This is about as close as I will ever get to getting a tattoo. When I saw this embroidery pattern, I just had to put it on something, and that something was my denim jacket! Dear Hubby’s reaction: ” Quilt Or Die!?… Quilt or Die!?… It’s just a hobby!” I only wish I could have embroidered the larger pattern. My Janome has a limit of 5″x7″. I found it at Urban Threads 🙂
While Dear Daughter is at home for the holidays, I made good use of my “new to me” Janome MC350E. I embellished a denim shirt for her with cycling woodland creatures – DD is very outdoorsy. I also embellished a denim skirt with a back-to-school fish… In honor of her starting Graduate School in Fish And Wildlife Conservation And Management.
Muriel’s daughter recently got married. I thought it would be fun to design fabric from Muriel’s artwork, and sew up a tablecloth as a wedding gift. Her favorite color is orange, so I picked Muriel’s Orange art, designed a repeating pattern, and uploaded to Spoonflower. I found orange fabric with an orange peel look to border the fabric. I even mitered the corners! It was a fun project, and I think it came out pretty nice 🙂
Another friend of mine became a grandmother, for the fourth time! 🙂 – she has an adorable granddaughter. I saw this on Pinterest, and of course just had to make a pair:
It’s already May. Much has happened since I last posted. Older son moved back to CA – yay! Younger son continues in the Bay Area, and dear daughter got hit by a car on her bike, but managed to make it to Nationals. Thank God she is ok…
The inattentive gardener that I am, I dedicated two of my planters to growing berries. I happened to be out poking around my garden today, and lo and behold, the berries were ripe!
I have been wanting my very own studio space. When younger son moved up north, I eyed his room, but it was an overwhelming mess, since we started using it as a catch all room. So, dear hubby suggested the kids bonus room. He helped me organize it, put together some Ikea cabinets, and now I have my very own Studio! This is the old computer nook; now my sewing station:
Lots of storage for my quilting and art!
Vintage quilts I have been collecting for some special projects:
Now I have a place to display my vintage metal dollhouses:
My current quilt project. A quilter, Laura West Kong, who belongs to my local Guild has a Quarter Daisy block in the book, Modern Blocks:
And the TV is still in here, so the kids are not totally deprived when they come home to visit:
I have always wanted to learn how to paint in acrylic. A very talented friend of mine, Muriel Dolemieux is teaching a group of us in her home Studio. I love it! it’s so much fun! Here is our first painting:
So, I’m keeping myself very busy. Life is good!
So much for yacking about my garden every month… I have decided to try winter gardening as I am such a hands off summer gardener. It just gets too hot around here during the summer. So, with the help of my gardener, my planters are ready to go – whenever I get going:
We had a wonderful Thanksgiving. Dear younger son and dear daughter came home. Dear older son went to his girlfriends… and so it begins :). Anyway, DD and I baked the first batch of Christmas cookies so DYS could take some back up north, and DD could take some back down to University and share with friends. Here we are in our festive aprons:
I was asked to help knit some scarves for our local Youth Hope. So for the last few weeks, I have been knitting along. As usual, my estimate of how fast I can knit was really off. I managed to make 5 Mariners scarves. There are apparently more homeless boys than girls, so I tried keeping the colors neutral, but that pink and variegated one snuck in there :).
I have actually managed to finish a few little projects. Dear hubby got a new tablet for his birthday from the kids. He remembered the cover I made for dear daughter, and asked me to make one for him. I had a block left from the quilt I made for my mom, and used it:
I finally made myself a pin cushion. I used an extra block from the quilt I made for my mother-in-law. It measures nearly 10″ in diameter!
