Linda Matthews: cloth whisperer – Wild Flower

Linda Matthews: cloth whisperer – Wild Flower

Linda Matthews is one of the most ingenious and creative persons I have ever heard of. She does things with fabric and thread that are just amazing!

This link will take you to some of her free motion machine embroidery.

http://www.linda-matthews.com/tips-for-machine-quilting/

Kitties in my Sewing Room

Here is one good reason to close the door to my sewing room. This is why I must wash every quilt upon it's completion. Miss Freckles is a rescued kitty and as such she really does get away with a lot at our house. It's taken three years for her to come "out of her shell". She had one tiny kitten and was hard pressed to find food for herself and the kitten when we discovered her hanging around the outside of our house. Her life is free of worries now and she is becoming so sweet and friendly. We just don't have the heart to scold her when she is "bad".

This new pink fabric quilt I am working on is a practice piece for learning how to use the walking foot that came with my sewing machine. I have had it for 5 years now and have not used it once; the walking foot that is. I found a wonderful book that illustrates the use of it and I am having a great time with this small quilt, a lap sized one.

New York and back...

A whirlwind of a trip which culminated from a nearly four month wait for pro bono surgery.

Here is a selection of photos of the crew from Park Slope Productions.

A Cute New Blouse

This cute little blouse is super easy to make and is made from
Simplicity pattern #2596. I embellished it with two appliqued flowers that have little buttons sewn on for the centers.

It's an easy to make pattern and has endless possibilities for personal creativity.

Quilted Bed Topper

After sewing many months for others I decided to take a little time to start a quilting project for home. This bed topper graces the foot of our bed and usually has one or two kitties sprawled out across it at different times of the day.

A Quilting Frenzy

This quilt was made from scraps left over from another quilting project, a bed topper. I am making this one for my nephew who also happens to be my Godson.

It has been a fun one to make and features a new design cut from an X-Square. You can really get creative with these squares.

A Quilting Frenzy

I have not logged on for a few months because I have been so busy sewing and I simply forgot about my blog. So I am back today to show off the fruits of my labors.

This quilt is aptly named "Blue on Blue" and I made it for a gift for a great niece who has graduated from high school and is headed off to college.

The Ides of March ~ or What I Did While Waiting for Spring

Old man Winter is still with us and the weather outside is still frightful so I am spending more time indoors sewing. The calmness of my sewing room is continually broken with the whir of my Juki's motor; thrrrrrr, thrrrrrr. Well, okay, what does a sewing machine's motor sound like? Whrrrrr, whrrrrr? Whatever!

So here is a good look at what I made so far this month. The first quilt is from a pattern called "The Zoey Throw" by Valori Wells Designs. It's a perfect quilt for a beginner but would be enjoyed by an intermediate quilter as well. There are many ways to personalize this quilt and it could be embellished in many imaginative ways.

The pattern called for a pillow to be made with the quilt and I designed mine to match the quilt top using some of the left over pieces for the center of the pillow and framed it in with the tiny striped yellow and white backing. I used the larger print roses fabric on the back side of the pillow. I outlined the roses in a cream colored thread and used mercerized cotton crochet thread in coordinating colors of peach, canary yellow and tango orange for hand tying the quilt. So it was top stitched as well as hand tied. Instead of hand typing any of the roses I used three french knots, using double crochet thread, in the center of each rose and the effect was very nice.

This was the first quilt I had made in five years so my skills were a little rusty in the various components of the quilt assembly, such as in the binding, but with practice I will improve. All in all I am quite pleased with the end result.

February Creations ~ Sew Cute!

This is my newest project, a patchwork handbag with a matching
checkbook cover. The fabric is Bliss by Moda. I love the bright happy colors and patterns!

The instructions said to make the lining of
the same patchwork design but I thought,
"why, who would ever see it?" So when I
was done with the exterior of the bag I layed it flat on the lining fabric and cut it
out to the same shape and sewed it together
and then sewed the interior and exterior at
the seams and voila!

I could not find a simple checkbook cover pattern so I made a template for my own.

February ~ Share the Love XO XO

Happy Anniversary to us!

This month my husband and I celebrated our first wedding anniversary. We have known each other for four years now. They have been the happiest years of my life. It is wonderful to have a man in my life that appreciates me and loves me just the way I
am! God has been so good to me!


My husband is not only good looking but charming, well mannered, kind, easy to talk to, a good companion and friend, considerate and just plain wonderful!

Monday, January 24, 2011 ` a Day to Reconnect

Several days back I found the online obituary of the father of an old friend of mine from years ago. I did a little searching and soon found her telephone number listed at her place of business. It didn't take much thought before I found myself dialing her number and leaving an after-hours message.

When I did not get a return telephone call right away I felt badly, thinking she had decided not to reconnect with me. We had both shared some unpleasant experiences together and I wondered if they were just too painful for her to reach out over the miles and years to reach out to me. Today the telephone rang and when I saw her name appear on the digital readout of my telephone I was so elated.

I don't recall how long we talked but every audible word just seemed to hang in the air as I listened to her voice. We had been separated for over thirty years but the conversation flowed as easily as it had when we were neighbors, friends and sisters-in-law back in our twenties. We would sit over cup after cup of hot tea and talk for hours. She dearly loved my son and I remember feeling that if anything ever happened to me Becky would be the one who would take him in and love him as much as I did. I knew she would one day make a terrific mother and wife; she just needed the right man! Unfortunately the right man was an elusive dream for both of us during that time in our lives.

Becky this is how I look now; the above photo being taken in the last few weeks. I stopped coloring my hair last year and let it grow out to show my natural color.

Two Thousand Eleven ` a Fresh Start

One ship sails east and another west with the self-same winds that blow,
'Tis the set of the sail and not the gale which determines the way they go.
The winds of the sea are the ways of fate as we voyage along through life,
'Tis the act of the soul that determines the goal, and not the calm or the strife.

Ella Wheeler Wilcox

The above quote is one I have enjoyed reading for many years. In my time on earth I have discovered that none of us are alone when it comes to encountering difficulties in life; we all seem to have a tale to tell of personal tragedy, misfortune, suffering or illness. None of us skates through life untouched. I also believe that our personal suffering leads us to the realization of a higher being, our Creator, God the Father Almighty. We all end up calling out to Him at some point.

The above quote illustrates that although we all have free will and can certainly make our own decisions and choices, the way it all turns out depends on whether those decisions and choices are centered around earthly wants and needs or those of our Creator. There is a tremendous difference in the outcome of our lives when we choose to follow a Godly path!

The above photo is one that was taken when I was about 28 years of age, at around the time I was sporting the quote on my living room wall. Little did I realize the significance of the quote and how it would prove to be true in my own life!