Door Series: January & February

I am participating in a fun 2020 sew along with DIME embroidery. They are offering a free door applique/embroidery design every month this year!

This is the January door. I added a felt applique of my dog, Carter. He's a Yorkie-Poo, but everyone thought he looked like a terrier.

I was unprepared for the first one, so my fabrics are quite scrappy.

And here is the February door- there are fun touches each month, like the pink letter in the mailbox and the heart-shaped flag on it. I made my snowlady's scarf and hat in Valentine colors. I did change the icicles because I didn't like them as fluffy as the original.
I hope to get to the beautiful March door this week! Last weekend I visited one of my favorite quilt shops and found a few "landscaping" fabrics as I call them: wood, stone, brick, cloud, and trees! I'm excited to try them out.
#dimedoor #dimesewalong

Smocked Dress Quilts

Over the past 10 years or so, I have made a few of these Smocked Dress Quilts. Two are finished and one is in the works.

I had done this top a few years ago, but I never liked the sashing, so it was put away. Motivated by my Guild's Quilt Show coming in October, I dug it out. I took the blocks apart and am framing them in solid colors now. Here they are (some of them are hard to photograph):

I will then sash these framed blocks with white and I know I will like it much better! This one is fun because each dress is a different style: bishop, yoke dress, heirloom, etc.

This one is approximately twin-size and shows the blocks framed individually. This was hand-quilted by my Mom and won "Viewer's Choice" in our last Guild Show. This one is totally bishop dresses.

This one shows the ruffled Swiss embroidered edging I used. It makes it very girly!
Here are close-ups of a couple of these blocks:

I love this fabric- it's one of my favorite blocks!

This one is fun with the strawberries!

I featherstitched the hem on this one- you can have fun doing anything on these!!

This is the first one I did- I taught this block/smocking at a Quilt Shop and make my samples into a baby quilt. This one is fun with the pieced filling. Super girly and fun- this one is about 42"

I made my own patterns for these. I basically used the size of an American girl dress pattern to get my yokes and sleeves. You just need the front of the dress and half of the sleeve. I have a nice little assortment of pieces that I can mix and match to make new dresses. I think after the latest one is done, I'd like to try a quilt of little boy outfits!!

The Joy of Embroidering with Vinyl: Zip Bags

I was so busy at Christmas time that I didn't post any of the many projects I did, so you can consider me 2 months late or 10 months early.
I tried embroidery on vinyl for the first time in November and it has some really great benefits. Mainly, no need to finish edges. Like felt, the vinyl doesn't fray, so no need to line.
These zip bags were gifts for Christmas. They are great for holding a gift certificate or other small treat.

This one is the 6x10 size. If I used my giant 10x14 hoop, I'd have quite a large bag indeed.

5x7

5x7

5x7

These take about 10-15 minutes to make, which is a lot less than the quilted, lined bags I usually do. These are sturdy and water-resistant. They make good makeup pouches, phone cases, beach wallets, etc. And they are fun to make!!