Annie Sloan Chalk Paint- Chateau Grey

A little over a year ago my friend Lynn expressed a desire to have her bedroom painted, but was going to have to wait over a month to have the job completed. I talked to Verne, and we volunteered to paint it for her. She was hesitant at first, until we agreed that she could make us lunch in exchange. 

In the process of painting, we learned that Lynn was going to kick this dresser to the curb. While it was a sturdy, old piece, she had spilled some fragrance oil on the top of it, and the paint was bubbling. I said I'd take it for my sewing room. 

While it's generally unnecessary to sand when using Annie Sloan chalk Paint, I was afraid that the fragrance oil would bubble the new paint as well and sanded the top down entirely. And then I let the dresser sit. For a year. I knew I wanted to repaint it, but couldn't decide on a color.

Finally, after much hemming and hawing I decided on Chateau Grey. It's slightly green, but extremely neutral. I used two coats of paint, with several more coats on the sanded top and two coats of wax. I did  a little sanding here and there where the wood was distressed anyway, but not too much.

Let me tell you, this dresser can hold quite a bit of fabric!

Commencement

There's been lots of talk of quilts, and not much of family around these parts. We've gone from a houseful of children to having only one left at home. This past weekend, Mac graduated from college and will continue to live in an apartment in the same town where he attended university these past four years. He's been employed as a technical writer for an auditing firm over the past year, and was hired full time. Autumn is sharing a house with a friend, attending school, and working several jobs. Collin recently rented a home, and is employed locally. He's attending school as well. That leaves just Abigail here with us. 

It's quiet. Very quiet. 

With everyone scattered here and there, the last time we were all together was Easter 2012. I was thrilled to get to spend Friday evening and most of Saturday with our entire family. 

Time marches on.


Photography credit goes to Mac's friend Sarah who was majoring in photojournalism, but has recently made a switch.

Disappearing Nine Patch for Olive Margaret

Babies! They're springing up everywhere. Last year we attended a few weddings of my(now grown) children's childhood friends. Remember the rhyme: "First comes love, second comes marriage, then comes_____ with a baby carriage! Mmmhmm. That's exactly what's going on.

Nate and Allison were married on a lovely day last June, and their little bundle, Olive Margaret, arrived in March. She's first cousin to Eleanor Faye! My friend, their grandma, who birthed three boys of her own but attracted the attention of every little girl in the church, must be over the moon about these two beautiful granddaughters born within a month of each other.

All of this to say I needed to make another baby quilt. Hooray! Inspired by Allison of Cluck Cluck Sew, I decided on a Disappearing Nine Patch. Using mostly Savanna Bop and mixing in a few polka dots, stripes, and vines, I took the quilt in a more feminine direction. Can I just say how much I love this fabric? It's bright and cheery, and perfect for a boy or girl.

I put my quilt layers together and pinned them. I intended to straight line quilt this on my own, but the tension on my machine decided it didn't want to cooperate. After several hours of messing around unsuccessfully, I removed the pins and shipped the quilt off to The Back Porch Quilters.

Back from the quilters and ready for binding. 

I love the design that Russ chose. His attention to detail is amazing, and his tension is perfect!

I finished the binding (by hand) in a day, washed the quilt and shipped it off to the new little babe. 

 Pre washing (above), 

and post. I love that crinkly, pucker-y feeling and look of a laundered quilt. Don't you?

Paddlewheel Sawtooth Table Runner

I hope you aren't tired of quilt post after quilt post. I feel a little proud of all that I've accomplished this year. Since I was unable to run for eight weeks, I found a little more time for sewing. I also did my spring cleaning. ;-)

During said spring cleaning, I came across more than a few unfinished projects. Some need quite a few hours to completion, while a few others need just an hour or two. This table runner was one of those. 

Several years back- probably more like six to seven years if I'm honest and thinking clearly, I borrowed Thimbleberries Beginner's Luck: Over 20 Tried and True Quilts by Lynette Jensen from the local library. Several projects caught my eye, and I decided to try my hand at one. 

To be truthful, I had no idea what I was doing, and it shows. When I found this "work in progress" in my sewing closet I was tempted to throw it away. Most of the half square triangles have the tips cut off, and it's more than a little wonky. My perfectionist tendencies can often keep me from completing a project if it  isn't going exactly how I want it to. I gave myself a little talking to and decided to finish it anyway. I'm glad I did! 

