Strawberries in season

Local strawberries just appeared at the farmer’s markets in our region and they inspired me to make a little mat for our dining room table.

I just cut 2.5” squares from an assortment of “strawberry” fabric and some of that sweet birdie fabric from these baby shoes.

These mats make great protectors for your dining room table.  You can put warm dishes on the table without the fear of ruining your tabletop.  I like tablerunners, too, but this size is much more practical for our table.  It finishes about 11” x 19”.

The back is this sweet apple and cherry print, so it can be reversible.  The binding is machine attached, which hopefully will give it a little more durability since I figure it will be washed a lot.

I wish I could have taken a photo with a bowl of fresh strawberries on top, but every time I’ve bought strawberries they are gone within the day—not enough time for me to snap a photo.

Have a wonderful day!

100 Followers Giveaway

Well, somehow my the numbers next to the comments were not present during this giveaway and I can’t quite remember how I made them appear last time, but the good news it the winner is number 11, so I don’t have to count too far!

And that person happens to be…

Svetlana Sotak!!! 

When I saw that I had to giggle.  She is definitely my bf in the online quilting world, so luckily I have two sets to give away (I was planning to give the other away when I hit 200 followers, but I want it to be fair, so I’m going to pick another winner who will receive the other identical fat quarter pack of Lecien dots and deer that Donna of Donna’s Lavender Nest generously donated to my blog. She is having her own giveaway right now, too, so you should hop over there after you’re done checking here.

So the other winner is….

Rebeckah Austin!!!

Only 22 more followers to go until I reach 200 and then I will have another giveaway of something super duper wonderful. 

Hopefully soon I will have time to post some progress of my latest shoo fly quilt.  It has been quite a challenge for me to sew the pieces in the correct order.  I think I will never develop Alzheimer's as I am constantly using my brain in new and difficult situations like, hst on white or hst on print.  I can just never picture it in my mind, but the blocks I do have put together correctly are starting to look like something that might turn out really pretty!  This weekend I spent a lot of time listing stuff on eBay (it’s amazing how much clothes three daughters can accumulate over the short span of 7  years and also how many sizes of jeans their mother can go through as she gains weight, then loses it, then gets pregnant again and gains weight…you get the picture!).  So now it’s back to sewing for the rest of this week while we wait for all the auctions to go by.

Have a great week!

100 Followers Giveaway

A few weeks ago I was just shy of reaching the 100 followers mark on my blog.  Donna from Donna’s Lavender Nest generously donated this beautiful pack of five Lecien fat quarters from her Etsy Shop to mark the occasion.

To win, just leave a comment that you are a follower.  I will randomly pick a winner next Wednesday.  Open to international followers too.

I finished up quilting my Oh Deer quilt this morning.  It turned out pretty good—now I am just waiting on the binding fabric from the Madrona Road collection to arrive.   I will be working on Esther’s Halloween costume in the meantime.  She is going to be a witch.  I am using the Urban Prairie Dress pattern by Violet Craft and some spooky Halloween fabric she picked out herself.

It is cold and rainy here in southern Maryland, just the perfect weather to curl up under a quilt.  Have a great week!

Trying New Things—the doll edition

The girls got an American Doll knock-off last weekend, and I made my first foray into the world of making doll clothes.  I feel like I’m learning this sewing thing all backwards…I should have followed the natural progression of sewing by making doll clothes as a kid and moving up to eventually making quilts and more complex things.  Instead, I am a thirty-five year old making doll clothes!

It’s been a real learning curve for me.  Amazingly, none of it was much of a challenge though.  Maybe my quilting experience paid off.  I just drew out a shirt pattern and it worked!

I did make one silly mistake.  I finished the seams on both the back parts of the first shirt exactly the same, so on one side they are on the side that shows.  Nothing new there!  I make mistakes like that all the time even when I’m following a pattern.

I attached the first shirt in the back with velcro.  The second one I made out of an old t-shirt.  This was my first time sewing with knits.  On one hand it was a success because it did come out looking like a shirt.  But on the other hand, I need to learn how to sew knits without getting the fabric snagged down under my throat plate a hundred times.

On this second attempt, I even made a little matching trim for the bottom of the skirt out of leftover t-shirt material. 

I never really understood the allure of making doll clothes until now.  The dress she came with is made of the same substance as gauze—I’m sure it wouldn’t survive the washing machine and the velcro would never hold up to my kids’ handling.  So I’m proud to say that while not perfect, both these outfits will last.

Linking up to Trying New Things Thursday.