Skateboard Quilt for Jack

Skateboarding is a big part of life around here. Our family has a skateboard shop here in town. Our sons have grown up skateboarding. Mitch has gone from that to long boarding, less tricks more hills. He also has a "dancer" which means you step around on it while you glide. He took several long boards to college as they were his mode of transportation around campus.

Jack is into park skating. He loves to do tricks in big bowls and fly into the flats. For Jack, it's his #1 passion. Last year he drew a sketch of a skateboard quilt he hoped I would make. I made a block - which became a pillow - and was side tracked from there. I'm a great starter but a horrible finisher! When my Mom came to visit she encouraged me to work on it some more. She and I cut out the fabric pieces to assemble 10 more blocks. I now have them all stitched together! I'm putting them in a log cabin framing next. I can see the finish line ahead!

Duke is quite the couch hog, so we manage to share the couch with him. His face keeps getting more and more gray specks of fur on it. I am begging him to slow down the aging process. He will be 8 in June. He still has plenty of spunk in him - loves his walks, barks for treats by his treat bowl, nudges my leg when I am cooking bacon and eggs, sticks his head through the sunroof when we are driving. I love him!

Hand stitching those circles is slowly coming along. How about that color pallet? It's new for me.

Happy Monday!

Kris

Liberty Challenge Update

I'm sewing up a table runner with Liberty fabric - my Liberty challenge "progress report" is today! I decided to try plastic hexagon templates. The instructions say to use a gathering stitch on the back. I am used to just tacking corners on paper templates. This presented a challenge as the fabric would slip around the plastic. I'm not sure I like the plastic! Any tips?

I really enjoy the circle appliqué! Mom and I had a rhythm going while she was here. We used the AMH technique for the circles, wrapping fabric around cardboard, then foil, then iron. I cut the circles, mom wrapped and foiled them, then I would press them. This is the quilt I mentioned on IG that is a "new" color scheme for me! It's softer colors and has more blue than usual.

Mom axed her original green, yellow and salmon plan (after sewing two blocks - lol!) and went with red, gray and black. She is making this quilt for my brother. My Dad has texted me pictures (proof) that she is now working on it back at her home. Go Mom!

Before I mentioned I might make party favors for the friends who came over for Mom's birthday party. I did! They are fabric candy bowls. Here's one:

It's porch weather here! Mitch is home for the summer from college. This is the time of year that those of us who live in the Pacific North West of the United States LIVE for! Sunny days, 70 degree weather and our rhododendrons (state flower) are in full bloom. We have pink, red, white and peach ones surrounding our front porch. Duke loves to hang out there and doesn't go down the steps unless he is told he can. Wine on the porch anyone? Mitch always says "yes!"

I'm linking up to the Liberty challenge at Bold Goods!
Kris

Give Me Liberty!

Some friends of mine are hosting a sew-along with Liberty fabric. The "finish" deadline of whatever you want to make is in about a week and there will be a link up then. I can't wait to see all of the beautiful Liberty projects. I ordered a small scrap pack along with a yard of Anna Maria Horner's cotton/linen blend to join the party!

These are the blue and greens from the package.
** One of these fabrics is not Liberty, can you guess which one? **. The first comment that guesses correctly gets a prize!

I'm going to English Plastic piece some hexagons and make a table runner. Did you catch the "plastic" my EPP friends? I got a package of plastic (reusable) hole in the middle hexis with my 40%off coupon! Anxious to see how these work out. Until now I have cut my own papers and the sides always seem to be a tiny bit off. I even have a hexi ruler thingy but can't get them perfect. Clare would say that is ok because you can fudge with it when you stitch them together but I've seen her work up close and let me tell you it is perfect and lies completely flat as a pancake on the seams. She's amazing! Where was I? Oh yes I have my materials and I'm ready to join the party. But first.....another party.....Mom's still here and her birthday is tomorrow so I am throwing her a dinner party tonight with 8 of my close friends that she now knows too. She's doing the cooking - is that tacky? Ha! She makes fantastic tacos so she will do the meat and shells and the rest of us will be contributing food and drinks. It will be merry! I have pink decorations (her favorite color) ready to go. I envision doing a little modge-podge party favor project this morning but I'm not sure. If I'm successful I'll post pictures.

