DIY Dish

There's a new show out there you need to know about. It's called DIY Dish, and it's about creating things. This week's episode is the first, and it's a really good one! Kim and Kris made the cutest pin cushions (which look like little cakes).

You know I collect pin cushions, and I love cake (especially cake this easy to make with no calories), so these are just right in so many ways! I gotta have one or maybe several.

Tune in here: http://thediydish.com/blog and let me know what you think!

Coming soon: pictures of my civil war reproduction quilt blocks!

ciao!

2009 MT State Fair Ribbons (a brag post)

Here's a very late update on my entries in the 2009 Montana State Fair (August).

All my ribbons and my "prize" - a 5 lb bag of sugar!
:-D


My favorite tea pot with cozy. I thought long and hard about parting with this one for 2 weeks! What if it got broken - or stolen?! 2nd place ribbon.



A pewter tea pot with cozy. I found this cute tea pot at a thrift store in WA and bought it for $4 to display my cozies in a shop where I was selling them.

My messenger bag. Simple. Functional. Lots o' pockets inside.

5th place ribbon.

Crocheted coasters. 3th place ribbon.

The Friendship quilt Amber King coordinated with many of my friends after my surgery. 5th place ribbon.

Pot holders and dish cloth (don't call it a dish RAG!)

1st place ribbon.

Red polka-dot apron with ric rack trims. I love this apron; I want to add a bib.

3rd place ribbon.

5 pin cushions displayed at the fair. I don't see my favorite one here, but it came back, so all's well. 1st place ribbon.

I hope to update more often, now that I have a laptop and Denny and I can be online at the same time!

pin cushions - can a girl ever have too many?

I have a thing for pin cushions. I love looking at them, handling them. I don't have enough, and I will make more. But for now...

Here's my current collection of pin cushions. They're all different and I love looking at them; maybe you will, too!

(Note: NEVER squeeze a pin cushion, no matter how tempting it may be!)

My pear (about 10 inches high) won first prize in the 2008 Montana State Fair. It's a CrabApple Hill design that I started with my stitching group in Washington. I used a real twig for the stem and silk for the leaf.

This side is blue (purple?) bells.

This side is lavender.

Roses.

A pin keeper. I discovered this "recipe" on Mary Jane's web site and gave several (loaded with stitching goodies) to my Billings Proverbs 31 friends. Each had different fabrics, and everyone got to choose the one they liked best. All supplies were the same - needles, thread, thimbles, finger protection, embroidery floss, tape measure, straight pins, quilting safety pins, etc. They were great fun to put together.

Nadara made this cute little helper from a bottle cap; isn't she clever! It slides onto any finger and is great for mobile sewing!

This is a "biscournu." It's two squares sewn together with the corners of each square right in the middle of the sides of the other square. Does that make sense? Lay the two squares right sides together, then skew them so they are offset; then sew and turn right side out. Makes an interesting shape when finished.

More squares, again offset. From one of Julie and Mandi's quilting books.

Ain't she cute? bawwk, baawwwck!

I saw the "recipe" for this one in a sewing/quilting mag; had to try it. It uses circle shapes; the two bottom circles are very large, and gathered into yo-yo shapes.

This one is my absolute fave. I love the soothing green, and I use it exclusively when I sew on my machine. I put beans and lavender in ALL my pin cushions so they smell wonderful as I stick pins in and they don't slide away.

Mandi arranged my glass-head pins into fleurs and I make sure I don't disturb them. (I removed the pins I actually use for the picture.)

Other Projects

Here are some other projects that I haven't posted yet.



Quilt for Allyson Robertus (the 4th grade teacher whose class I interpreted in last year). It's about 70" x 70". This is also a picture of my "design wall" - 2 hangers on a closet! Necessity really IS the mother of invention! I can hang my white flannel and "audition" blocks here. The center block is a Little Red School House (blue for Allyson!) with star points around it. Flying Geese blocks in the corners.



I traced all the kids' hands (and the adult aids) with their names in the yellow border, and I'll include all their first and last names on the label on the back.


I liked this design so much, I decided to do one for me, too. My Little Red School House is RED, of course.


My favorite pin cushion. About 6 inches across. Mandi arranged the pins for me - more fleurs!


Detail of the embroidered fleurs.


I read an article about these yo-yo pin cushions, and had to try it!




Pot holders / handle mitts for my cast iron skillets - I LOVE these!