Summer Projects - Headboard bench

Dear Readers,

In April I bought a new mattress and box springs.  It sat entirely too tall on my bed.  So I decided to make a new headboard out of an old door from from my Grandmother's home and use the old headboard and footboard to make a bench.

First I bought some 1x 6's and made a box to support some boards for the bench.  Then I cut the footboard down so it would be the right height for the bench, and cut the posts off to the height for the arm rests.

Next I attached the box to the headboard and footboard.  Then I painted everything with chalk paint.  I am planning for the bench to be exterior, although under an awning, so I wanted all the surfaces painted to help preserve the wood.  I also painted the slats at this time so it would be easy to get the parts between the slats.  Last I attached the slats and added wheels.  I am obsessed with having wheels on my furniture as I live alone, and sometimes I need to move things and it is really nice if you don't have to call someone to help you.

The last step was to add the arm rests and paint them.  Finally, I put a coat of wax on it to give it a little character.

Summer Projects - DVD Shelf

Hey all,

I did a lot of summer projects this year.  The first project I completed was a shelf for my DVD player and electronic stuff.

The cords were coming out of a hole in the wall so first I found this cool cord guide at the hardware store and I put it in.

As you can see it had been sitting on the edge of the hearth with cords going everywhere.  I planned the shelf to sit out from the chimney a little as the outlet to plug the electronics into was in the corner and there are gas lines running along he edge of the chimney.  I made the top so it would lift off so if you have to work on changing hook ups it is easier to get in there.  I also found a wooden box at JoAnn's and cut holes in it for cords to go in so the cord "nest" would be would hidden.

Group quilting and sewing

Hey readers,

Just a short post tonight, need to get a few more chores done so I will have a good week at school.  

We are coming down to the end of the school year.  Last full week with Seniors....so not too much more to go!  I have been craving the beach.  I always lived near the beach growing up, and it has been two years without a trip to the beach.  I need to make that happen.

If you are not a member of a guild, you need to find one.  It is so nice to get together with others that love doing the same things you do.  Plus the satisfaction one gets from working on a group project and seeing it done are great.  Last Saturday we were working on three different projects at our monthly Sit n Sew.  One group was working on gifts for the goodie bags that we will give out when our guild hosts the MQA state meeting in the Fall.  Another group was working on the Habitat quilt.  And the group I was working with were putting the rows together on the house quilt.  We had such a nice time and accomplished so much!!

Saturday, I put the borders on a quilt our guild was making.  Cut the binding and pieced it, and put it on a tube so it would not wrinkle.  I also put the backing together.  My brother was here for the weekend, so he carried it back to Columbus for me.  

Also on Saturday, the Possum Town Quilters, presented a quilt to a new Habitat for Humanity recipient.  The new home owner, was Cookie, aka Dennis Bailey.  Cookie has worked at Columbus High for years.  This was short notice for this quilt, so last Saturday on our sit and sew day, we made a jelly roll quilt and set in some t-shirts.  We got the top done except for attaching the borders.  Watana carried it home, put the borders on, and quilted it with a sports theme.  Then the Wednesday Maple Street quilters, many of whom are PTQers, sewed the binding down.  I did not go to the dedication as the weather was bad.  

This afternoon I worked on some gifts for my dad's birthday and a quilted piece that my step mother, did not know what to do with it.  So I set it in a pillow for her, and made a couple of travel pillow cases for my dad.  I don't think he reads my blog that often so I am going to take a chance and post a photo of them here.  

Have a great week.  

Sew on!!

Terry

Rocky Mountain Dreams

Dear Readers,

Hey all I know it so I missed posting last week, but I wanted to get a post in this week for sure. I finally finished the Rocky Mountain dreams quilt. 

You may remember I was working on it around Thanksgiving time.  I picked blues to represent the sky, browns, reds and greens to represent the colors of the mountains.  The pattern is Scrappy Mountain Magestries by Bonnie K. Hunter.  Click here for a link to her pattern.  I finished machine quilting, bound, and labeled. I used some of the walking foot techniques I learned in my Craftsy class from Jacquie Gering. Click here to read about that class.  Since I named the quilt Rocky Mountain Dreams I decided to quilt it like a topographical map.  

