Flowers in the Kitchen

Alex, the best stitcher in our family, crossstiched blue (of course!) roses on these fluffy waffle-weave oven mitts. Nice how she mirrored the design. Just wanted to share a project that's really finished!

So thankful for my daughter, Alex :)
I know this is a crazy busy week, everyone getting ready for holidays. But if you have a minute, please share: What are you thankful for this Thursday?

 

Thanks for sharing,

Happy Holidays --Mom

Vintage quilt upcycled

 

I found a too well used but really lovely Depression Era Northern Star quilt when I was vintage hunting with my neighbor Mary this Spring. It had already been cut down, so it was oddly sized and wouldn't work on a bed. The new binding was crooked and hideous, and plenty of stains remained, poor old quilt. But it was still too precious to leave unloved in a crowded shop, so I brought had to it home. Finally I decided that Northern Star would be happier repurposed into a new vintage treasure that could be shared and loved all over again.

 

But I couldn't cut into it. Couldn't do it. So I asked my Twitter Friends for help. @JeanneGwin of The Learning Curve Quilts and Such wrote this amazing poem, just that quick:

 

Bless this quilt, Oh Lord I pray.

To the owner I say;

Thank you for leaving me this quilt today.

I'm repurposing it in a wondrous way.

 

 Thanks, Jeanne, it worked!  

 



 

Here is a new bag I made from old the quilt.  It is so cuddly warm, and makes the day extra fun when I have get to take a piece of vintage with me everywhere. 



 

I've made a few extras, and I'd love for you to share one too. Please visit our always FREE shipping  RoadHomeQuilting.Etsy shop. And with special thanks to Jeanne and all the FriendsWhoLiveInMyPhone, you are welcome to use Coupon Code 4FTLIMP for -15% off everything in our RHQ Shop thru December 5th.

Happy Holidays, Friends!

Back!!!!!!!

Hey, there Quilters. Sorry for the long wait. Mom finally got her eye surgery for the cataracts. Soon, we will be posting again!

While we were gone, though, it has come to our attention that it was our Second Blogaversary! Happy birthday blog! Have some cake for us :)

Pineapple Welcome

Welcoming Summer and friends new and old with a quilted pineapple door hanger. This easy project combines two applique pieces: pineapple and prim stitchery.

This pineapple applique is from Rag-Spun.  It comes in two parts: green top and yellow bottom. We used the medium 4"x5" sized Rag-Spun pineapple. You could use wool or felt shapes, a fussy cut pineapple, or an iron on patch. Even a card stock pineapple will work, if you plan on never washing door hanger.

I auditioned a lot of background fabrics for this project. This tropical blue wicker print gives a summery attitude to the project. All you need is a 10"x7" scrap.

Start with glue stick and tack pineapple pieces in place with the green part roughly in the center of background scrap.

Create a quilt sandwich (layer top over batting and backing). Secure layers with pins or basting stitches, or my favorite quilting tool, Spray Basting.

Quilt diamond grid all over. I used 3/4" grid to match the size of the wicker background print. Anything 1" or smaller will work. Just quilt right through the pineapple applique to secure it in place. No need to outline or edge-stitch. Recommend machine stitching and regular foot for quilting over Rag-Spun appliques.

Alex stitched "welcome" on muslin scraps. Replacing the "L" with cross stitches and stitching some of the letters in miss-matched floss gives a  primitive feel to the words.
Any idea how pineapples came to signify Welcome? I believe it started as a colonial era tradition. Guessing that's why primitive accents go so well with pineapples.
Alex used dark brown and gold floss. Center welcome stitches above pineapple and stitch around word in an oval shape. Trim muslin to follow stitching line, leaving a 1/4" margin.

Square-up edges. Finish with traditional quilt binding. One yard of binding will do. Attach a 10" or 12" scrap of ribbon for a hanger. Tuck ends of ribbon in top binding edge on back and tack in place.