Quilted and bound – two of the best words in the quilting world!
It takes some courage, or some liquid courage, to cut into a stash of fabrics from Kaffe Fassett, Brandon Mably and Philip Jacobs.
When I finally committed to the cut, I was all in. And boy was it worth it.
The pattern is Shine from the October 2015 issue of American Patchwork & Quilting. It was designed by Jane Davidson of quiltjane.com
This was quilted by Lea Ingram here on Kauai.
I probably should be more careful about folding Mark. But look at that detail in his hair!
I scanned the signature and stitched it out on my Destiny. What a great sewing machine.
The woodgrain in the fence makes you just want to run out and whitewash it!
This amazing quilting was done by Deonn Stott, a true artisan.
Every detail comes alive with her great vision.
The paddlewheel blocks were quilted to look like, well, paddlewheels on a river boat.
I embroidered a different quote on the quilt, one that felt more like “me.”
Dusting off my keyboard, back with some yummy quilts!
This pattern is Fireworks by Thimble Blossoms.
The fabric is from the Acacia collection by Tula Pink.
The solid is Kona cotton Pepper.
The embroidery design is from Urban Threads, my favorite online source for machine embroidery.
The quilt back is Tula Pink wide back Free Fall.
I embroidered my quilt label in a subtle color – quite a change from my usual outspoken color choices!
My new favorite throw was quilted by Lea Ingram here on Kauai.
Damn those pirates.
If you came here from Extreme Crafting and Life Tips, please note the new blog address:
http://handmadebycarolecarr.com
Otherwise, just ignore this and go look at something more interesting. On MY blog, I mean.
Woo hoo, somebody’s been out of sorts lately. And that would be me.
Figured I gots to get my mojo back. And what better excuse for mojo rejuvenation than Christmas! Shiny lights! Bright, clashing colors! Elves! A snowstorm of glitter! These are a few of my favorite things.
Nothing like an overabundance of ornaments to make me feel jolly again. This is the first time in three years we’ve had our decorations. As I unwrapped them and put them on the tree, my demeanor instantly changed for the better. Remember the Jetsons cartoon? I have a talking Rosie the robot maid. How the heck could I not be happy now?
I’ve been doing a major overhaul on my sewing room. (Hmmm…cleaning could have something to do with general grumpiness…) But that’s a good thing! I have new equipment. Major new equipment. Equipment that does really good tricks.
My new sewing machine made this stocking. And I helped! I got some fun holiday fabrics at my local crack house (okay, it’s a sewing machine dealer/fabric store. But I spend all my money there. It’s an addiction.) Used the colors from the fabrics to make the stocking. This puts the fun in funky! Awesome and weird Christmas color palette.
I like the background for these photos. It’s a bunch of santa hats, a santa tiara, elf ears and a talking elf. The elf actually hums, he doesn’t talk. Hums along to 3 Christmas songs. And it still makes me laugh every time.
This is my ninjabread man. He’s got a throwing star with frosting. And a bandolier of ornaments. He and I look badass in this shirt. If you’re gonna wear an embroidered shirt, it should have something sassy on it. That’s my theory.
Stay crafty, my friends.
I am gonna start out by bragging about my Thanksgiving turkey. Best ever! EVER! And I never exaggerate.
It’s been 3 long years since I have cooked a Thanksgiving turkey. How sad is that? Here are my excuses, in chronological order. Three years ago, my boy Bubba was in college and working at Target. He couldn’t make the trip home for turkey day because he had to work at the ass-crack of dawn on black Friday. So we went to scenic Fargo to celebrate.
Off on a tangent alert! I don’t know what the heck I ate before we left home. Over halfway through the drive my tummy rumbled and I got some major gastric distress. You know that feeling, sudden bloating, and you just shamelessly pray for a gentle fart to release the pressure? It didn’t work out so well for me that day. More than just air in that fart. I admit it – I sharted. In the car. With That Man and Miss O. No choice but to pull off at the next rest stop, where I had to dig through my bag and head into the sketchy bathroom to change. They may have been my favorite underwear, but courtesy demands at this point that they be thrown directly into the trash can. Back on the road, I knew I had a good hour-and-a-half of relentless teasing and shaming to endure.
