Pumpkin Project

A few weeks ago I was out shopping with a friend and we saw some really cool fabric pumpkins for sale. We looked at them and decided we could make our own and wondered if any of our stitching guild members would like to play along.

We figured out how to make the actual pumpkins but neither of us had the time to design leaves. So we bought a copy of McCalls 6178 for the leaves. Then we made mock ups.

This is the mock up I took to show everyone to see if they wanted to play. Everyone loved the idea, so we're getting together next month to play.

I used most of a fat quarter sewn into a tube for the pumpkin's body, the stem is covered with some fine whale corduroy. The ribs are made with some one-ply wool I had in my stash. The leaves are felt and cotton fused with interfacing. I used chain and blanket stitches to accent them instead of the machine stitching the pattern used.
Right now I'm working on some smaller ones in different colors and varying fabrics. My friend made hers out of tan velveteen (batik leaf) and a luscious gray wool (double thick golden felt leaves), but I don't have a picture of hers.

Once I get my army of smaller pumpkins finished, I'll get pictures up. I may not get most of them finished until next month when we all get together. There will be pictures provided I remember the camera.

Crafty Ramblings

At least that's what my mind seems to be doing. The brain waves keep flitting from one idea to another right now. Being sick right now isn't helping me stay focused on anything at all.

One minute I'm gathering images and making sketches for Ara's swap, the next I'm stitching a gift for Holly's upcoming birthday. For those of you who just recently started following, Holly is one of my dearest friends. I tend to stitch gifts for her when I find something that fits her taste. Last year I made her a patriotic themed sampler with teddy bears on it. This year it's something a bit more nautical and will fit the decor of her bedroom.
As you can see I've got the main body of the lighthouse done along with the roof of the keeper's house. I've been working on this at night when I need to relax. Fortunately I have a true color lamp that can still next to me while I'm on the couch or move into my room if I need to stitch in bed.

The Rendezvous sewing is still lurking throughout the house. I'm maybe a quarter of the way through it. But I haven't touched it in a few weeks. My mental reset button with quilting started with this purple and blue quilt top. I am waiting for a chance to take it, the batting, and its backing to my friend, Donna's, house so she can help me get it layered and basted. Currently I'm fiddling with making appliques to go on this wall quilt.

Here is my bag of templates:I had tried to avoid it, but I believe I have to put up the sewing accouterments this week so I can use the kitchen table to work on the swap. My work room (read: glorified closet) is in too bad of a shape for me to try and work in there, not to mention I need as much natural light as I can get for this project. [Are you curious yet, San? ;- ) ] So the fabric gets to be piled neatly against the wall and in plastic boxes while I get the swap item under way.

Obviously I won't blog about that until Ara posts on her blog about all the pieces.

Since autumn is right around the corner I decided our spring-themed wreath needed to get changed out for something more appropriate. So I reclaimed a chunk of kitchen counter and set to work.I'm quite happy with it and the Fuzzy Husband was pleasantly surprised when he came home to it. Autumn is his favorite time of the year.

Last week also found me at a gathering of the quilters from the Peoria Stitcher's Guild. We were helping another member baste a quilt top. I didn't think to take my camera with me. Perhaps the artist will allow me to get a picture of it at the next guild meeting in October. The most amazing thing about the completely hand stitched quilt top was that she used only the leftovers from other projects to piece it. The colors all blended perfectly and it truly looked like she had purposely selected the fabrics to match. Other than the batting, she just had to buy fabric for the backing.

Next week the "surface stitchers" from the guild are having their meeting. I'm driving Donna and myself there, as our other friend who usually drives has a work obligation out of town. I may pack the blue and purple quilt in the car in case we have time to play with it after the meeting. As far as a project to work on at the meeting goes I will most likely take the lighthouse if I haven't finished it this weekend. I still need to sit down and finish that baby layette too.

I got the jacket finished, minus trim and buttons, moved on to the second bootie and started swearing under my breath. Apparently I discovered during the first bootie 5 years ago that there is a mistake in the pattern instructions. Of course something happened back then so I didn't work the second one while the changes I made were fresh in my mind. So now I have to sit down and count out how I did the first one so they will match.

Did I mention my nephew and his wife are expecting their third child next month? Yes I said nephew... I'm all of two months older than him. Gotta love huge families. I have fabric for a crib quilt to throw together but I haven't touched it since I washed the sizing out of the fabric.

Oh and I almost forgot to mention the new blog background. I love purple! Even better with a touch of black and grey.

So that's it for the moment. Once projects start getting done I will blog more about them. Hopefully I will start feeling better soon.