I made my boys car steering wheel covers. It gets very hot inside the car here in Southern California as well as in Arizona. I found this wonderful fabric of Our Lady of Guadalupe by Alexander Henry. It was the perfect design! I appliqued and stippled:
And finally, this has been a long time in the making. A blog friend gifted me with vintage fabric that she had held onto for 30 years! I wanted to make her something, and I finally did. Quilted pot holders:
Whew! I am feeling very productive! 🙂
It was way past time to switch out my family room couch slip covers from the holiday red to a spring/summery cool off white. After doing so, I realized it needed a pop of color. So, I decided to make new slip covers for the pillows. It may be a bit flowery for dear hubby, but I like them:
I even added some butterflies, a dragonfly, and a ladybug for some whimsy.
And my neighbor who owns SunnysideLOCAL Nursery, kindly gifted me with these heirloom tomato plants. Here they are with Hiro:
After losing 40 pounds, dear hubby put aside some old shirts. As I am so into quilting, I thought, yes! more cotton fabric for a new upcycled quilt! Then I saw what Nan over at Retired In Alaska did, and of course I had to try it too. I thought it would be more fun to fit dear daughter, so I had her pick out an old shirt. She went for the old red flannel shirt. Here she is with it on before I tackled it:
And here is the finished top. DD is rolling her eyes – modeling is not her thing:
The shirt was a Men’s size L, so I had to take it in quite a bit to fit DD. I made a few tucks, and darts in front and back. And I cut the shoulders and sleeves and made it into a 3/4 length:
I think it came out pretty nice, and it was fun to do. If you’d like to give it a try, visit Nan, or go directly to Cotton & Curls.
Thanks for stopping by!
– Linda
I received an unexpected package in the mail the other day… Can you see him?
Yup, a dinosaur planter! Isn’t he cute! He’s already made himself at home, partying it up by the pool…
Checking out Mini Blythe…
Success! Now, they are inseparable…
He’s so at home comfy, he’s already borrowing my jewelry:
Thank you Chris! ( A Little Creation), my past and ongoing swap buddy 🙂
DH came back from a business trip, and look what he brought for me… what could be inside?
Vintage retro earrings!
And an Italian Mosaic bracelet, in it’s original box. I think our antiquing/thrifting is rubbing off on him :-). I’m a lucky girl!
Yay! I got my Easter Swap package in the mail from Chris over at A Little Creation. The swap was hosted by Sandy at 521 Lake Street, and Sandy did a great job pairing Chris and I as swap partners. Thank you Sandy! Now, I’m going to show you all the wonderful things Chris sent me.
Look at this adorable guy. He’s handmade by Chris, sits on a toadstool, and carries an umbrella. She also made the flowers and magnet. And I have a family of ducks the little egg will be adopted by 🙂
And look at this cutie – she came with a tag that said Ki’i, meaning doll in Hawaiian. My blog name Lutka, means doll in Croatian, and something else in Finnish, I was told (see post). DD fell in love with her, but I am going to keep her :). Blythe girls have been eyeing the comfy looking blue chair – just the right size. Ghirardelli chocolate – gone! And the tin bucket full of goodies; Chris knew exactly what I liked – vintage plastic bunny, Babushka stickers, buttons, mod ribbon, and even sharpies for zentangling. She thought of everything.
Chris was so kind, she even included a handmade Dr. Who bead for DD – a fellow Dr. Who fan. DD loved it!
And this handmade journal, can’t wait to start using it. Chris even put a page in it with my Blythe girls – so considerate.
Whew, and finally a vintage produce crate label. I actually started collecting them. I live in a small grove, but pears are about the only trees we don’t have… hmmm, maybe it’s time to plant a couple of pear trees.
This swap was so much fun to do. Thank you Chris for being such a great swap partner. And thank you Sandy for coordinating the swap. Now, just a couple of pics to show you what I made for Chris: Spoolie with vintage chicks, & Dr. Who in Easter Land. I put aluminum hats on the chicks to prevent alien mind control ;-).
And of course, after seeing what I made, DD begged asked me to make her a Dr. Who spoolie, and here it is:
And…
Lutka And Co.
Cutiepie Misfits
lutkaandco.com 