finished quilt and the best gift ever

So Michelle (ilikeorangetoo) and I decided ages ago to do a swap, and planned to do it in person while together at Sew South. It was meant to be something small- a pouch, oven mitts, whatever, but a bunch of stuff happened this year for both of us personally, so it looks like, unbeknownst to the other, we both upped the ante!

I decided to make her a quilt, using my scraps from her favourite fabric line ever, Good Folks by Anna Maria Horner.  I didn't have much, so improvised a design based on my Liberty iPad mini cover I made, and both inspired by this mini quilt I saw on Pinterest.

I used a variety of low volume fabrics for the background, quilted it in swirly loops reminiscent of flight.  I named it "Migration", and even made a groovy label ;)  The back is a silky soft AMH voile, of course!

In return, I too received a quilt.  But not just ANY quilt.  A freaking epic all voile masterpiece that was entirely HAND QUILTED.  Are you kidding me???

I died.  I certainly cried.  I was so overwhelmed by her work and her generosity.  This is the first quilt I have ever had made for me, and it is so, so precious.

It was even touched and admired by The Great One herself!

And it has been getting plenty of use at my home.  Thank you again, Michelle, for this incredible gift.     You must really like me.  ;) xoxox

my new favourite quilt.

Okay, it is not so new.  I have been sleeping under this for a month or more now.

My favourite Anna Maria Horner Good Folks fabric.  Pieced with love on a weekend away in Atlanta, it will always remind me of that trip and bonding with my quilty friends.

Quilted by the amazing Krista in an all over loop pattern.  The texture is perfect on this monster sized quilt, a large king at 120" by 90".

Buttery voile on the back, so soft on the skin. It is the perfect weight for summer. I love how it welcomes me to bed every night.

My favourite. Now I just need to make me some matching pillowcases and shams :)

 

June already?

Not sure how summer snuck up on us, just glad it finally arrived.  The days seem to fly by around here, and I am looking forward to slowing down somewhat over the summer months to enjoy....just enjoy everything.  Some time soaking up this view will be in the cards:

 

We bought a cottage :)  So, SOOO excited!!  As you may recall, we had a family cottage that was destroyed in floods here a couple summers ago.  With it, there has been a mountain of  paperwork and bureaucracy to work through.  We were finally at the point where we could start to rebuild.  BUT, then more forecasts of floods were made (which, thankfully, did not occur), and an ice storm caused more damage for some properties.  And we decided, enough was enough.  Time to make a move to a new, more sheltered area.  While we will miss our friends at beach, we are looking forward to this new chapter.  Life is good :)

And a new cottage means new bed quilts to make!  That should keep me busy for awhile.

While I haven't been blogging much, I have snuck in some crafting here and there.  If you follow me on Instagram (I am there under Kristieocd), you have seen some of these.  But here is a few more of the things that I have made for my new muse, my sweet peanut of a niece! So, in addition to the quilt and sweater she has scored, here are a few other items I have made for her of late.

A wee knit hat for her noggin, using my baby eyelet hat pattern and adding a crochet flower.

 

A voile dress.  No pattern, just went with it, much like the one I made for LBNL's birthday.  Used some crochet trim for the hem and the shoulder straps, and a button closure on the back.  Will be nice and light, and hopefully fit, in the warmer months ahead!

Some onsies, made with t-shirt transfers.

My sister is a bit OBSESSED with New Kids on the Block, U2, and Teemu Selanne of the Anaheim Ducks (and formerly a Winnipeg Jet).  She has a keenly developed sixth sense entirely related to finding and meeting celebrities, and as such has had several run ins with Teemu, Donnie Wahlberg, and even can be seen chatting up Bono in the latest U2 documentary about the band, which was partially filmed in Winnipeg.  It is quite comical how she pulls this stuff off.  So of course I had to take the opportunity to dress her offspring in NKOTB and U2 gear. This one reading "New Kid on the Block" and another that says "Achtung Baby" after the U2 album.  Of course, the first gift my niece received was her very own baby Jets jersey!

Have a great day, back again soon :)
Kristie

Wiksten-ish tank and a cabled cardigan

I am so excited to share these with you, they make me so seriously happy.  And I am all the more excited as I was able to take photos on my front steps, with NO JACKET.  Yes, the crazy winter here has finally seemed to have lifted, just in time for May (shakes head).  But I'll take it.  Perfect cardigan weather!

I finished this one a few weeks back but have been distracted and forgot to blog it.  I think this one takes the lead as my new favorite sweater, with the Golden Wheat Cardi as a close second.  I made it with the same yarn as The Middle Child's purple sweater as I loved the yarn and color so much.

The pattern is called That Time, and it was fantastic.  Details and link to the pattern can be found on my Ravelry page.  Challenging enough to make it interesting, but not hard.  I love the style and how it fits me.  I shortened the sleeves to 3/4 length, as I find that really flattering.  The cable work was so much fun and is so pretty.  I only needed one button so I chose a vintage one from my friend Katie's shop and I just adore it....remember how I told you she has a plate full of vintage buttons for FREE that you can root through any time you are in her store??  The. Best.

I decided I needed to make a tank just to go with this sweater!  I opted for the Wiksten tank, I have had the pattern forever but never got around to it (like so many things).  But, lazy as I am, I didn't feel like printing out the 27 pages for the pattern pieces, taping them all together, and cutting the pieces.  So I took a tank I have that fits well and traced that out instead, just assembled using the Wiksten instructions.  Though I didn't add a pocket, and I did add some bust darts to accommodate my oversized ta-tas.  So maybe it is more Wikstenesque than Wiksten.  Anyways, it works.

I had some issues with the neck bias not sitting flat at first, but was able to correct it using some tips I found on various sites online.  The fabric is a sweet floral voile just from my local Fabricland, but I love the feel and drape of it.  Girly and pretty, perfect as we finally welcome spring!!!

because I was in a bad mood.

I had a bad day today.  Not exceptionally bad or anything, in the grand scheme of life, but enough to make me cranky.  And you wouldn't like me when I'm cranky...(as she turns green...Hulk reference).

I blame it on work.  It was a bloody, messy day.  Okay, I am a dentist so "bloody" isn't anything to get alarmed about.  But it was bloodier than necessary, in my opinion, and I just didn't like it.  On the plus side, it was a half day, so I got to go home at lunch time to sulk and eat sugary things to console myself.

I had a good shower to wash off said blood (ha ha, kidding...sort of) and dressed in jeans and a t-shirt.  But I felt like I wanted to be prettier.

If some Little Folks voile can't cheer a girl up, what can?

I grabbed a couple strips that I had in my stash and got to work.  Within a half hour, I had made this infinity scarf.  Seriously, instant gratification.  If you look you can see that my hair is still wet from the shower!  It was that fast.

Feeling much better.  Thanks, Anna Maria, for never failing to bring a smile to my face!  I owe you one.