Quilt for sale

I'm going to try something different today.  I recently finished a quilt, and my husband asked me what I was going to do with it, cause he could see nothing we had that it went with.  I had no one in mind when I started the quilt... I just wanted to use a batik fat quarter bundle that I had bought a couple years ago in Arizona. Also, I saw a different technique I wanted to try... so I pulled this "Enchanted Journey" bundle out and went shopping for a suitable batik backing.

The quilt really turned out cool, and I will definitely use the technique to make another one, but meanwhile I thought I would see if anyone was interested in buying this quilt.  It measures 36" wide by 50" long.  My price for this quilt is $75.  If you are interested, leave a comment and I will get back to you.

Four Dresses Done

I have figured how to deal with my "house" issue on those pillowcases.  I opened the side seam above the ruffle, then I cut an 18" square out on the house side.   After I reoriented the houses, I used my serger to stitch the houses back into the pillowcase.
Sugar gave them his approval.

I finished more than a couple quilts in the past few weeks. I don't have pictures of all of them, but I have included a couple here.  The Dresden Plate quilt was mostly all hand appliqued.  I don't usually quilt over hand applique, but I knew it would not be possible to leave that plate with no stitching. I didn't want to go with stitch in the ditch, so I came up with the idea to make little swirls in each blade of the plate. 
It think it really turned out very nicely.

       Now on to something totally different...

How many people listen to your children ask for something that they just have to have right now… and you turn around and go get it for them?  I think that is what they call instant gratification.  A short time ago I read an article that I should have bookmarked.  Besides I don’t have children living at home, and none of our children live within 800 miles… so it was not something I thought would come into play for me.  I  have learned a long time ago, that no matter what advice I might have to offer, my “technology” is out of date, so it doesn’t matter what I think, they are going to do it their own way regardless.  This means I pretty much keep my mouth shut when it comes to my opinion of how I would handle a situation.  I know silence is one step away from giving consent… but if I offer my thoughts, I am likely to be blasted or shut out, which means I keep quiet… sometimes with a very sore tongue.

Anyhow the article I am referring to suggested a wish list for your kids.  Whenever they see something they want, you instantly put it on their wish list.  Then when some important event comes along that would suggest a gift is appropriate, they get to pick from their wish list.  Of course it might not require a real important event, but something worthy of a reward.  So in actuality they might have decided something that looked really cool to start with, by the time they get to look at the list to make a choice, it may not be so important that they have that item.  This would teach them a little about waiting and appreciation.  The article did not include this thought, but I’m thinking that the wish list could be split to include little events and big events… like a bicycle would go on the big event side of the list and a video would go on the little event list.  That way if they did something really great… like a birthday, you would tell them they could choose anything off either list, but if they bring a paper home from school with an A on it, you could tell them to pick something from the little event list.  Maybe sometimes you could let them pick two items.  No matter… they are making a choice after waiting, which means it is likely they will appreciate the item that much more.

Basically I’m seeing so much “It’s all about me” attitude in our young people… of course most have inherited that from their parents… or it has been taught that it was OK to act that way by the instant gratification that they receive from their actions.  As many adults can attest to, it is much harder to get ahead in this world if all your credit cards are maxed out… which can easily happen if you have to have everything right now.  Wouldn’t it be nice to learn the benefit of waiting at an early age?

Pillowcase dress question

 Recently in a church periodical there was an article about making dresses from pillowcases for children in Africa.  We have a group going on a mission trip in April... not to Africa, but a place where the little girls would love to have a new dress.  Word has got out and I received a call from an elderly lady who had lots of pillowcases, so I went to pick up a whole bag of gently used pillowcases with the hope that our quilting group could convert them into cute little dresses.

My problem arose when I pulled out 4 of these "house" pillowcases with a great ruffle on the bottom.  They would make real cute girly dresses with that ruffle, but the houses are sideways.  I have thought of cutting a square out and turning the house, and stitching it back in place in the correct orientation, but I'm not sure it would turn out OK.  Does anyone have any ideas on how I should deal with this house issue?  Is there something I could add, or cover up, or should I cut the front off and sew the backs from two to the front of the other two... if that makes any sense.  We will tackle this project after the first of the year, so I do have some time to think on it... but in the meantime I thought someone might have a good alternative.
 
On another totally different note, the other day I was looking for something in my sewing room. In the process of my search, I uncovered a few UFOs.  Not all of my UFOs are quilting related.  I had a few knitting projects and a cro-knit afghan among those that I discovered. I have already finished 3 of those UFOs... two scarves and the afghan.  I have alot more knitting needles than I remembered having. There are many quilting projects as well, hiding in my sewing room, and I think I need to make a list and add to it when I make these discoveries... so they don't stay lost too long.

I finished one of my own quilts that will be a Christmas present.  This has been an ongoing project for more than a couple years... the pieced blocks anyhow.  Originally it was for one grandson who is now too old to appreciate John Deere... at least not a quilted one.  The panel was a great find on eBay.

I have a couple grand-daughters that will be receiving their first sewing machines this Christmas.  I have decided to put together a sewing kit for each of them.  One of my additions to their boxes I finished in one afternoon... these cute little pincushions.  I asked my husband which chicken was the cutest... I didn't take the time to make the new ones from 2 little log cabin squares .  Even though the beak and comb on the new ones are cuter... he thought the original one I made a couple years ago was much cuter. Quicker is not always better.

I lost my directions and did a Google search and found some pretty good instructions.  The part I liked the best was the filling.  I had previously used sand.  This lady used rice.  Now I'm thinking rice was too coarse and would look pokey.  She used a little coffee grinder to run the rice through.  What a great idea... I never would have considered that... but it worked beautifully. There are still bits of rice, but most of it is almost the consistency of coarse salt.  I think the girls will like these... they won't have my original to compare it to.