Yesterday my guild, The Possum Town Quilters, had a sit-n-sew day. We were very productive.  We got the middle of two quilts done.  They should have something on the blog about it soon. Click one link at the right to read about it.  It was a really nice day and lots of fun to work on joint projects with a big group. 

Then I got a pedicure and had dinner with two other friends. 

Get out and make something.  It makes you feel good. 

Sew long. 

Terry

Upholstery and two fabric quilts.

Dear Readers,

I spent most of the day trying to get the yucky upholstery off of a chair I bought soon after buying this house.  It has been sitting around, first in the garage, and last summer I brought it in and put it on a cafeteria table I have been using as a dining room table.  My son affectionately started calling it my large object de' art.  I made the cushion a month or so ago, but have been hesitant to start on the chair.  It is a wing back and I have never reupholstered a wing back chair.

I got the back legs off with no problem...I am having trouble getting the front legs off.  UGH!

When my hands would get tired, I would go sew on my two fabric quilt.  That is the theme of next years Mountain Quiltfest in Pigeon Forge.   It is going to be either a baby quilt or a small throw.  I am doing a stack and whack with the animal print fabric.  I don't have any more of the great orange I used in the safari stars quilt, but I have some animal footprint fabric I used on the back of another quilt that I think that will work.

Quilt on,

Terry

Summer Breeze

Dear Readers,

Last summer my brother gave me this antique quilt top that one of our cousins gave to him.  I had bounded three antique quilts that his mother in law had given to him and he said I could keep this one.  So I took on my summer road trip and found some fabric in Colorado for the back and some 30's reproduction print at Missouri Star for the binding.  

 As you can see it had issues.  It was  very lumpy wavy.  I took to Betty Lewis of Louisville, MS and she was able to get it quilted with no tucks!!  She had to keep a steam iron handy and steam the fans before quilting to shrink them up.  She did a beautiful job.

 I named the quilt, Summer Breeze.  I know that they did not name their quilts in the 40's or 50's when this was made, but I like to give my quilts names.  I still need to put labels on some of the other quilts that she made.  But this one is done!

Sew on,

Terry

Safari Stars

Dear Readers,

A couple of weeks ago my daughter called and asked me to make a baby quilt for a couple at her office that does NOT like color.  My first thought was how on earth does someone make a baby quilt with out color.  After I thought about it, I went shopping in my stash and I found a neat fabric that I had bought a few years ago to make a stack and whack quilt for my nephew, as I thought he was into zoo animals, then I found out he wasn't so I made a different quilt for him.

I was originally going to do a stack and whack quilt, but then decided to make a wonky star block with a fussy cut animal from the safari fabric that I had in my stash.

There were eight different animals in the print that were suitable for fussy cutting at 5 inch squares.

So then I cut 8 white squares for each block and various black fabrics for the wonky star points.  After I made the 8 blocks I was going to make a heart within a star, but it did not look right so I put a black and white print on the four corners.

I was originally going to put 2.5 in strips for the sashing and cornerstones, but I sent a photo to my daughter and she thought it should be wider, remember the blocks are finishing at 13.5, so the normal sashing did look a little undersized.  I decided to string piece the sashing using my blacks with white prints.  I had seen Bonnie Hunter do that with neutrals.  That really set everything off and I made them wide enough to finish at 3.5 inches.  Decided that it needed a border around the whole thing, so I cut a border out of the safari fabric and used it around the whole thing.  That made the quilt finish at 63 inches square.  I like that size for a baby quilt, as it is big enough for them to use till late into childhood.

I quilted this on the long arm machine at Bernina Sewing Center in Ridgeland, MS.  It sure does make that go fast to get something like that quilted in a small period of time.  I did have a couple of tucks get in the back as I forgot to attach the side clamps.  I guess that is what happens when you only quilt on a long arm once every few months.  I whipped stitched the creases down and because that would make them less noticeable.  I used the same animal print on the back and it is so busy it does not show at all... but I still hate that it is there.

Hope the baby loves it and uses it till he or she is too big for a small quilt.

Sew long,

Terry