Archive for the ‘sew it’ Category

“Silently, one by one, in the infinite meadows of heaven,

Blossomed the lovely stars,

the forget-me-nots of the angels”

-Henry Wordsworth Longfellow

Yesterday my mom gave to me the quilt she made for my birthday.

The pattern is called Lovely Stars and was inspired by an antique quilt my mom saw in a magazine.  When she asked which, of all the quilt blocks in the world, I would like for my birthday quilt, I debated….   but not very long.

Having a quilt that was designed by my mom and then made by her… I could never hope for a more perfect gift.

The scallop border is so beautiful and and yet it came out of necessity.  My mattress and mattress pad make my bed so high, it needed a little something extra to make sure it fit once the quilt it was quilted and washed.

It’s yet another way the make it do part ended up being my favorite part.  When I walk past my bedroom I see the scallop and it makes me happy.

I love searching out the personality of each star.  Most of the fabrics for the stars came out of my mom’s bountiful fabric closet.

The alternate block fabric is incredibly soft, almost like a sateen.

As you can see, the backing is a very simple plain unbleached muslin.  It could not work more perfectly with top… it feels like anything else would have been too much.

The quilt has a wonderful, antique sensibility.  It makes my room feel warm and cozy and peaceful.

Thank you, thank you mom for such a precious gift.  I will always treasure it.

If you are interested, the pattern was designed by my mother and her dear friend Norma.  Though my mom no longer sells patterns, this and other of her patterns are still available to order through Geoff’s Mom’s Pattern Company by clicking here.

What are you going to be for Halloween?

My daughter took one look at this wonderful Mummy costume and knew ancient Egypt was calling her name.  Emmahotep.

This costume fit exactly what I was looking for too… a costume that used materials I had on hand and was light on sewing.

The Mummy costume was created by the wonderful and creative Melissa of the Polka Dot Chair.  I’ve followed Melissa’s blog for over a year now, ever since we met in person at a dinner.  I knew her tutorial would be easy to follow and well done.

When I asked Melissa if I could share her finished project, she kindly said yes.

Melissa shares the tutorial for making a boy mummy costume too.  Just like me, Melissa had one child and then had twins.  Unlike me, she’s been able to talk her twins into being “twinners” for Halloween.

You can find the step by step tutorial on how to make a Mummy here.

I am home from vacation today.  We had the most lovely time as a family imaginable.  And ouch! It’s hard to come home and get back to real life.  I have laundry to do and costumes to finish.

Lucky for me, this Mummy costume is super simple, since I need to whip it up tomorrow.  It’ll be a great way to use an old stained long-sleeve white shirt and some leggings with torn lace at the bottom.  My old sheet will make an appearance in this costume too.

Be sure to drop by Melissa’s blog, The Polka Dot Chair.  Her sewing projects are fabulous.  I love her bag patterns especially.