BlogHer

Melissa is at it again! In response to her being published in Sew Magazine, BlogHer featured her in their network member news. Her picture is definitely getting out there-and so is her blog! Way to go, girl-I'm proud of you. 

Atlanta Original Sewing and Quilt Expo

My daughter Melissa and I enjoy attending the Atlanta Sewing and Quilt Expo every March and October. Those are our birth months, so it's a fun way for us to spend some time together and have some mother/daughter/granddaughter time. I am a quilter and Melissa is a garment and craft sewer, so there is something for each of us. We include friends whenever they are available to join us, because, the more the merrier! 

I love looking at the quilts! Even though I am more of a traditional quilter, I can appreciate modern quilts too. And I now that I am trying my hand at machine quilting every quilt is inspirational in one way or another.

I took pictures of some of the quilts that I enjoyed this time and I want to share them with you. These were taken with my phone-and I am a horrible photographer, at best-so bear with me.

I hope you enjoyed the mini show.

Happy Quilting.

Oliver-wedding style

My grandson, Oliver, was just two weeks old when his Uncle Matthew got married. He knew he needed to be well dressed for the occasion because all the ladies were going to be checking him out. So, his mom made sure he got lots of ooh's and aah's by making him a cute little outfit just for the wedding.

A Flower Girl Basket Tutorial

My last two quick posts have been about my son's wedding. It is so different when a son gets married-there is much less involvement by the mother of the groom. So I was tickled as could be when Elise allowed me to make the ring bearer pillow and the flower girl basket. 

I know this has nothing to do with quilting, but sometimes we are creative in other ways and I decided to share this too.

I found a cute ring-bearer pillow on Martha Stewart's wedding website and decided to make it in white linen. The fabric I purchased seemed very thin and limp, so I also used a very thin fusible interfacing on the back to give it some body. I was really pleased with the way it turned out. I made a small change to the pattern by adding an additional strip of fabric across the center back for a "handle".

My four year old granddaughter, Sofie, was the flower girl and my daughter (her mom) was making her dress.  She was also making a tie out of the dress fabric for the ring-bearer (the 4 year old nephew of the bride). I used a piece of the same fabric as a flange on the pillow to tie it all together. 

Once I finished the ring-bearer pillow I began a search for a cute flower girl basket idea. Nothing I found was exactly what I wanted to make and since time was ticking away I decided to just design it myself.

I decided to start with a basic round shape that was flared at the top. I looked at several craft stores for something that was the shape and size I wanted to use as a base. I ended up buying this small tin....

I started off by covering the outside with two layers of thin white batting. I laid the tin on the batting and rolled it across the surface so that I would have the right shape to use. I attached it with hot glue.

I measured the tin from the top edge on one side, down that side, across the bottom, and back up on the opposite side. That told me the size circle that I needed to cut to make the outside of the basket. Since I don't draw very good circles, I can usually find something in my house that is the right size to use as a template. In this case, it was a plastic cake carrier cover :). I put it on the fabric and drew my circle and cut it out, then ran two rows of gathering threads around the top. I gathered the circle and hot glued it around the top edge of the tin.

The next step was the inside. First I cut a circle of batting and lined the inside. In hindsight, I wish that I had skipped this step-I thought it made the inside too "thick". Next I gathered a second circle of fabric, gathered it, put it on the inside of the tin and then glued it around the top. 

See what I mean? If I had more fabric and more time, I probably would have taken the lining out and redone it. I cut a circle out of cardboard, covered it with fabric and put it in the bottom to hold the lining in place. 

To finish the top edge I made a band to go around the top. I handstitched it to the outside and glued it to the inside. 

Next I used the same ribbon that I used on the ring-bearer pillow to trim the basket. I made a handle and attached it with pearl buttons. Here is the end result. 

And of course, I forgot to take a picture of the ring-bearer and the flower girl together at the wedding-but I promise you, they were precious walking up the aisle.

I'm back!

Finally, I have my Internet working again. It took both a new modem and a new router and my daughter to get it up and running-but I'm connected to the world again :)

All I am posting today is a picture of my son and his bride. I have several other posts that I am anxious to write, but do not have the time today. I am hoping to write them in the evenings this week and get caught up again. I have pictures from a quilt show and a tutorial to share too. 

Matthew and Elise

Feb 23, 2013