Artless Fabrications

Today I spent the morning finishing all the sewing on my pillowcase projects and the afternoon baking Christmas cookies, and now I just have to put my parcels together for a visit to the post office tomorrow morning. I’m so pleased with how the pillowcases turned out and must keep this in mind for future gift ideas. Perhaps next year everyone will receive a cute Christmas themed pillowcase in their stockings. I see that the holiday fabrics are starting to go on sale already, so now’s definitely the time to begin next year’s planning, ha, ha! If only I was that organized!

Until next time,

happy stitching, carol

another little gem

Last week I started showing you some of the toy sewing machines in my collection and thought you might like to see this one too. It’s a sweet little Sew-O-Matic hand crank machine, all metal with a lovely wooden knob on the crank. It sits on top of one of my vintage sewing baskets from the same era. Some of my toys have their original boxes but this one did not. I even have a mini Brother that is still in its original travel case.

until next time,

carol

Hello Kitty

Super Heroes

Three down and three to go

I’ve been sewing up a storm the past few days and Christmas gifts are starting to pile up. Hooray! This year my grandchildren will be receiving cute pillowcases from their Nana and some will also have matching drawstring bags (just had to use up the leftovers, ha, ha!)

until next time,

happy stitching, carol

25th Anniversary quilt

Yesterday I got to thinking about the various anniversary quilts I’ve made over the years and this is the one that I see every day. It hangs on the wall in my living room, right above the sofa, and it’s been there in the same spot since we moved to our old farmhouse over eleven years ago. The entire quilt was done by hand using needle turned applique and hand quilting, with the exception of the pieced background, which was sewn on the machine. I remember distinctly working on this quilt, as it was the same year that I had major surgery on my foot and was out of commission for a few weeks. I had planned the project well in advance, knowing that I’d suffer from quilting withdrawal if I didn’t have something both fun and challenging to work on. I did enter it into the Festival of Quilts at Heritage Park that year and was honoured to receive a prize for it too, but that was the one and only time I’ve ever shown this quilt, until now. Thanks for letting me share it with you.

as always, carol

Love Birds Anniversary quilt

… is that I’ve been married for almost 40 years! Yup! that’s right, I’m that old, and in February 2019 my husband and I will be celebrating our 40th anniversary!

The photo above is the quilt I made to commemorate our 35th anniversary and I don’t think I’ve ever shared this one with you. There is a little back story on this quilt that will give you a chuckle. You see, I thought I had given myself plenty of time prior to the big date but, because of all the English paper piecing handwork in the center portion, it wasn’t quite finished until the following year. Although I still consider it our 35th anniversary quilt, in reality, it’s our 36th, but it’s a good thing that I only do these special projects every five years as it gives me a chance to catch up.

In order to have our 40th anniversary quilt done on time I’ve been working hard all year to complete the blocks but seem to have gotten bored with sewing the sashing. I’m now down to the crunch, with February 2019 looming in the not too distant future (yikes!), and if it wasn’t for all these wonderful mysteries and quilt-alongs, I’m quite sure I’d have my ‘milestone’ quilt finished by now. I’ll keep you posted…

as always, carol

Pretty in Pink

I’ve been collecting miniature/toy sewing machines and other domestic toys for about twenty years and so, as you can imagine, I have quite a variety. One of my greatest treasures is the little mini wringer washing machine that I scored at an auction about ten years ago. As you can see from the photo, there is a tiny crank on the side that turns the agitator on the inside of the tub to wash the clothes. But I think the best part of my little treasure is the colour! I wish my full sized washer and dryer was that sweet shade of 1930’s pink.

as always, love, carol

My very first toy machine

In keeping with my December theme of sharing things you may not know about me, I’m continuing on with another photo of one of my toy sewing machines. This was the very first one in the collection, one of the oldest, and it is definitely one of my favourites. The tiny machines on the left hand side of the photo are hand painted metal salt and pepper shakers that my husband purchased in an online auction some years back. In addition, I have a matching pair in the shape of antique irons (which I also collect).

as always, carol

Toy machine

Looking back over previous posts I realized that last year I participated in the ‘post every day for 30 days’ in the month of December. In an attempt to repeat that, I thought I’d do something a little different this year and share some photos that reveal something about me that perhaps you don’t know…

I collect toy sewing machines!

Keep checking back for more revelations, as always, carol xox

I’m feeling rather overwhelmed, as yet another month draws to a close. The year has flown by and I surely haven’t accomplished all that I set out to do. With only December remaining, the panic is beginning to take hold. Now is the time to make that list of priorities, or better yet, just start drafting a new list altogether – the New Year’s list.

Well, the Plenty Fall Fair has come and gone, and with so many weeks of preparations there’s definitely a sense of anti-climax afterwards. Although I did sell a few items I still have much remaining, as the traffic flow of customers was not as steady as it should have been. I had quite a few new items on my table this year and thought I’d share some photos I snapped prior to the doors opening. (Sorry, but not the best pictures due to poor lighting I’m afraid)

Hand crocheted 'prairie girl' shawls $75.00 each

Halloween table runner

Miniature Civil War quilt

Modern Improv Baby Quilt (sold)

I had been crocheting all sorts of scarves and shawls prior to the sale and still have a few lovelies remaining. I also put together around six new table runners and/or placemat sets for the show and have some of those in stock as well. I usually try to bring along at least a few one of a kind baby quilts in the hopes of tempting someone, and this year I sold a beauty to a new grandma setting up her own nursery for her visiting grandchildren – what a great idea!

Some of the newest items added to my table this year were original framed artworks created especially for this sale. They are a little odd/quirky and whimsical, and perhaps not to everyone’s taste, but I love them. I thought that I’d be quite happy if I were to bring them back home :o)

Original artwork #1

Original artwork #2

Original artwork #3 (sold)

Original artwork #4

I only sold one of these framed pieces last weekend but I’m considering taking on another table at the upcoming Christmas Sale at the church next weekend, if I can only summon the time and energy to do it. I certainly have enough hand-crafted items to fill another table. Perhaps I’ll see you there?

As always, carol xox