A quilt a day- or there abouts.

I am in the throws of getting ready for my new Go Make Your Bed website. The blog is still around, but has been laying dormant over the winter months. I have been so busy here at DHFD with my crafting and getting the Open Sky shop up and running, poor little GMYB took the back seat for a while.
I am creating a ready made line, and also a design wall where you can go to choose the fabrics of your liking. Everything to Go Make Your Bed! Everything you need to know about ordering will be clearly explained on the site, and a FAQ page. But rest assured, I am always just a phone call or email away if you have any questions or need suggestions. In fact, I prefer to speak directly about the order before I start cutting.
The quilts pictured are all made with the new Sis Boom line, So St. Croix, and I will keep posting pictures as the come off of my sewing table. The whole collection will be very varied, so be sure to check back and see what's new.
Also, I will quilt with your fabric for a fee if you get it to me.
My quilts are also available at Make and Mingle in Fairfield, CT.

Once apron a time....

... in a kitchen far away...
Well, now we wear our aprons everywhere! I've seen them at Bryant Park!
This one was made especially for Jennifer Paganelli with her new line of fabrics- So St, Croix.
Yes- it's reversible!

Ready, set... Sew- St. Croix.

So St.Croix- the new line from Jennifer Paganelli. So fresh, so modern, so inspiring! I had to order an ENTIRE roll of batting to get ready for it. So, here I go... off to sew with So St. Croix.

Aprons a plenty!

How much do I love aprons? Well, it all started with my mother in law, Clarita. She always had an apron for each day, each outfit, even "day-prons and night-prons". The evening wear aprons were often made of black lace or organza, with a romantic rose or heart appliqued onto the pocket, while the day version was white. They were always laundered and starched to perfection, and I am lucky enough to have inherited a few of these treasures.
Tim and I have carried on the tradition of apron wearing. We have special aprons for gardening, horse grooming, wood working, sewing, and even cooking!
When we got the job shooting aprons for Jennifer Paganelli's new line, (thanks ,Jen), it was a natural fit. Good thing we had so many organic ideas for aprons, because we now shoot tons of them! We haven't run out of ideas yet.
More good news! I now carry some of my favorites in my Open Sky shop! I have some of Jennifer's and a few of Anna Maria Horners. More to come as they become available to me, so keep a look out. They are fabulous, and I see them becoming family heirlooms in their own right.
The lovely models in the Sis Boom aprons (Miss Willy Full Apron with Pink Stripe) are Jennifer's sister Meghan and her niece Sophie. The half apron and others should be available by the end of this month!
The bonita chicas in Anna Maria's aprons are (left to right) Tessa from Make and Mingle, Glenda Dougherty ( whose dad started CRAFT Magazine!), and my niece Sophie Geaney! We get to see Sophie some weekends, as she is a student at NYU- smarty pants! How lucky are we to have such fab models at our finger tips??? And the shoot was done at Make and Mingle- such a cool place to teach! Can you see how much we love what we do?

Be mine.

Diamonds do very little for me. This ribbon rosette necklace is made with this really lovely raw edge silk ribbon. The silky blossom makes a nest for the beautiful porcelain coins made by my friend, artist Maeera Mougin. I cannot get enough of her beautiful pieces. Something tells me this isn't my first rosette. It was fun. Just baste along one edge of the ribbon and then pull to create a ruffle. Sew or glue it onto a cardboard circle, then glue a felt back onto that. Adorn it with a vintage broach or button. Glue a series of odd sized rosettes onto a ribbon and tie at the nape of the neck. This would look great with a plain white tee and jeans.

Inspired by nature- Quilt pounce pillow tutorial.

This is an age old technique that allows you to create a silhouette from a template with accuracy and ease. The "Quilt Pounce" is a block that has a reservoir that holds powdered chalk. One side is soft, like a terry cloth, and this is the side that you "pounce" against the fabric and template, leaving it's image in its place. When you are done cutting out your desired shape, simply give it a shake to remove excess chalk.
I was inspired fro this project just looking at my horse Tys in the snow. For this pillow I chose to needle felt my back round wool to my wool felt horse template. (The felting tools are available on my Open Sky shop!)The quilt pounce was perfect for this since it is so hard to mark a dark fabric, and the design was quite intricate.

Architecturally inspired.

While visiting my daughter, Genevieve, in London last fall, I was inspired by the colorful flats along Portobello Rd. More than a year has past since then and I have finally made up a quilt to capture the quaintness of that street! The quilt, "Genevieve goes to London", is 40''x 55'', is a series of 3 1/2'' strips and blocks. I used bamboo batting and I did free motion quilting to try to recreate the masonry and cobblestone roads. You can see Genevieve in the windows. My cat, Ollie likes the back almost as well as the front, and so do I. This quilt will be raffled off (details to come) as a promotion for the new C&T Publishing book, "Little Birds", in which I have a quilt pattern featured.
More good e-news, this blog will soon be a proper website where you can order ready made and custom quilts. It should be up and running by mid-March.

Scrumbling versus rumbling.

A great new PORTABLE crafting activity for me to do while trying not to eat. Keeps the hands busy, and so sensorially satisfying. Just use any ends of yarn to knit or crochet anything you want! This works well for me as I am not technically the best crochet-er.
It just doesn't matter! Everything works! So much fun- like crazy quilting with yarn. Thanks to sister jenny for introducing this art form that saw its hay-day in the 1970's- you can imagine!