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Crossed Quilt Top

I finally put together the quilt top for this throw — see previous posts here and here. Another month and maybe I’ll actually get it quilted? It’s odd that since I’ve turned sewing into a business, I actually have less time to sew.

I’m sure I’ll get some comments about the paintings above, which I just haven’t had a moment to actually hang on the wall since I painted my sewing room last year. The painting on the right is by self-taught artist Mose Tolliver who lived in my hometown of Montgomery, Alabama. I remember visiting his home with my mother, during a time when she was very interested in folk art. And the painting on the left is by Steve Keene, whose work resembles that of self-taught artists, but he is in fact a Yale-educated, Brooklyn-based artist who paints in multiples. My husband became interested in Keene’s work when he started painting album covers.

Lately when I talk I end my sentences, with “blah, blah, blah” as I tend to go on these days and bore even myself. Maybe I should start ending posts this way too? Blah, blah blah.

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Etsy Finds Friday

Danish Rocking Chair, $750 from En Route Studio.

Occasions Past Vintage Lace Necklace, $28 from That Old Blue House.

Red Gingham Cotton/Linen Blend, $7 from Buttons and Such.

dig in the dirt Archival Print, $18 from Swallowfield.

Iowa Landscape Quilt 2, $325 from Kim Eichler-Messmer.

Antique Rag Rug, $75 from trampoline.

Vintage Folk Art Wooden Bird Toy, $32 from Out of the Pink Sky.

15 Vintage Ball Mason Jars, $89 from Matt Laura Jones.

Vera Neumann Watermelon Linen Tea Towel, $10 from Buzzin’ Around.

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Reverse Appliqué Pillow

Making pillows for our den has been on my list for some time now. I finally got around to doing some experimenting with reverse appliqué using cotton and linen with a raw edge. I stacked the fabrics together, drew the design with a fabric marker, sewed a zig-zag stitch over the lines and cut out the shapes. You can learn this technique and basic pillow instructions in my new book.

Over the next few months, I’ll be making variations of projects in the book so you can see what else you can do with it. I know there are mixed opinions about raw edges on fabric and I only like them in certain applications. What do you think?

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Easter Decorations

Easter isn’t a big holiday around our house (don’t worry, I’m not going to start a conversation about religion). But my older daughter seems particularly excited about it this year, so we hauled out the box of Easter decorations that we used when I was a kid. How sweet are these? And also sad with those missing ears. If you like this kind of thing, The Wooden Wagon has some really sweet decorations.

When I was a kid, my mother would get a branch from the yard every spring, spray it white and put it in a pot to make an Easter tree. We hung sweet little eggs and wooden decorations on it. These little birds in the front still have some gummy stuff on them from where my mother would affix them to a branch. Really sweet. I may try to do it this year with my kids. My mom also made a giant egg-shaped cake surrounded by green sprinkles and jelly beans, which we loved of course. This year, I think I’m going to try Bakerella’s Easter egg cake pops (less elaborate, just with sprinkles, I think). And I think that’s a baking project that needs to be done without little hands helping. So we’ll see how that goes.