Sewing Lessons

This Spring Emma asked sweetly, "Aunt Becky, when can I come over to your house and learn how to sew?"  These are the moments that make an Aunt's heart leap...I've said it before and I'll say it again...we love that our nieces and nephews request time with us.  She wanted to make a quilt for her doll, Julie.  Emma measured carefully, pondered over which prints she wanted from the scrap basket, arranged them to her liking and began sewing, verrrry verrrry slowly.  Gradually, the hum of the old Kenmore increased and she was sewing and pressing and pinning without instruction.   Before the end of the day, the quilt was finished and it's owner and her teacher were bursting with pride!

A quilt for my Suellyn

This is me.  This is my Suellyn.

Suellyn and I first met 20+ years ago in the hallway of Jefferson Elementary School.  Within a short time we were working together at the helm of Carl Sandburg Elementary School.  We quickly became forever-friends.  In those years she has encouraged me, taught me, mentored me, counseled me, cried with me, laughed with me, and loved me just as I am.  

I could go on and on and on and on...and it would never be enough to thank her justly for all she has given me just by letting me know her.

So, I let this quilt do the talking recently for my cobalt 'n cream lovin' friend.

I'll make you a deal!

Three projects are sitting in front of me. I have the fabric for each and am ready to get started on them. There's one little problem. Each requires me to applique in some way, a skill I have not yet acquired. So what do I do? I call up the applique queen and tell her I will trade her a homemade dinner for a lesson on how to applique.

Aunt Becky and Uncle Alan came out three nights later and were greeted with the smells of homemade lasagna! Yum! We all ate and laughed and ate a little bit more. Before we knew it the pan was empty and our tummies were full. Dad and Uncle Alan headed for the living room to watch the game while Aunt Becky and I started a project. "What better way to learn to applique" she says "than to make a birthday hat." So we picked out some scrap fabric and got started. An hour and a half later we had a hat worthy of a soon to be 4 year old and I was confident I could maybe pull off the applique required for my three projects.

Our big 4 year old wore her birthday hat all day long during her birthday extravaganza!

The next day I sat down to work on the applique for project #1 and was a little nervous. I decided I needed a little more practice. So I grabbed some more scraps and made mom a present to cheer up her hectic day, a new sewing machine cover!

Now here we are about a month later and the three mentioned projects are completed and off to the quilters. Pictures will follow when they come back to me!

~ Olivia ~

Cousins don't shake hands! Cousins gotta SEW!

Since we couldn't get it to work into everyone's schedule, Olivia and I decided to have our own sewing day just us!

She slept over last night and we got up early to sew all day!  We were at our machines by 7am and didn't even stop for breakfast!

We stopped for lunch and I took Olivia for her first experience at a FIVE GUYS for burgers and fries!  It was de-lish!

We made it to one quilt shop and had an unsuccessful WalMart stop (where we saw the car to the right with the lovely words written on the back!) before it was back to the homestead.

We solved all the world's problems, got a little sewing done, and laughed as we recited some of the best "Nancy-isms".

By the end of the day, Olivia had all the blocks ready for her next quilt project, and I had curtains for my kitchen window!


-Olivia and Kristin

Teaching Others

As the summer began, I wasn't quite sure what I wanted to do with my time off. I had several projects (sewing and other misc.) to get started but I didn't know which I wanted to do first. Then a new project was put in front of me. I got so excited, I went straight to work. 

Lauren, a girlfriend from high school, came over to visit one evening. While watching a movie, she wrapped up in a quilt of mine that was lying on the couch. When the movie was over, she caught me by surprise by asking if I would teach her how to make a quilt for herself. Of course I said "Yes!"

So that night she picked out a pattern from one of the many quilt books stashed in my house and we went to the quilt store the very next day. For the next two weeks she was in and out of the house "measuring twice and cutting once", ripping out seems to correct those little mistakes, and learning that there is no such thing as too many pins. In the end she caught on to lots of my sewing humor, picked up a couple of Grandma Nancy phrases,

"if you're riding by on a flying horse, you'll never notice!" - Nancy Swinford

and made herself a beautiful quilt she will cherish forever.

~ Olivia ~

It's HOT outside!

Amy Butler's Cabo Halter pattern was very easy to follow and complete in just a day!  I used a fabric from Moda's Fandango collection and an invisible zipper in the back.  Already wearing it today!

~Kristin

Traditional AND Contemporary?

A baby quilt.  I want to make a baby quilt.  Hmmmmm?  For a little farm girl.  With a modern Mama.  With a pastel green and yellow nursery.  This is what I pondered for nearly 2 weeks and could not make a decision.  Good Grief!  

Then I joined Main Street Quilt for their anniversary celebration. Still nothing planned, but I spotted these cute little prints just inside the door.  Sometimes I love 50's Retro prints and sometimes I don't.  This time I did and I couldn't go home without a fat quarter of each.  

I started ironing and cutting as soon as I got home and the triangles were all over the quilt studio before too long.  I was stepping over them as I arranged them over and over again on the floor, trying to give the traditional prints a more contemporary look.   Think, think, think...BLACK!  And Pinwheels!  Retro meets New Millenium!  Perfect!   

From the 4 fat quarters, a little bit of moda "snow" and black from my stash, I got not 1 but 2 baby quilts.   Now to quilt and bind before the shower.

Becky