Disappearing 4 Patch

 I found this little orphan 4 patch block in my stash.

Found a Disappearing 4 Patch tutorial on Pinterest,

cut on diagonal....

and put it on display with other orphan blocks.

Displayed using these vintage mini clothes pins.

Just a little project to brighten my studio space.

I'm planning to post more pictures of my studio next week.

Enjoy your day!

Carolyn

Where have I been?

Welcome to my much neglected blog.  

Many life changes have occurred since my last post, over 17 months ago.

We sold our home, purchased and moved to another. 

First snow in our new home.

Did lots of home repairs to both houses with more to come (bought a fixer, this will take time).

My hubs had a few job transitions but has landed in a really great position where his gifts and talents are being used to glorify our Heavenly Father.  

I spent many months working from home, but our office has moved to a new location so now I'm back working behind a desk.  

So many transitions, it just makes my head spin.

Did a little traveling, thanks to ministry training opportunities and a very generous airbnb ministry.  

Exploring the coast of Maine.

Outer Banks, NC

But you didn't come here to hear all this........I did manage to do a little creating too.

Sneak peak of my latest quilt.

Dusted off my crochet hooks.

Autumn pillow for our new sunroom.

Placemats, some fabric is vintage other's reproduction.

A buffalo check quilt for our living room.

A purse, one of my favorites!

Thanks for stopping by and I hope to post again soon.  Stay safe and healthy!

Carolyn

Disappearing 4 Patch Quilt

Recently finished this little quilt using the

Disappearing 4 Patch Pattern.

Used thrifted fabric as well as a dotted swiss from JoAnn.

Finished size is 38 inches square.

Just a fun little project, with no real purpose,

though it could be a baby gift.

The backing is a thrifted, vintage bed sheet.

Thanks for visiting,

Carolyn

Bright baby quilt finish

Bright baby quilt finished last week.

A nursing student in our church has a fellow classmate

that is from out of the country with no extended family in the US.  

He and his wife are having a baby girl and so the

students decided to shower them with gifts.

I made this little quilt as a gift for them.

The fabric came from my stash, and if I remember correctly

most of it was gifted to me when a friend was cleaning out her craft space.  

The polka-dot backing was the remaining portion

of a thrifted bed sheet used in another project.

A fun little gift that only cost me my time.

On to more projects!

Carolyn

Bags and winter wall hanging

With Thanksgiving behind us and looking toward Christmas 

(and the colder weather that comes with this time of year),

I thought it was about time to head to my sewing studio.

I made myself a new winter bag.

It's made from a thrift store wool skirt and

left over fabric from last winter's bag.

So a great bargain bag!

Earlier in the fall, I made this bag.

When I spied the colors and pattern of this fabric

I knew it just had to become a bag.

I bought this fabric just for this project,

so not much of a bargain, but since I bought the fabric at 

a big box store, not a budget buster either.

Next on the list are 5 small messenger bags for

our great nieces and granddaughter for Christmas.

I used double sided, pre-quilted fabric, so these

came together quickly.

And lastly, a sneak peak of the winter wall hanging I'm working on.

Still lots of detail work to be done, but I'm making progress.

I'm designing this one as I go, so that takes extra time with all the

measuring, and staring at fabrics on my design wall and 

don't forget the mistakes.....all part of the creative process!

All in all, I've spent some fun hours in my sewing studio lately.

In case I don't make it back here for awhile again....

Merry Christmas!

Carolyn

Mini-quilts and more

 Added another mini-quilt to my collection.

This is about 12 inches x 14 inches.

The flowered background fabric was leftover from

the bridesmaids dresses I made for our daughter's wedding.

I love the little stair step design.

The mini-quilt I shared earlier is 12 inches square.

And displayed, lots of space for more mini-quilts.

Next up on the design wall is this small quilt,

finished size will be around 30 inches square.

This quilt was inspired by Confessions of a Quilt Addicts Supernova.

Sarah began with 7 inch squares, I used 3 inch squares, 

because they were already cut and waiting for inspiration.

