Lately... Sweet Home Alabama quilt...

I've had this pattern in my sketchbook for a while now...the block is based on an old Alabama block that I saw on Pinterest.  My quilt is slightly different in that the final group of pieces that go around the outside of the block become the sashings...

For the first test run at the pattern, I used red, pink, aqua with white cornerstones.  But the problem was that the white didn't stand out enough to make the diagonal lines clear.  Darn it!  It is quilted with a panto called Rhododendron....

You can see in the next picture how it all just muddies together....but I'm trying it with a new color combo--maybe I'll find a winner!

It's still a cute quilt and will be for sale in my Etsy shop soon, but crap...bad cornerstone color choice!  Anyhow, that is what is going on at my place this Winter Break.  Four more days until I'm back at school....Happy Quilting!

Twinkle2 Finish....

Yep, I've been busy with school (and some chalk painting) and just got around to quilting my sample quilt for the Twinkle2 quilt-along last summer.  I actually dug into my sacred Denyse Schmidt fabrics for this one....

The panto is called Party Streamers and I really like the texture it added to the quilt--without being gender specific....

I'm doing a quilt gig/thing at Quiltique in January so I'll show this one as an example and then it will go up for sale in my Etsy shop...

Happy Quilting!

Chalk Paint Renovation--Ryan's Room

Since we were on a roll with chalk painting, we decided to repaint Ryan's furniture and give his room an update.  He is 15 years old now and really into music, band, theatre, etc...His old room was decorated in a cabin theme, complete with a resin moose head!  New room theme is modern teenager, I guess...check it out...

The old quilt on the bed was made from upcycled shirts, the new "quilt" is from Kohls...OMG!

The paint is Annie Sloan Graphite with dark wax over it....same furniture, all new look!

He has been away at DisneyWorld in Orlando all week on a band trip and the "big reveal" on the room will be tonight when he gets home, dead tired, at 10 pm....I hope he likes it!!

Chalk Paint Kitchen FINISHED!

We've been slowly repainting our old oak kitchen cabinets in Annie Sloan Old Ochre.  We did a bit of distressing and applied two coats of clear wax.  Here is a before shot, and some after pics...

We are also repainting the cabinets in the adjacent laundry room.  We figure the total cost of this project, close to 50 drawers and cabinet doors, including paint and new hardware, was around $500.  A win for our family!!  This has been keeping me from sewing the last two months...

Happy Holidays!

Fall tablerunners...

I sold one of my fall tablerunners on Etsy last week and decided I should quilt up the others that were waiting for finishing.  I did them all on the same loaded backing...

I did a leaf in the center of each log cabin block with wavy lines leading away and into the next block.  I could do two blocks without stopping...

Anyhow, I'm going to get them bound this week and up in my Etsy shop ASAP.  I also have some Christmas ones that need quilting...don't you think I should get on those as well??  LOL...

Happy Quilting!

AS Chalk Paint Kitchen Renovation...

I haven't been sewing the last two months because we've been repainting out kitchen cabinets.  They are the old, 1980's orange oak and they really clashed with the granite countertops the prior owners installed.  We're using Annie Sloan Old Ochre, with some distressing, and clear wax.

We are working the kitchen in stages and are almost done.  Next, the adjacent laundry room and eventually the downstairs guest bath...some before and after shots.

The pantry and some uppers...

The island, and fuller kitchen shot...

We are just finishing the bottom cabinets and I'll have a complete kitchen pic by the end of the weekend, hopefully...It has been a damn disaster in our kitchen since early September.  We plan on doing the floor a dark wood-like planking (maybe porcelain tile) to contrast with the cabinets.  The granite looks much better now.  There was no way we could afford to replace that much granite--it continues into the living room around the fireplace, and little bench window, the guest bathroom countertop, etc...

We are happy, but tired of painting!  Our estimate for the whole project, including paint and new hardware (hinges and knobs/handles) is about $500.  And this will include the laundry room as well...well worth it!  Annie Sloan paint rocks!

I'm a Procrastinator....

Yep, I waited until the last minute to finish piecing this Band auction quilt...I finished piecing on Friday night and got it loaded and quilted it this morning.  I have to turn it in to the head of the auction on Monday...

The saddest part of this story is that I knew I had to do it for a year and I had all summer to get it done.  There is another part (the kitchen painting project) that I'll save for another post--maybe that will be a good excuse for why this is so late.

An up-close shot--quilted with the froggy hand looking panto knows as Classic Stipple...LOL....made entirely from recycled shirts.  I like to call them "vintage plaids" so as not to offend the sensitive people who don't want to wrap up in someone else's old clothing...hahahaha....

I'm off to bind this masterpiece...or delegate the binding to Rebecca ;-)  Yep, that's the plan...and re-watch Whiplash (a great band movie with Schillinger from OZ back to his old tricks)....

Happy Quilting!