Summercrafter

You're a grand old flag, you're a high flying flag And forever in peace may you wave. You're the emblem of the land I love, Home of the free and the brave... by George M. Cohan I wanted to make a hanging flag quilt for my dad who immigrated here in the 60's. He loves the USA!  We love the USA. I wanted to keep it simple, use small pieces and try something new. This was the original drawing a couple of months ago.  That was the plan.... Then I got the Riley Blake , Stars and Stripes collection. And everything changed from there! Look at these neat patterns and colors.... the pinwheels!! I decided to fussy cut these, yes 50 of them, and alternate them with 49 blue squares for the blue part of the flag. The pinwheels are about 1 1/2 inches so the actual size when sewn is 1 inch. Perfect.  It only took me 2 hours to cut all these tiny squares! Truly a labor of love... Then I thought, how in the world am I g...

Isn't she sweet? Well she is a big girl now, she belongs to a dear friend. So when trying something new in my crafting adventures, MooMoo has on occasion been the subject. When I took a watercoloring class, she was my first watercolor portrait. I love her lavendar ears!  Don't have a photo of that painting, sorry. When I started quilting, she was also part of that, see? So that's MooMoo, the kitty.

I have always been drawn to watercolor paintings and quilts. I like to look at them as a whole, and then I like to study the details.   Given my heritage, and where I have always lived, nothing could be more outlandish that the love of all American country quilts!  (Please take no offense.)  My parents are Cuban immigrants and we have always lived in South Florida. Quilts just don’t fit in that circle, at least none that I have seen. So a few years ago, we went to Tennesee for summer vacation and I was once again, enamored with quilts. I would go into this  shop (there were several)   and go straight to the back and where the quilts were hanging on pegs and touch everyone as I looked at the patterns, that’s when I first noticed the stitching and the quilting designs. Amazing. The one I wanted was called Ferris Wheel by Donna Sharp and was a small fortune, there went that idea! I kept thinking about the quilt and my husband had so much faith...

Sorry this took so long to finish. But now with summer here it's  "On your mark, get set, CRAFT!" is easier said than done! I am glad I had some batting stashed away for the "sandwich" part or I would have had to wait longer!  I did debate about the quilting design, I knew the lamb would be "loopy" but I was not sure about the blocks. Either I mimicked the fabric (stripes or flowers) or did something uniform throughout. So you see, sometimes the "mental" part of quilting is more complicated than the "hands-on." Another deliberate delay in finishing the binding is that I am in the middle of ordering labels for my stuff and I really wanted to put a   "Summercrafter " label on it. But it's a process and I must move on in my quilting and crafting!! But keep an eye out, my labels will be here soon.  To refresh your memory, here is how it started. Here it is going into the wash.  Washing it was a big deal f...

As the header photo of my blog implies, I love the beach. I like to see the myriad of colors the sky, sand and sea display at any given moment. I enjoy the feel of the early morning tide lapping at my feet, the glowing sun warming my shoulders and the sand sinking beneath me. I relish the sounds of the waves crashing, the swishing of the palm leaves, and the breeze humming in my ears. What's not to love? It's God's creation speaking loud and clear! So for some time now, I have been working, in my mind, on making the family room, an Ocean Room, a Beach Room. The window view opens unto the pool where we have some of those swaying Palms. I have been collecting little things for some time (even unconsciously): photo frames, sea colored fabrics, Starfish, sand castles, not to mention the vacation photos I have taken that make me want to "skadoo" right into the pictures and be there again. The question is, how to put it together so it's...

Confessions of a Fabric-o-holic:  Whoops, I did it again, I keep buying fabric as if it will be extinct tomorrow!!  Oh the joys of receiving a beautifully wrapped box of brand new, smooth, crisp fabric. I am especially endeared with the FQ shop as they package things so nicely! I also bought some in this little quilt shop on vacation called Q . Fabric stash of favorites But my new found crush in fabrics is by Bonnie and Camille,   mother and daughter team.  I just absolutely love everything about their fabric. The colors, the patterns, the graphics, sigh! I even have lost sleep over it, how's that for a real crush?  I have so many plans and designs for these, I can't wait to get started. For the record, this is one of the very few fabrics that I have purchased more than 2 yards of, like 3 and 5 yards, this is serious people!  My heart belongs to Bonnie & Camille So here is the close up of my Bonnie and Camille...

I originally bought this fabric planning for a "beach room" (more on that later!) Unfortunately, the true color is not showing. It's a teal, (more green than blue), dark and light with an occasional white sand dollar.   I cut it up in pretty 2 1/2 inch squares, thinking the white would offset it. The white is muslin. I thought it would give it more a "worn" or softer look. Then I daisy chained it, that was fun! Then I sewed all the squares together, I had never done that! Now what do I do? I didn't plan out a whole quilt, I got carried away putting the squares together.... maybe I'll just make a table topper?

I always say it pays to be prepared! Buy pillow forms when they are 50% off or bogo, eventually you'll (I'll) need them. So go ahead, get that fabric that calls out your name, soon enough they'll be an occasion to use it. Well people, my preparation has paid off and the whole sewing process happened without a hitch, which is not usually the case. Today the new sofas arrived!! They are EXPRESSO, very nice, comfy but dark. Solution? Pillows! I had thought of using this colorful flower pattern with brown hummingbirds to add some life. My husband thought something more formal would be better since the other room was more casual. So I opted for this medallion type fabric, this pillow below was already done. Then, looking for some coordinating fabric, I made this one and was blown away at how fabulous it came out.... it really looks all fancy and elegant. I feel like I should pay myself for a job well done, I was so happy with the result. LOL! ...