Yesterday I decided I wanted to see what the food quilt was going to look like, so I started sewing strips together. I already had squares sewn into strips of 16. Just out of curiosity, since I'm not one to actually plan ahead, I looked up the dimensions for a double-bed-sized quilt and I'm in luck. By my calculations, it will need to be 14 x 16 squares. Maybe I'm an intuitive quilter.While I was over at the fabric/yarn store yesterday buying replacement needles to finish the socks, I noticed Hilda the saleslady working on a quilt, so I asked for a little advice. I told her I wasn't sure when to sew the binding on.....before or after the quilting. She told me it was definitely after. Actually, that's just what I intuited....
Further along the detour, I thought it would be fun to make some little ladybugs out of Sculpey with the idea of gluing them on a few of the tissue paper flowers. I had plenty of Sculpey left over from a class I took a couple of years ago when I was thinking it might be fun to make cloth dolls with clay heads. My very nice head is sitting in a basement closet collecting dust, but someday he'll be a Santa.
Here are a few of the ladybugs, and a couple of dragonfly bodies, before painting:
And here are the ladybugs after:
They still need touching up, and Tech Guy.....who has also been known to do a few crafty things when he's not teching things up......tells me they would look even better with a shine, so I'll be applying some varnish. I haven't decided on a color for the dragonflies yet, but they will probably be a dark blue or purple with fabric wings.
So the other day Mr. Gadget was moving some stuff around in the basement to make room for a new gadget, and he uncovered this:
It's a doll I made for Big City Girl when she was four. I know that because I thoughtfully wrote on the back of the doll "Mom 1988." I made the pink flannel nightgown too. From the looks of her, she didn't get much play action, but I did notice a patch on the side of her neck. She must have had a mishap of some kind. I'll put her in a safe place....away from the spiders in the basement....and save her for BCG. At some point (I do have faith) she will be pleased to have a few things that her mother lovingly made. And if not, well, there's always the Antiques Roadshow. It's funny about antiques, isn't it? Old dolls are more valuable if they're clean and haven't been played with. Furniture, on the other hand, increases in value after it's been around the block a few times and developed a nice patina. Kind of makes me feel a special kinship with those old dressers......
2 comments:
Those lady bugs are adorable, but definitely need some shine! Now, if you need any help at any stage of quilting, give me a call. I've gotten pretty good at machine quilting and am pretty darn good at quilt binding! (Don't believe anyone who tells you you need bias binding for a rectangle quilt!) I even know how to mitre the corners!
Those dolls are cute but quilts are better as far as I'm concerned. They become more useful as the years pass. I collect them and I've made a couple. Some quilts are so valuable even if they are worn and tattered! Will try to photograph my wedding quilt made for me by my grandma well before I ever got married. It's a fan pattern with difficult stitching and made from some shiny rayon fabric (something I'd never try) but fancy and big enough for the wedding bed. My grandma was in her late 70's to mid eighties when she made it. I'm not exactly sure but the quilting is totally by hand and the remainder of the quilt might be by machine...I'll have to go look. It's been stored practically since she gave it to me (not a practical bedspread at all but still a family heirloom). I'm so proud....ho..ha..ha Am sure you'll be a rounding success as a quilter! As so far so very good from your photo. Back to RB for me. Everything East Coast seemed to have that patina when I visited last. Very nice.
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