Craft at Cadillac Ranch?

Ok, spray painting the cars at the famous Cadillac Ranch is kind of crafty or kind of artistic! Ok it's hot and I am grasping at straws here. Well I did take this pictures with our new Nikon D300. I guess I will have to make something handmade soon--

Quilting for charity

I have no pictures of the quilts but I did work last week with a bunch of ladies on some double sided fleece quilts for cancer patients, 

www.joyfulfoundation.org

  provided the fabric and labels. 15 women worked for 3 hours and completed 23  throw size quilts.

California Flowers 3

California Flowers 2

More flowers!!

California Flowers 1

It has been to hot in Texas to even want to craft or create. I just want to sit near a fan. Luckily, I remembered that I took this pretty flower photos with our new Nikon D300. I hope you enjoy them. They were taken at a inn we stayed at near La Jolla.

heart shaped dimensional yo yo's

Something to do on our family road trip! I found this handy notion in our local quilt store. It is for forming heart shaped fabric yo-yo's. Read the instructions carefully and after that they were a snap to make. I could complete one yo-yo, including trimming the fabric around the templates in under 2 minutes. these were fun to make.

Labyrinth Triangle quilt

I am working on this large wall-hanging for my friend's new family therapy office. Her grandmother game her some lovely old fashioned pale yellow sofas and a pale green rug. This will have radiating equilateral triangles shading darker at the bottom towards lighter at the top. It represents people shedding their fears as they get help towards a lighter tomorrow. I also plan to quilt this with a single labyrinth pattern over the entire quilt, layering the meanings, eh?

This is the pattern laid out and then very carefully numbered and picked up in order and pinned. I hope I don't get off because these triangles can be quirky to work with.

Biscuit Puff Quilt

This style of quilt is cozy and old fashioned. It is made by pleating a top square that is larger say 6 1/2" to a smaller backing square that is 6 inches. you pleat 3 or the 4 sides and then stuff a wad of fiberfill into the pocket and then sew that block closed, sew all the blocks together and then put together with a backing. I think it is pretty and super puffy looking, but unless you also add regular quilt batting (a thin style) behind the finished top there will be "bare " paces in the quilt between the puffs where it is not so soft. I tacked the front to the back in a few places by machine so it would not shift when laundered. This makes such a pretty stroller pad.

Big Scale prints

Look at these fabrics Rachel is going to make in t0 a quilt, we cut these into large rectangle blocks, and even laid them out and forgot to get another picture but they are too pretty to miss out on the picture.

Recycled Skirt into Apron

Rachel and I looked at all my apron patterns at the end of her visit. She commented that she loved the one that looked like a skirt.

Well, I was at my local thrift store when i had the AHA! moment and realized I should make the apron from a skirt. I had so many to choose from that my cart was full of skirts; the kid's skirt's were 3 dollars and the women's were 4. I decided to try one first and I put the rest back.

I cut the labels from the back of this kid's size 7 corduroy skirt. Then cut on either side of the back seam. then i hemmed those cut edges with a simple turned under hem. I made some ties from quilt fabric in browns. I pressed the edges under and folded it in half to make ties, quick, quick! It helps to angle cut those straps to reduce bulk before you fold them in half., That pin is just to show how to turn it down. It was removed before sewing.

I talked to my daughter about this idea and went upstairs and was finished and took the photos 10 minutes later. One of the pluses about this skirt was that I crossed the ties in back and could run them through the front belt loops and tie in a bow. The corduroy was pretty lightweight and easy to sew.

There were so many choices of skirts too. many clothes already were gathered or had embroidery on the fabric or interesting border designs, many for prices well below what similar fabric would cost. If you wanted a full rather than a half apron you could use the back of a full size apron to cut out a front panel. I even think a pretty sundress could be used top and all! Many aprons patterns had shaped tops on them