I love to sew - as long as it is simple.  I have a Bernina Artista 180 (with the embroidery module) and a Kenmore Serger.  Most of my sewing projects are home decor….valances, shower curtains, drapes, and simple quilts.   

Click on pics to enlarge

If interested, you can see more pics of my sewing room here. 

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Rag Quilt

I started quilting in 2005 and a local NC quilt store suggested I try rag quilts to learn the basics.  Great advice! So I made 3 of them for the kids for Christmas - here’s one of them.   The quilting is done as you go.  Just sandwich batting between the fabric squares and then sew big X’s across each square.  Sew all squares together and then snip the edges to create the rag effect.  Wash to fluff it up.  Simple.  If you want a pattern, check out Quilting 101.  They have some good instructions online.   

 

Just Can’t Cut It Quilt 

After the rag quilts, I wanted to tackle a more traditional quilt - but still keep it simple.  The local NC quilt store had a finished version of this quilt on display and it looked like something I could handle so I made 2 of these.  This is the one I made for my brother.  Bad pic I know - but you get the idea.  A  LAQ from North Carolina did the quilting — using a fan-like design which I think is called Baptist Fan.    If you can’t find this pattern at your local quilt store, contact All Washed Up to buy it. 

 

String Bean Quilt

Surprisingly this is considered a beginner quilt. Could have fooled me when I first saw it.  It’s simply strips sewn to a muslin foundation and though you don’t have to match corners you do need to press each strip to prevent puckering.  Easy but time consuming.  A local FL LAQ did the quilting.     

Contact Sonja Shogren for this patern.  I bought it from her while we were still living in North Carolina.

 

Steering Wheel Tablecloth

I made this simple 58” square quilt to cover the steering wheel table in our motor home.  Kathy, a longarm quilter in Coral Springs, FL did the quilting using an oak leaf pattern.  You may need to squint - but here is a picture of it in it’s new home.   I did not use a special pattern for this. It is just 169 - 5” squares assembled in 13 rows & columns. 

Laundry Surprise

I needed (ok wanted) a quilt hanging in my laundry room to perk up the place.  It’s a long narrow room  which is difficult to decorate.  

This was made using a pattern called Ten Inch Surprise by Deborah’s Design. 

A LAQ in Florida did the quilting.  I just love the coffee cups.  You can see it hanging it in it’s new home here.

 

Orange Crush

This is a downsized version of a mystery quilt created and lead by Bonnie @ Quiltville.  

I’m happy with it, but a lesson learned — no more mystery quilts for me.  sigh 

Only after the design was revealed was  I able to get the right fabric combination. 

This is also the first quilt I quilted myself — I stippled it.   No prize winning work that’s for sure, but I think with more practice I might get the hang of this.

Teddy Bears

I’m not a stuffed animal kinda person and I don’t usually make those kind of things, but I have plans to make 5 of these  for my brothers and sisters using my mother’s clothes who passed away in 2005.   This little guy is a test bear so I could practice how I might want to cut and layout the fabrics.  Yea I know he needs a nose.  I tried to add an embroidered nose, but I did not like it — so I’m shopping for a plastic one.  

Eventually  I’ll  add pics of  the finished bears which I expect to complete before Xmas 2008.  You can read about  the test project here and here. 

Miscellaneous Crafts

Mini projects - I love them.  They keep me sane between big projects.  This flying clucker pin cushion was made using a pattern I bought from Art Fabric Studio.  The beads for the feet and beak and eyes come with this.

And these crafty tins are a remake of a design you see on many sewing sites.

Mine are containers and a pincushion.  I use them to hold small sewing notions. 

Here’s a tutorial on how I made these.

 Motorhome Renovations

In late 2007, I tackled the huge job of recovering our MH window valances.  The only sewing part of this project was attaching the trim.  Leather for the front room valances which was not too difficult using the cording foot on my Bernina but you do need a leather suitable needle which you can get  at Jo Ann Fabrics.   The trim on the bedroom top treatment was a snap to sew on - and no special needle.  

    

 

The difficult part of this project was deconstructing the old fabric covers. Ugh.  A ton of staples need to be pulled.  My hands hurt for a week afterward.  Second challenge - I had to work hard to get all the wrinkles out  of the  fabric on the cover boards for the front room valances.  Meaning the flowered fabric — largely because of the shape around the edges.  With patience it works, but it can get frustrating.  Just keep smoothing and stapling as you go. 

I also made a few new pillow covers but I had the chairs professionally reupholstered.   So glad I did not tackle that one!

Chair Slipcovers 

The chairs for this porch set were looking very shabby so I made slipcovers.  These are  kinda “rough” looking, but I didn’t care how elegant they were.   This was the 3rd set of these I made over 3 years.  I never used any special fabric - so the covers would eventually fade.   I finished the edges with my serger and gathered the skirt using  my Bernina ruffler foot - which worked great! 

 

Covers for Garage Shelving 

When we moved to Florida - we lost all that great storage we had in NC.  No attics or basements in FL.  We bought some deep shelves to get most of it off the floor - but I could not stand to look @ the stuff so I made these covers.  Just simple panels.  I serged and then hemmed the sides for a finished look.  Attached them using heavy duty velcro. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Window Treatments

Over the years I’ve made lots of window treatments.  Here are the ones that hung in our NC home.  I no longer have any of these - they were sold with the home in Feb of 2007.

Silk Valances
Lined and Bead Trim
 

Lined Silk Drapes - (Pottery Barn Hardware)

Tassels matched chairs

NC Sewing Room Valance (not lined)

NC Guest Room Curtains (not lined) 

I actually made these guest room curtains for Amy’s bedroom (my step daughter) when we lived in Peoria, IL - shown in the pic below.  This is a picture of a picture so the quality is very poor.   But you get the idea.  She was about 12 at the time.  I made the pillow sham too and attached a decorative ribbon using fabric glue.  The dust ruffled matched the sham - but you can’t see that in this picture. The throw pillows you see on the chair and bed - were made using discontinued fabric samples.

Amy’s Peoria Bedroom