Red on Valentines Day

Happy Valentines Day! It seems like red is the color of the day, so here are some illustrations from my life. Red cards ready and waiting.




My valentines gift from dear hubby. A red polka dot teapot, perfect!




My gift to him, a home made cherry pie.




More red on the dining room table. Flowers, candle, Japanese doll and plum candy - decorations from our Chinese New Year celebration last weekend.

Whatever you may be celebrating today, I hope it includes the passion and sweetness associated with red.

Trees added

I have added the trees to my winter sunrise composition. They are fused on. I plan to add sewing lines to do the thinner branches.

I also have some shimmery white thread to add to the snow area. I think I will do that by hand.

We have actually had some milder temperatures here the past few days. Into the 40's and 50's. Makes one think of the little green buds that will be coming to these dark trees.

Winter sunrise

I am working on trying to capture winter sunrise in a small fabric wall quilt. Here is a photo that I am using for inspiration. This is a scene that I pass on my way to work in the morning, as I drive east.


Here is my attempt, so far, to capture the sunrise.

I don't have the photography equipment to do the colors justice here, they look much more muted in this photo. There is a lot of gray here in the winter, appropriate I suppose.

Next I have to decide how to add the trees. A minister at my congregation referred to the trees against the winter sky as "brown lace". I like that comparison. I don't plan to use lace literally but do want to capture the wispy pattern of the sleeping winter trees.

A wristlet for Mary

I tidied up the studio yesterday and found some quilting pins and a bobbin that I need to return to my friend Mary. I reflected that I couldn't just give them back to her in a plastic or paper bag. So..., of course, I made her a wristlet.

I know that Mary likes Fall colors. So I rummaged through my stash to find a nice combo. I added a little row of pieced fabric to the bottom of the purse. As I pull these little pieces of fabric together I reflect on their history. The fabric in the body of the bag is fabric that I used to accent a vest I made, in a class that Mary and I took together.

The bits in the pieced row are:
1. red oriental - from a jacket I made with all oriental fabrics
2. pink/red/orange from a piece of fabric that Nathan gave me
3. red with gold dots - from my friend Besty, see the sunshine pillow.
4. yellow - from a little fabric bundle from the island of St. John's where they recycle worn bed sheets by dying them in beautiful batiks- a gift from my friend Margaret.
5. a piece of batik that I purchased from the local quilt shop and have used in more than one project. Here is one example.

I again added 3 beads to the zipper pull, this makes opening and closing easier and looks pretty cute. I think the beads on the zipper pull will now be a standard addition.

So here's to a lot of enjoyment from a little creation. The pleasure of giving it to Mary will be the icing on the cake.

Polka dots for Betsy and Meg

My friend Betsy gave me a wonderful piece of polka dot fabric based on Eric Carle's book The Very Hungry Caterpillar. I decided to make a larger wristlet bag, more of a large pencil case shape as a gift for Betsy. Big enough to hold scissors and other sewing accessories. I put a large round wood bead on the zipper pull.

I just love the bright colors of this print and how the polka dots are so plentiful and crowded joyfully together. Can you believe The Hungry Caterpillar was published in 1969? This must qualify as a classic now. It even has a wikipedia entry, where it says that it is one of the best-selling books of all time, with over 25 million copies in print.

I also made a smaller wristlet for Betsy's daughter Meg. Meg is a school teacher, so this seems to be a perfect print for her.









I just love making these wristlets, I am ever appreciative of the tutorial posted here for the instructions.

sewing for Makayla's bitty baby

I spent a long weekend up north with friends and their 4 yr old daughter. Makayla brought along her bitty baby doll. I had a small variety of fabric on hand, just in case. We made her a quilt, a bib and a bonnet. She picked the colors (her favorite color is yellow) and helped me decide on size and placement of the large blocks and the bib shape and size. What fun. She was very pleased with the results, as you can see.

finished sunshine

Here are some shots of the finished sunshine pillow. You will note that is got a little bigger.