Cube Mates

I'm a little behind schedule, but "Cube Mates" is finally pieced and here's how it looked right after I finished the quilting. It's a little rumpled yet, but will look much neater after I finish the binding and give it a good press. I hope to finish it tomorrow and will post the final finished pictures in the next day or two.
Makes me want to buy a beach cottage to go with the quilt! But this one is destined for my Etsy shop, so I just have to make another one - or two - or three...

Tasting Table Tuesday

It's been a productive day today in the Cotton Cellar. Vintage Shirts have been Slashed, Starched, Stripped & Stitched. (Of course, they were washed & dried before I even started - but that was on Sunday, so it doesn't count.)

I've had this collection of men's oxford shirts since the mid-1980's, when I asked my co-workers if they would kindly donate their used shirts to me. I was just learning how to quilt back then, and I thought it would be neat to make a quilt with all these shirts, but of course, they got packed away in a box in my sewing room with plans of using them "some day". Well, I just decided that "some day" had waited long enough and it was time to use them, or pitch them. So far, I've only used the backs of the shirts and I have enough pieces cut to make two throws or baby quilts, plus there are still enough unused strips to make two more (or one twin). That's not even counting the fronts of the shirts!

The color palette is very soft - kind of "shabby-chic-ish" - like something you'd see at an old beach cottage and the pattern I designed is very simple. I hope to have at least one done by the end of this week and I'll share it with you as soon as it's finished. Maybe I'll even continue right on and make a few more!

International Quilt

Take a look at this fabulous quilt made by my friend Diane! Diane lives in Canada, and her family is originally from Holland. She made this quilt for her daughter, who now lives in Germany. So that's why you see Dutch Flags and German Flags surrounded by Canadian Maple Leaves. The perfect International Quilt! Great job, Diane! Your daughter is a lucky girl!

New Modern Wall Quilt

"Grounded" - plain and simple. See more details here on Etsy.

Tasting Table Tuesday

Lots going on in my Cotton Cellar right now - my newest quilt is bound and finished - I hope to have pictures to post tomorrow. Hope you're enjoying the projects on your "tasting table" today!

Just for fun, here's a picture from one of our past camping/fishing trips. We fish in the morning and evening, but here's how I spend my afternoons!

My Reward

I promised myself that I wouldn't start another sewing project until I finished all of my bookwork for our income tax return. It's a chore that I really hate, so I promised myself a treat when I got it done. This is it - aren't these color swatches just yummy? I've been planning a new quilt on EQ for about a week now and after about 20-some-odd versions, I've finally decided on a layout that I love. And no - you can't see the layout yet - you'll have to wait and come back in a few days for that - the swatches are just a tease! :)

Do you plan your quilts on EQ? I really like how I can search out my specific fabrics on the internet and save the swatches into EQ, so that I can see my actual fabric choices in the planning phase. These solids are from Maywood Studios and the selvedge says "Basically Beautiful" (very appropriate, I might add!) but they are coordinates to their Dandelion Daydreams collection. They have a very slight sheen to them and the colors are so soft, yet rich. I fell in love with them when I first saw them at my LQS, but couldn't decide what to do with them until now. The batik shown with them is a perfect match to these colors, and it's one I found in my stash. I think it's a Splatter Dot by Hoffman.

I just finished cutting this afternoon and might even start sewing the blocks tonight.

So glad my tax work is done! I love rewards - and this one is almost as good as a glass of red wine and some dark chocolate - maybe even better!!!

Cotton Addict Meets Yarn...

I started crocheting Neckwarmers for some Christmas gifts this year and just loved how they turned out. But I needed more large buttons, so I started making these free-motion quilted fabric covered buttons from my collection of batiks and decided to try and sell some on Etsy. Pop on over here if you want to see the listings!
Here are the first two, and hopefully there will be more colors available soon! You know I just had to work some Cotton into this project somehow!