My IPhone won't store anymore pictures for some reason so my picture taking has slowed down a bit. While I don't have a picture of Duke for this post, let me assure you he is still as CUTE as ever!!!

Kris

April bee blocks for Deb!

I've made the April Bee Blocks for my bee mate and friend, Deb from Life on the Selvage edge.. It's helped me realize I need more low volume fabrics in my stash. I'm generally not drawn to them but I do see how they compliment the wild colors that I like so much!

Found these cut little felt clothes pins at Michael's. Our new Gig Harbor Michael's just opened yesterday! Mom and I HAD to go. It was a big event in our small town.

Many of these low volume squares are "Comma" fabrics from a charm pack which I recently scored locally at ArtCo in Tacoma. The center triangles are two of my favorite lines from Anna Maria Horner and Violet Craft.

Fuzzy pink sewing socks were in order for Deb - since they match her blocks so well!

Speaking of low volume, here is a quilt I saw on flickr (name in bottom right corner) that really inspired me! Mary at "Molly Flanders" does a beautiful clam shell pillow with hand quilting that I adore. Have you seen Mary's blog? You must!

Here is Mary's pillow. Don't you just love all of the inspiration on line?

<3 Kris

I see quilts everywhere!

We took my Mom to the Tacoma glass museum. That first picture is tiny pieces of glass - amazing! All of these photos are of glass. Just stunning, really. And some quilt inspiration.

Jack had a recorder recital. It was very cute. They all sound so much better on their recorders at the end of 5th grade than they did those early days of 4th grade. Just when the recorders were officially retired (yesterday), Jack takes out his home recorder at 8 am this morning to play a tune. Me: "What are you doing?" Jack: "I feel like playing a song." My Mom: rolls her eyes at me and gives Jack a big smile and says, "that sounds great!"

Jack isn't the only one feeling the love from Grandma. Duke is her new couch buddy! She fluffs the blanket just so, then calls him to come sit by her - which at first he didn't used to do, but now, he is happy to oblige. He has more treat bag varieties on the kitchen counter than he had all last year! He even had a little pasta in his dog food last night. I was sure he would leave it but nope, he licked the bowl clean!

We have many projects underway. I have lots to blog about!

Kris

Thank you Clare!

I've already exchanged emails with Clare thanking her for the beautiful mini quilt and the awesome surprise for my boy, Duke! Isn't it gorgeous? I was thrilled to win it from her blog give away. The mailman delivers to our house first, then to our shop 8 doors down. He told my husband, "Your wife got a package from overseas." Whoo hoo I knew what that was! It now sits on an antique table in my entryway along with Jack's roses art piece, which I framed. Duke's beautifully stitched patch is soon to become part of his newest scarf.

Mom and I are sprucing up the porch for springtime. She's also hard at work on her coasters and her circles. Today she sewed a circle through the fabric to her sweatpants! She also said, "I hope I finish this before I die." We are laughing our way through her visit. Isn't she sweet here baking peanut butter cookies? She has always been quite the baker. I've worked some more on the skateboard quilt and I have THREE circles sewn on my circle quilt. It's practically done!! (Not really, of course). It's the hoop hanging on my fabric shelves. Mom has bought two wall clocks since staying with me. Apparently we didn't have enough of them. I'm getting used to the "tick, tick, tick" in our upstairs bathroom. Our latest find was a steal at TJ Max - $13! It's the new clock in the living room. It's great during the day but in the evening you can't see the face of it! We've gotten a good laugh out of what a "find" it was! :-) Between my cell phone and my iPad I always know what time it is.

It's time to sew!

Kris