Sew This is What I've Been Doing...

Alrighty, then, it's time for some pictures.  I have to confess that when I post stuff like this I get a kind of squeamish feeling.  I mean, the purpose of Herding Grasshoppers is not 

Look at me!  Look at me!  Look at my stuff! 

I'm so awesome, look at me!

But it could sure start feeling like that, y'know?

I used to scrapbook.  And honestly, I like holding a book in my hand a lot better than I like looking at a computer screen, so maybe someday I'll get back to it and try to "catch up".  (I know, I know.  It's good to have dreams, right?)  I like to have those family memories preserved.  Also, I like to have a record of stuff I've made because - believe it or not - I forget things pretty quickly, and I give most of it away.  I might want to make it again, someday!

So if you're not interested, well... the whole interwebby world is out there waiting for you :D  But if you are...

I like throw pillows.  So quick and easy to change the look of a room!  Grandma Grasshopper and I both love fall, so when I found this idea I knew I had a winner.  

The Dollar Tree had some huge felt leaves for only - you guessed it - a BUCK.  Our store only had four left, so I grabbed them all.  The great thing about sewing with felt is that it won't unravel, so you dont' have to hem the edges.  (Yippee!)

With some fall colored fabrics I already had in my stash I was able to crank out four pillow cases fairly quickly.  I made an envelope back, so they could easily be changed.  The catch was, the pillow forms I thought I would use (that I already had) were too small.  (Those are large leaves!)

I needed 18x18 pillow forms.  Joann Fabric to the rescue.  I went online and found a 50% off coupon, but it was good for one day only - a Tuesday.  Since the coupons were "one per customer", I needed some help.  So with the boys all duded up for CAP I printed off four coupons and swung by the fabric store on the way to their squadron meeting.

There are rules about when and where they are to wear their uniforms (basically at a squadron activity or within half an hour, ie coming and going) so we fell within those parameters, but the boys aren't crazy about going around in public in uniform but not on duty.  (If it's just the older boys, people tend to assume they're active-duty military and they get embarrassed by the attention and it's kind of a pain to explain about CAP to people.)  Anyway, they were good sports and we got our pillow forms with no trouble :D  So, Grandma Grtasshopper...

... now you know the rest of the story!

And I'm so glad it worked out, because they sure add a fun pop of fall color to my living room!

And, in other news, I finally finished my newest quilt!  And good grief, it was hard to photograph.  The weather has been yucko, so I couldn't get an outside picture, plus it's huge!  This is the first bed-size quilt I've made, and it finished at 88" x 92" before washing.  I'm curious to re-measure it to see what the shrinkage was, but it's still plenty big.

For some reason I have a really hard time getting the color turquoise to look right on the computer screen.  Ugh.  It's the perfect aqua color of a swimming pool in the summer sun :D  In fact, I intended it to look like a tile mosaic.  And for an orderly, sequential, (OCD???) person like me, letting it be random was probably the hardest part.  I had to get the boys to help!  I cut all the squares, dumped them into a tub, and we pulled them out and grouped them into rows and I just went at it.  Maybe I should have manipulated the distribution of lights and darks a little more evenly, but I just let it be.

And I did send this one out to be quilted.  It's huge and heavy, and there was just no way I was going to horse it through my nice little Husqvarna.  My quilter, Suzanne, used a great turquoise thread that blended wonderfully and did a nice all-over meandering (stipple) fill.

I chose the fabric, a turquoise ombre, because I loved the color and I wanted this quilt to feel serene and peaceful, for our bedroom.  Mission accomplished :D

But I do love bright colors, which brings me to the last thing I have to show you today.  Remember the four church babies I've mentioned?  

Well, I missed the shower for #4, due to Monday night rehearsal, but here it is... Charming Stars :D

I saw the idea here, but changed the measurements, left out the cornerstones, and went without a border.  Not knowing whether the quilt was for a girl or a boy (Cole Henry!) I chose bright colors I had in my stash, and backed it with...

... a sheet from Walmart!  I think it really works :D  And I was able to use some of the same fabrics I used in a quilt for big brother a couple of years ago.

So that's the news in my neck of the woods, and now... off to a late-ish start to our school day.  Thank heavens for homeschooling!