite you..if you have a quilt that "tells a story", send  me the story and the pic I would love to post it.

    This original quilt was made around the time my mother  passed away, after a long illness. She loved birds, and spent may hours feeding them, and watching them. Her favorite bird was a cardinal. I never see one that I don't think of her. I made this quilt showing all her favorite birds.

    This wallhanging was hand appliqued' and quilted. I think concentrating on those tiny bird pieces, and doing that intricate hand quilting, helped me during that time. It was a healing project, as I thought of her the whole time I worked on it, and that was about 6 months of hand work!