post Christmas post

As per my usual, I was up til after 11 p.m. Christmas Eve putting the finishing touches on one last present for Lu. Meet "Katherine" (named by Lu upon opening), a sweet patchwork-y dolly. I adapted the Black Apple Doll pattern (free pattern & video tutorial at Martha Stewart). I used Paint.Net to resize the pattern pieces (no copier handy here at home) until she was the desired size; her arm & leg patterns were sized to a different scale than her body for the skinnier leg.



For our photo shoot, dolly bundled up for the winter chill. ;) I used all stash prints for body & clothes and it was fun mix-matching the prints! I used 2 different Amy Butler fat quarters for her body and the first pull on skirt, and an American Jane scrap (left over from the table runner) for her legs. I had to adjust her leg thickness (or thinness rather) because I HAD to use this little apple green print!


I made her another little skirt, pink dotty print, for those days she's feeling especially winsome.

She has wool felt hair and a hand embroidered face. Her "blush" is also pink wool felt, running stitched in place.


Her caplet is plum wool felt, with a matching turned brim hat.


A pale green wool felt scarf completes her winter wear!


Lu absolutely LOVED her. And I LOVE her. I really want a funky one with pink or aqua felt hair. The pattern is already on the cutting table for another!

My mom loved her table runner too! It turned out SO cute. I really wanted to keep this one myself!
I used 11" strips of several jelly roll prints. I alternated the starting strip with a 5.5" cut instead to offset the prints. I used a fleece for batting because I couldn't get to the store (of course if I'm off of work then I'm guarunteed to be sick. This time I suspect flu. It's taken 5 days to feel sub-normal.) I backed the runner with apple green gingham, and the binding is a different American Jane blue dot.

Here's a better shot without so much sun (so you can see the yummy colors & prints).


This runner was my first foray into the world of stipple quilting by machine. It was fun! But hard. I need more practice. Mom doesn't care a whit that it's less than perfect, bless her.

Was Santa good to everyone out in blog land?

Scrappy.

This is the second half of the birthday gift for my sister, a scrappy patchwork scarf:


I was inspired by the scarves in Denyse Schmidt's Quilts book (which I don't own, but have thumbed through.) My scarf interpretation isn't quite as piecey and elaborate, but still quite cute!


I used 6 Amy Butler fat quarters, cut into 5" squares. Charm packs would be a great timesaver for this project! I just had my heart set on unmatched Amy Butler prints (that still "go"). I seamed the long strip of squares until I reached my desired length. Since I wanted the scarf to be extra long (to loop around the neck with flair), I made this scarf approximately 65" long.


Seams were pressed open, and a long strip of vintage white chenille was stitched right sides together for a backing. Turn & topstitch all around to finish. If I had had more time (I procrastinated just a bit on this one) I would have loved to handstitch an applique initial on one end, a'la Laverne. I also would have done some quilting stitches all along the scarf.

Still, it is awfully cute as is!! One more shot of Lu wearing the scarf before wrapping commenced...


And here's the birthday girl with a coffee filter hat brought out by the restaurant staff while singing the birthday song:


To my sister, who grabbed the nearest Louisville Slugger & chased a bully down the streets of a St. Louis suburb when he made me cry, who took my 5-week old baby home when I was hospitalized for 10 days and mothered him when I couldn't, who keeps a picture of me in her kitchen, me at four wearing a red poncho and crooked little glasses (probably how she will always think of me)...to Desiree. Happy Birthday!