Now to find time to get it finished.

Fun, fun!

Carolyn

Spring has Arrived

A few weeks ago I took time to create this Spring Flower wall hanging.

I used a free pattern, and made a few changes.

I was a little rusty from not quilting for a few months, 

but with a little practice it came back to me.

Close up of feather quilting.

And my favorite block, helps that it's my favorite color.

(Looks like I'm a little rusty on proper pressing, 

not to mention blogging...)

I even managed to use the resulting 1/2 square triangles to 

create this mini quilt.

I'm trying to do more of these mini quilts

 to display on my studio wall.

The wall hanging now resides in my office at work, since I spend

so much time there I might as well enjoy some of my own work.

I also made this wreath for on my office door.

I've been working here 2 years, it's time to add a little personal touch.

Happy Spring!

 Carolyn

Christmas Wreaths featuring Vintage Ornaments

Last week I completed 4 of these wreaths. I've been collecting the vintage and used ornaments for several years and decided it was time to get this project out of my mind and on my wall so to speak.

Here's a sampling of the ornaments I used. I prefer to use glass ornaments, although there are a few plastics ones included in my projects. The solid colors are easy to find, it's the character or decorative ornaments that are harder to come by, at least at a price I'm willing to pay.  All but 2 boxes of white ornaments came thrift stores. For some reason, I had a hard time finding white.  I also purchased a few new small ornaments packs, they are hard to find also.

I started with a styrofoam wreath form, wrapped it with silver Christmas tinsel. I prefer used tinsel, it's fluffier.  If using new tinsel my tip would be, crinkle or fluff it. 

Continue by adding ornaments,  I placed them randomly then checked the layout before gluing with hot glue. This wreath is in progress.

I finished off each wreath by cutting small strips, 2-3 inches long, of tinsel and gluing it into the spaces between the ornaments.  I like the filled in look.

The next 3 pictures (along with the very first picture in this post) are the completed projects.  I will be keeping 2 of them and gave one to each of our daughters.

I have leftover ornaments, so may make a few for gifts if I can find some feature ornaments and the time.

This one went to Heather.

This one went to Andrea.

I have a very busy calendar for the next few months so.......Thanks for visiting and (I know it's early but) have a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!  

Happy Thanksgiving too!

Carolyn

I DIDN'T FORGET HOW TO SEW.........

...or blog, I just took a little break.....

so here's a catch up post.

In April, I designed and created this purse for myself.

I've been using it ever since.....I really like this size and style.

It's large enough to carry a water bottle or book 

(along with all the other normal purse stuff) 

and soft enough to be comfortable not big and bulky.

The purse began as a jacket that I bought at a thrift store

for less than $5.  Did you notice the buttons on the 

front of the purse?  I also enjoy the benefit of using pre-quilted fabric, saves a lot of time.  Love up-cycling!  

Around the same time, I made this cute little

cross body bag for a friend.  It took more

time to select the coordinating fabrics and button 

then to stitch it together.  A fun little project.

After the month of April, my sewing machine got a little break

as I enjoyed some time outside with the flower gardens and walking.  Apparently I was exposed to too much pollen, 

came down with a nasty upper respiratory infection.

Seasonal allergies are not fun!

 I'm finally feeling better so this week I dusted off the machine and made a few bags for a friend.  I'll post those pictures soon.

I'm trying to stay indoors as much as possible 

but today was a beautiful summer day.

Here's Ellie discovering the hidden kitty in the 

vinca vine.  Sorry Peaches, she's on to you!

No rest for the kitty while the little is around :)

Hope you had a great day too!

Carolyn

I SPY ..... SNOW

Since I completed this I SPY quilt during

our snow storm today.  I decided to venture

outside for photos.

It's 48" square and each block is unique.

Made totally from my stash, the backing

is a thrifted polka-dot sheet.

Not much more to say, 

except I sure hope spring arrives soon!

Cabin fever = quilting!

Carolyn