Sweet Dreams (Hot Springs, SD)

Well, I can't believe it!  I have sold 100 item through Etsy.  Wow!  To think when I first opened my shop, I really did not think I would sell more than a couple of items before I would get discouraged and close my shop. 

 My customers have been wonderful with their reviews, but I have also been seeing quite a few comments that my photos are not doing my hand work justice.  Sooo, I'm working on getting at least one close-up of each item.

You can now do a thread count on the fabric and see every single stitch.  I'm not sure if this will be a good thing, but I'll post one macro for each item listed.

The Sweet Dreams quilt is finally finished!  A year or so in the making and I am very sad to see it done.  I found the small embroidery projects fast and fun on those evenings when I did not have the energy to think out a complicated project.  I might have to make another one.  Although, I do have the Snowman collection to embroider.  Maybe I should work on that one first.

I took a photo of all the embroidered blocks.   I have added a new page at the top of my blog with all the photos from the quilt.  When I list it, I will offer the link so people can look at all the cute critters.  I probably should do at least one close-up so an interested buyer can count my stitches.

I started working on a custom order for a friend.  Her sister loves her motorhome and travels part-time with her family.  Her motorhome is very long so I had shorten the length so it would fit on paper and I made it taller.  I will use the dark pink floral for the backing.  

The light green will be the motorhome.  I haven't decided if the dark teal or the light pink will be used for the doors.  Or maybe, I should look for a different light pink to match better.  What do you think?

Well, back to the drawing board!

Happy Quilting!

Not So Wordless Wednesday (Hot Springs, SD)

I'm so glad the 4th of July weekend is over.  It was a little crazy here.  The campground was full and the lake area was filled with people for four days.  On top of all that, the WiFi was so slow that nothing would load.  Oh no!....no internet!....withdrawals....

Everything is back to normal once again.  Dan and I decided it was time to go for a walk along the river walk in downtown Hot Springs.  I love the medieval designed buildings carved from sandstone.  There are several so I will start with The Evans - a hotel turned into a home for the elderly.

  

Isn't it magnificent?  It looks like a wonderful place to live.  

I wonder if it has a grand lobby with a huge chandelier?  

We have seen this one resident out walking her dog (small spot in grass) on the river walk two different times.  We stopped to say hello and to greet her cute companion.  She talked about living in The Evans and she is quite happy with her home in the old building.  It sounds like they keep the building up-to-date.

I'm not sure what this building is.  It looks like a castle on the hill from the main street.

I know these photos are not as exciting as the buffalo, but a person can only take so many pictures of the big beasts standing around while chewing on grass.  I'm sure I will take more photos of them before we leave here.

On The Cutting Board

I put my embroidered quilt "Sweet Dreams" on hold due to needing extra floor space to make a wider backing.  I could have bought the 108" wide fabric, but I could not find a single bolt of fabric that came close to matching the top.  And to tell you the truth, I really wanted to use the sage green polka dots for the backing.  When I was with Project Linus in Albuquerque, a friend told me about John Flynn's diagonally cutting 42" wide fabric to make the backing wider.  Because I don't have the space, I haven't done this technique in a long time.  I am happy to say John still has this technique online with a Diagonal Backing calculator.

diagonal cut done

If we were staying at an Escapee's RV park, it would not have been a problem.  They always have a nice community center with lots of open space, but it might be another year before we stay with them again.  I did not want to wait that long to finish this quilt, so I have been looking around as we traveled with no luck.  I finally gave up looking for a building with a large enough floor space for me to lay out my fabric.

time to make it wider by pulling one side down

So, on a less windy day, I pulled out our two outdoor carpets and laid them end-to-end.  Pinned them down and cleaned them.  I had plenty of room to lay out 3 yards of fabric, fold it diagonally, and cut it.  You will notice that I still had to use some odds and ends to pin down the fabric as I worked on the it.

Ta-da!  Sage green backing is now wide enough for my top

I did a quick pinning and took it inside before a gust blew all my work away.  Sewing the two pieces back together was no problem.  Ironing was interesting using a small table top ironing board.  Talk about doing some wrestling while trying not to wrinkle the ironed fabric.

Finally!  Layered and pinning - done!   Now, to find time to get out the sewing machine.  I still need to make the binding too.  I can tell you one thing....it'll be a looooong time before I do another quilt with a width that is larger than 40 inches!

Happy Quilting!