Oh boy! Not getting half square triangles to match up is one thing, but this corner is really off! 

But, on a galloping horse from 50 feet away it looks pretty good! 

This little table runner only lacked the binding. It took me about 45 minutes to finish it. I had quilted it by hand, and though it isn't anywhere near perfect, it has a certain charm to it. 

Humble beginnings! My quilts are still far from perfect, but it's nice to see how far I've come. 

Interestingly, as I Googled the name of the pattern in hopes of sharing the book title with you, I found the instructions online. If, you'd like to make a Paddlewheel Sawtooth Table Runner of your own you can find the directions here.

Scrappy Trip Along

I can't remember now if it was the end of 2012 or the beginning of 2013, but somewhere around the New Year this Scrappy Trip Along craze invaded Instagram. Started by Megan of Lucy and Norman, and Brenda of Just a Bit Frayed, literally thousands of quilters around the world have jumped on the Scrappy bandwagon. 

This quilt is perfect for using up scraps. Mine contains some fabric scraps that are at least forty years old, and others that were given to me recently by friends. Anything goes!

This quilt went together fairly quickly. Abigail helped me arrange the blocks in a pattern pleasing to the eye. 

She also picked the backing and binding fabrics.

I sent it off to be quilted with the baby quilt for Eleanor, and just as soon as I bound Ellies' quilt, I began this one. It took me about a day, and voila! it was done!

 I was so excited to get this quilt onto Abigail's bed. I dug out this gingham bedskirt that I'd had for quite some time, and thought it looked lovely together. I pressed the skirt while the quilt washed and dried.

Such a beauty!

 Such disappointment! Keeping it real here, folks. The quilt shrunk just a little too much and was too narrow for the bed. I could have cried.

Off the bed and onto the quilt rack it went. Abigail and I  enjoy snuggling under it while we eat popcorn and read, so it's not a total loss.

Want to make one of your own? You can find the tutorial for the blocks here.
Special thanks to The Back Porch Quilters for a wonderful job on the quilting!

Snap Happy

Another gift completed and given. Several of you were curious about the little "purses" that I showed in this post.

The pattern is called Snap Happy by The stitchin' Sisters and can be found at their website, here.

Abigail and I recently went to see Autumn and visited a little quilt shop along the way. We found these coordinating fabrics that were perfect for a cupcake loving girl. Not too cutesy, not too juvenile, we agreed that these were pretty, feminine, and perfect!

The larger pouch was filled with a key chain and two small notepads. I tucked a Starbucks gift card into the smaller one. The set was presented to the girl Collin has taken a shine to as a birthday gift, and she was thrilled.

Yellow and Grey for Eleanor Faye

Time marches on, and people I knew when they were children are getting married and having babies of their own.

Last spring, one of my children's favorite babysitters got married. Ben was such fun. Yes, I said Ben. Have you ever hired a male babysitter? He was so cool. He was a lifeguard and we had a pool so the children could swim while he was at our home with them. He knew how to make fancy necklaces and bracelets with beads and hemp. Now Ben is married and has a daughter of his own.

I messaged his wife Kara several months back and asked her what colors they were using in the baby's room. When I got her reply, I gathered various shades of yellow and grey. You've seen the original quilt top that I made in this post, but as I worked on it I thought it might be too traditional for this young, fun-loving family. I developed a new plan.

Inspired by Crazy Mom Quilts, I followed her pattern for this modern baby quilt. The chevron pattern is a little deceiving and makes the quilt look wider than it is long. It's actually 42" wide x 42.25" long.

I wanted to throw in a touch of pink for this sweet baby girl, so I backed the quilt with a fabric that incorporated the colors that Kara had chosen with a touch of femininity. I labeled the back lower right hand corner with Eleanor's full name and the names of her parents, her birthdate, and my name.

Although I had this quilt pieced a few months before Ella was born, I procrastinated with the actual quilting. I finally sent it out rather than completing it myself. Seeing Dana's quilt that she had done by The Back Porch Quilters, I trusted that they would do a good job. I was not to be disappointed. Their work was even more fabulous than I could have imagined.

I bound the quilt during a long car trip, washed it, and sent it off in the mail. I long to hold Ben and Kara's beautiful little girl but until then they can wrap her in a hug from me.