Anyhoo…we had Thanksgiving dinner at a hotel buffet. Meh.
The second and third years we ate at the Grand Hyatt here on Kauai. I have a really good excuse. (All of our worldly belongings were in storage, as we waded through the horrid process of remodeling our old, termite and roach infested house.) They have a pretty good spread, especially if you are the type that likes sushi with your turkey.
What were we talking about? Oh yes, my delicious turkey. I have been brining my turkey every year for twenty years or so. It really does seem to make the turkey moist and yummy. I even have a dedicated turkey brining bucket! Brining a turkey in Minnesota is pretty darn easy. You get the turkey in the brine, then in the bucket, and set the bucket on the deck or in the garage. The weather is predictably cold enough to keep it properly chilled.
That just ain’t so in Hawaii! Can’t put the turkey in a bucket and leave it out unless you want to invite Salmonella to your dinner. Light bulb! I used a turkey size oven bag! Mixed my brine, and into the spa goes the turkey!
That birdie floated, breast-side down, overnight. When it came out of the oven the next day, the anticipation was palpable.
You can see some of the sage leaves I jammed under his skin. The only less-than-perfect thing about a brined turkey is purely cosmetic – uneven browning. No way around it.
This was, by far, the BEST turkey I have EVER cooked! Today is Saturday, I just ate a turkey sandwich, and the breast meat is STILL moist! Not exaggerating! The moistest, most flavorful, Butterball of wonderfulness ever created.
So…I think this is extreme crafting and a life tip all roasted in one pan. And the pan is disposable.
Stay crafty, my friends.
Is there anyone, anyone who’s into crafty stuff, who is not easily distracted? I don’t think so. I think that crafty minds are, by definition, easily sidetracked by pretty shiny things. We wouldn’t have any inspiration if we kept our minds only on the task at hand. We would all work on only one project at a time, diligent until completion. Fabric stores would go out of business. Craft stores would shutter their doors. The world would be a grim place.
Thank the heavens it doesn’t work that way! I had to take a moment there, I got depressed just thinking about it. Let’s roll with this as today’s life tip. Distraction is good. Multi-tasking is good. Pretty shiny things lead to the birth of extreme crafting. That’s my theory, and I’m sticking to it.
I tend to gravitate towards large projects. Like, really big ones. After I taught myself to knit, I didn’t start whipping out multiple hats and scarves. Oh no, not me. I went right for the sweaters. When I started quilting last year, I didn’t do table runners and mug rugs. Nope. Quilts. Like this one. For my king-size bed.
And now this one, the Aviatrix Medallion by Elizabeth Hartman.
More on that one later. But you get the idea, right? Sometimes even I question my rationale, as I add more projects to my pile of works-in-progress. But I have had an epiphany. For me it’s an epiphany, anyway. I’ve crossed over to the dark side and started some small projects! Yeah, I’m a little late to this party. And I love it. So those of you who have figured this out, long ago I am guessing, welcome me into your lair.
My entire circle of influence is just about covered with wallets now. So look what I found, lurking around one of my favorite fabric websites, Fat Quarter Shop. It’s called the Rose Red Woodland Doll pattern by Lella Boutique. She turned out so cute I can barely stand it.
In this picture she kinda looks like she’s got the mumps. But that does not detract from her adorableness. I love that her hair is made out of fabric. And she’s wearing vintage boots, by the way. She just amuses the hell out of me, so we did a photo shoot in the back yard.
Here she is playing hide and seek in the ferns. That’s her playful look.
Now she’s sitting on the rocks of the waterfall. Notice the thoughtful look on her face.
Here she is crouching next to a ti plant. Or maybe she’s peeing. Let’s just skip this one. Now she’s just flat out embarrassed. No more pictures.
Anyway, the point is that I had fun doing this. No, I don’t have a little girl, nor a grandchild. Only a grown-up sized girl, and she doesn’t want a new dolly. I wanted a new dolly. Don’t judge me.
Stay crafty my friends.
handmade by Carole Carr 