Seams French

This little baby quilt and I have made it to the finish line. Perhaps not quite in time for my little grand daughter's arrival (she is now 3 months old), but just in the nick of time for her move from bassinet to the big girl crib. I have named the quilt "A Pocketful of Starlight", just as Perry Como likes to croon. ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5t_PDU5RmBw ), "Catch a falling star and put it in you pocket, save it for a rainy day". Three different shaped stars, which have been either machine appliqued or pieced, form the focal motif for the quilt. Three free motion quilted (FMQ) butterflies intertwine and emerge from the midst of these falling stars and join this little quilted galaxy. To keep the butterflies fluid and moving and separated from the curvy, swirly background filler, I added a small scale cross hatch border around them. A larger quilted star shape surrounds each of the yellow appliqued stars to highlight them and to keep them separate...

Blocking Boutis: Between all of the machine sewing and quilting that have kept me gainfully occupied over the last few months, I have taken a little time to work on my boutis. You may remember the little saffron coloured boutis rose window below from my post on October 15, 2014    http://seamsfrench.blogspot.ca/2014_10_01_archive.html . Once stitched and corded, it was soaked in a basin of warm water with a little gentle soap (such as Orvis), and then straightened and squared up with thumb tacks on a heavy sheet of styrofoam. It was originally destined to become a pin cushion, however, at 5" x 5", I find it too large to be practical for that use. Currently, it's ultimate destiny is undetermined. I used only 2 basic stitches on this piece: the running stitch and the back stitch. For more info on the stitches and their variations, click on the above link. Done a number of years ago, the little cicada used in both of the pieces below was my first attempt at boutis...

The FMQ on the twinkling star quilt is well under way. Here are a few photos of the work as it has progressed. This first photo shows 2 of the 3 star blocks that I finally settled on. The top star with the double points is machine appliqued. Aside from being the easiest one to assemble, it best captures a "twinkling" star. It has become my favourite. The smaller star underneath it was paper pieced. It was more time consuming, but the points are nice and crisp and it is securely pieced, so it will be quite durable. However, the strong diagonal lines created in the paper piecing process presented quite a challenge when trying to incorporate those lines into the rest of the quilting design. Too late to change it now! Although the double pointed machine appliqued block is the closest to a twinkling star, the yellow cotton that I used in the points, (shot cotton), is not meant for this type of machine applique. It's softness and pliability, which makes it perfect for ha...

Just on the other side of the window where I sit and sew is a hummingbird feeder. All year round, these graceful little birds entertain me with their lively dance and their energetic zeal for life. Aside from the reminder to take the time to enjoy the moment, these delicate creatures have provided me with plenty of inspiration for my quilting and boutis designs. The inspiration for the image of this hummingbird comes from one of the many photos we have taken watching these birds just on the other side of the glass..  Back in November, when I was working on the star blocks for the baby quilt, (and the star blocks were not cooperating http://seamsfrench.blogspot.ca/2014/11/oh-my-stars.html   I pushed them aside for a day or so and started another baby quilt. This time, I would pay tribute to these little hummingbirds and make them the focal point of the quilt. As I was stitching away on the star blocks, my attention was often drawn to a neatly wrapped bundle of shot cot...

Two days ago, on the winter solstice of 2014, the stars aligned, and our beautiful new granddaughter surprised everyone and made her entrance into the world and into our lives a tad prior to scheduled time of arrival. We are thankful for a safe, healthy arrival and completely thrilled, delighted and seriously in love. With ten tiny fingers, ten teeny toes, and a perfectly cute little nose, I'm sure that she joins me in wishing everyone a very special Christmas and holiday season.

Although I have been silent on the blogisphere lately, I have not been idle. With first grandbaby scheduled for arrival very soon, my stitching schedule has been preoccupied with all things "SeamsBaby". I seem to be a master of aspiring to overly "confident" (cough!), self-inflicted goals and certainly, for this particular occasion, my penchant to reach those lofty heights has not disappointed me. (For someone who doesn't even like heights, perhaps I should rethink this philosophy!) This was the situation about a week ago. In the forefront, you can see several finished and almost finished projects. But do you notice the stacks of fabric holding  down the table in the back? In those bundles of fabric are an unlimited number of warm and cuddly baby "accoutrements"; inside blankies, outside blankies, change pads, burp pads, wet cloths, dry cloths, etc., etc. . All are biding their time, waiting to be noticed and transformed into a useful existence. ...

Project #1: "The Quilt" Over the last few years, long before there was that certain "twinkle" in anyone's eye, this quilt has been twinkling in and out of my own private little galaxy. It has gone through a vast number of design evolutions without ever anything being committed to paper. Now, with the arrival of that new little star (my grand baby) being a mere few months away, it's time for this granE to get her universe of stars in order and committed to fabric. As you may have guessed, stars are to be the theme for this special little quilt. How hard can they be to construct? Right? I have done my fair share of quilting and piecing over the years. Maybe not a whole lot of stars, but still.... . So with great enthusiasm, but without consulting the wisdom of those who have gone before dedicating countless hours to the technicalities of star construction, it was off to EQ7 (Electric Quilt Program) to construct the stars for my little universe. I made ...