New Apron

My daughter-in-law asked me to make an apron for her sister's birthday. I played around with a few different ideas and came up with this design.

I used some Mary Englebreit kitchen-y embroidery designs on the yoke.

I continued the log cabin strip theme on the pockets. I always line my aprons so I don't use binding around the edges - all the seams are enclosed. The double layer gives more protection as far as spills go, I think. I hope she likes it.  Thank you for visiting today. Love, Derrith

Fun Pennant Project

We had our annual holiday crafts night for our women's group at church this week. I volunteered to make the pennants for each class. It was a fun little project.

These were done with polka dot burlap. This was the class I taught. I made chalkboards to fit each person's frame and then we played around with chalk board art.

Here is one example - we played around with lots of themes.

This was another fun class - a set of 4 Halloween pillows.

We had 3 different variations of wreaths to choose from using burlap and various embellishments.

I used red burlap and scrapbook paper and of course, a little glitter.

This class was for cute, easy to make "crease-less" hair bands.

More burlap - this time pink with polka dot felt for the letters and little painted clothes pins.

  Now it's time to get my house cleaned up and move on to my sewing projects! Hope to see you again soon. -Derrith

Falling In Love With...

May I just tell you how much I love this book?! If you love Susan Branch, England or a sweet love story, you must read this book.  It is the perfect book for curling up on the couch in a cozy blanket with a cup of cocoa (or tea) and just ESCAPING.

It is hand written, with charming photos and drawings and embellishments, which makes it especially fun to read. It makes it so personal. I loved Susan Branch before, but now, I feel like we are dear friends! It is a diary of sorts of her trip through the English Countryside, and I didn't want it to end. I am on my second reading now. Since I am in the mood, I am sharing a few images of the English countryside with you. (These are not from the book)

I'm so glad you stopped by. Life is crazy at the moment with some projects I'm working on - I'll share those in a few days. Have a lovely weekend! -Derrith

October Quilt Group Show and Tell

Our numbers were small this month, but there was no shortage of love and laughter. Darlene showed us this fantastic wall hanging she machine appliqued. The detail and workmanship is perfection. My computer isn't cooperating with me today, so my pictures arent' ending up where I put them. The cute machine embroidery above was done by Barb and the other picture is of the two post cards that were exchanged this month.








Margi did this banner on her machine. She also does a beautiful job with her machine embroidery.



Barb shared her magnificent quilt she has hand appliqued. It is amazing as you can see. I love the initials at the bottom - so romantic.




Here is a close up of one of the blocks. I love her choice of fabrics.Well, thank you, friends  for dropping in today. See you next time.  Love, Derrith



Block Two - Done

I have just finished Block Two on my "Pumpkin Hill" quilt.

I took a "needle turn" applique class last week with Nancy Chong, so now I have two appliqued techniques to experiment with. I'll check back with you soon.  Love, Derrith

Serving Up Style

This weekend I attended a Home and Garden Show. As part of the event, there was a competition called "Serving Up Style" where several designers created showcase dining rooms. It was like the "White Room Challenge" on HGTV, except the designers had months to prepare and a generous budget to work with. It was so fun to see the different ideas the designers came up with and I thought you might enjoy seeing them too. Here are some of the best:

The actual lighting in most of the vignettes was dimmed and moody.  The flash on my camera pretty much ruined that effect but you can see much more detail this way.

Fun light fixture!

There were lots of different chalkboard effects as you will see below.

I have included a few closeups of the place settings when I thought they were interesting.

This one was called "Color Bomb".

Fur placemats!

I thought this was very cool.

There were lots of fun ideas I could take from many of the rooms. I hope you can too. Thanks for visiting today!  Love, Derrith

Block # 1...Done

I have started a new quilt. It is "Pumpkin Hill" by Bunny Hill Designs. My hope is that it will be ready to hang in my living room by next fall.( I usually have a seasonal quilt up on the wall) I chose this for a fall quilt for my home because my decor (blues with red accents, white furniture and butter yellow walls) doesn't really lend itself to the usual browns and oranges of Autumn. I liked this pattern because of the predominantly yellow background that I think will work well with the walls.

I have something to admit. I have never appliqued a quilt using any method that requires turning the edges of the fabric under. I have always fused, and then blanket stitched the edges. It's faster and I admit, I like instant gratification. 

 

 

I decided I was finally going to try to applique like a big girl so this quilt is it! I got some wonderful instruction from my dear friend Barb, and guess what - it's not that difficult!  I realize I may be a little late to this party, but better late than never. :-) So, I will share each block with you as I finish them - that will be my gratification. Thank you for allowing me to share some of my creative adventures with you. Please come again, anytime.  Love, Derrith

Another Happy Distraction

Last Saturday, I attended the "Fall Event" at "Main Street Vintage" in downtown Vancouver (WA). It was a real treat. It's a beautifully presented antique mall, where the vendors really go all out to make their booths interesting and appealing. It is quite large- I believe I wandered for a good 30 - 40 minutes. I would certainly recommend a visit to anyone who appreciates vintage wares in a upscale trendy setting. This clock really caught my eye. It was large and I would have loved to take it home.

This delicious poster was about 8 feet tall, or seemed to be. If you love it, you should see the rest of the booth!

Pretty hard to resist these cuties.

I loved this sophisticated space.

This was a fun booth-lots of rustic items an a few surprises...see below.

A Blender lamp! Love the Edison bulb in it!

These caught my eye because my daughter-in-law (who taught me to appreciate vintage) is re-doing her kitchen using items in this color. I will post pics when she is done!

Gotta love the confidence of this vendor. She was right.

I never really mind when a Shop keeper feeds me. :-)

Here is their pertinent information for local friends. For non local friends who want to come visit, you can stay with me!  Love,  Derrith