Pull up a Chair…

Sit right down in this comfy Tropical Dream Chair. It’s pretty inviting, isn’t it? And it’s not even finished yet. But I was bitten by the Dream Chair bug and had to plow through my novelty print scraps to “design” not just one, but several dream chairs. The pattern is from Alethea Ballard, and I’ve had it for quite awhile. I’d take it out of the pattern file, dream about making it, and then put it back because other projects were pending. But when I saw this palm tree print at JoAnn Fabrics on their “regional collection” shelf, I knew I needed to upholster a Dream Chair with it and got right to work. The chair still needs the right fabrics for its room setting, and borders, but I decided to show it now just because.



And why make one Dream Chair when there were other prints in the stash from which to make the Rodeo Dream Chair? Both chairs still need some shading in the chair creases to add dimension, and they have a way to go before completion. I’m thinking there are two or three more chairs in the fabric closet. And I’m pretty sure one of them is a Christmas Dream Chair! These were great fun to work on. Both are raw-edge fusible projects.




Here’s another chair I worked on recently. Our daughter kept this old chair from her grandmother’s furnishings. It was pretty disreputable looking, but the wood was good and the carving very pretty. So I turned it into a pink-with-patchwork project to give it an extended life. I’m happiest when I’m working on some kind of sewing or crafting project. Big quilts take me quite some time to complete, so I like to fill in with smaller projects like these. I’ll keep you posted on that Christmas Dream Chair. I think I better get started on it soon!

In a twist of serendipity, when I'd almost finished writing this post, a box of scrap fabrics arrived in the mail. They were from Quilt Diva Julie at Me and My Quilts blog. She was divesting of some fabric scraps and yarns, and for the cost of shipping, I received a lovely collection. Including, for heaven's sake, this print of... what else... chairs and sofas! What fun. I've sorted through the scraps and also found the ones seen behind the chair print. I think they'll look good with the Rodeo Dream Chair so I've put those aside. I've been wanting to make a Ragged String quilt, and that's where most of the remaining strips will go. Why are other people's scraps so much more interesting than our own??

A Glimpse of Paris…

Well, August sure flew by in an eye-blink it seems! I felt as if I was racing to keep up with it. We traveled to Maine, and I don't think I showed you any photos of that yet. But I will. We really enjoyed a visit to the Maine Quilts annual show in Augusta. On a previous visit I bought the pattern for this quilt from the designer. A melange (since we’re using French references here) of neutral fabrics went into Glimpse of Paris. It began as the McKenzie Log Jam pattern, which is a modified Log Cabin design. But I have a hard time leaving things alone, so kept adding bits and pieces until it turned into this quirky project. It’s just a glimpse of Paris because one of the fabrics is a theme print with can-can girls, images of the Eiffel Tower, and French words. But you have to look closely to see them.

Here’s a close-up of one of the lovelies kicking up her heels. A scrappy quilter at heart, I like when assorted fabrics come together in a project like this. Only a few of these were part of a coordinated collection of fabrics. The rest were pulled from here and there. Our quilt guild keeps a large tote of 2 1/2” strips for members to use in making donation quilts. While pawing through them, I spotted strips of the light Stonehenge fabric that were just right of the inner border. And just enough of them, too. Can’t recall how I negotiated getting them for this project- I think I traded some others for them. And maybe agree to make a donation quilt. Anyhow, it was a fair bargain.

I love vintage images and think this is one pretty lady. She looks kind of dreamy. And she looks pretty close to a wardrobe malfunction, too. At some point I’m planning to make a vintage image and lace journal. I have one started, but it’s a ways from done yet. All in good time.

Kathy, a quilting friend, has a new longarm business and she came up with the way to quilt this. I like the circles and swirls, and have given her a couple more quilt tops to complete. So it’s September, and here's a new project to show for it. Many others are in the works- as always!