GiGi's Quilts and Such
a sewing journey
It's all about the sewing...
This is a journal of sorts to share my sewing and quilting adventures. You may just get to see a picture of my cat, Cheetah, from time to time.
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Church Bazaar Donation Quilt
I created this Disappearing 9-patch pattern using French General fabric for our church bazaar in May. I was pretty happy with the way it turned out.
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Easter Table Quilts
Having lots of fun using my new Tin Lizzie to quilt these cute table pieces!
Purple, yellow, and green
I did not really like the way the piecing came out on this one, but I LOVE the way it quilted up!
Boarder
This boarder turned out really cute!
"Hoppy" Easter!!
The dining room table all decorated up!
Using up the scraps!
Two different types of blocks made of Easter fabric scraps.
Kitchen Table
...All decorated up for Easter.
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February Project
I finished this happy little quilt for Miss Priss in February. She liked it!
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Project Weekend
Below are some of the highlights of our Long Arm retreat at the Quilt Frog.
Charla's project
She did a fantastic job with a rose pantograph in yellow thread on a red background.
Denise - Side 1
I could have made a better color choice, but I'm pretty happy with it anyway.
Denise - Side 2
The stitching shows up much better on the back side.
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Dream Machine
I just got this beauty set up in my sewing room. Can't wait to get started working with it. Charla and I will be taking lessons this weekend from Tom and Carrie Dugan, the nice folks at The Quilt Frog. If you are looking for a long arm, please check out their website. GREAT prices, excellent customer service. AND, they offer a FREE 2-day training retreat to help you learn how to use and maintain your machine. Stay tuned for the projects!!
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Quatrafoil
Here is my latest piecing venture. This was from a video tutorial from Missouri Star Quits. I LOVE this pattern! I still have to put in the sashing before it goes on my new long-arm frame. Can't wait for the finished product.
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Stitchin' Heaven Quilt Retreat
What a GREAT weekend with old and new friends at Stitchin' Heaven's fall retreat held in Hawkins, Texas!
Brookhaven Retreat Center
A beautiful location for our retreat!
Projects Half Done
Our new friends from Arkansas had these shirts. We had so much fun with these ladies!!!
Barbara's Beautiful Throw
Love the soft, vintage colors!
Beautiful fabric bowl
Gay made this one. I will be making one this weekend! LOVE IT!!!!!
My Christmas jelly roll experiment
I may use it as a tablecloth.
Purple French Braid
This will be my gift to a loved cousin.
Diamond Double
I HAVE to make this. It is beautiful! Created by one of the Projects Half Done ladies from Arkansas.
Work, work, work...
Geri is concentrating tonight!
Scrap quilt by Gay
So cheerful!
Kitsie's Table Runner
I need to make one of these. The metallic tape is beautiful!
Lucy's Bag
Too cute! A gift for her granddaughter.
Sylvia's Projects
Love the lace bags!!
Vickey's Christmas squares
LOVE the colors and the pattern.
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Orange Crush
I got this one pieced over two weekends. It uses a layer cake and background/boarder fabric. I thought the colors looked pretty bold on the layer cake, but when it went together, it looks more pastel. This was a quick and easy project.
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I'm back in the sewing room...
I haven't had too much sewing time lately, but with the coming of fall, I'm back to work. Below are 2 pieces I am currently working on - One for baby girl and one experiment.
For Baby Girl
A quick little quilt in happy fabrics and colors.
Up Close...
I wanted to strip piece this one so Baby Girl can enjoy looking at the fabrics. Two-year-olds aren't into looking at tiny blocks.
Purple Batik Braids
I LOVE batik! And I LOVE purples/blues/turquoises/pinks. I don't really have anything to tie this together yet, but I will find something next week at the Stitchin' Heaven retreat in Hawkins, Texas.
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Pinterest Pillow Bed
This was a quick, fun project from Pinterest. The actual directions from the website say to sew 5 pillowcases together. Why buy pillowcases when I have lots of fleece? I made a giant 5-compartment pillowcase, inserted the pillows, and Baby Girl has a cute bed that she LOVES!
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Cheetah "helping out"
That cat cannot stand to see the trashcan in the upright position. He also seems to resent my spending time straightening out my pieced "Hawaiian Shirt" quilt on the floor upstairs! He's a bit of a brat at times...
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Happy Mother's Day, Mom!
Happy Mother's Day to my Mom. I bought this pretty handkerchief at Trade Days in Canton last November, and I knew my Mom would like it. The polka-dot fabric is stipple quilted and bias bound with pretty striped fabric. I added a belt made of the binding fabric to the dress to tie it all together.
She liked it!
She liked it!
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Fashion down on the Bay...
"Anchored in Success" - April 9-11
I had the pleasure of co-judging Senior Fashion Construction last week at the 2015 FCCLA Texas State Leadership Conference in Corpus Christi. Below are the winners and some other nice-looking outfits constructed by high school students from around the state.
The Winner!
This is a stunning example of sewing perfection! The jeans and tie-dye shirt were beautifully constructed by this high school Junior. The jeans zipper was perfect, as were the waistband, belt loops, and the studs on the pockets. Overlays of quilted synthetic leather adorn these funky black stretch jeans. This young lady will represent Texas at the National Conference later this year.
Sassy Classy
Another beautiful outfit with metallic stretch denim, piping, and great metallic buttons. Great accessories and a nice story board for this outfit. This one goes onto nationals, too.
Just WOW!
Synthetic leather, lace, and a zip-off skirt that reveals cute shorts. Lovely gold accessories complement the outfit. VERY distinctive!
The Princess
Pink satin with a sparkly organdy removable overlay. Just lovely!
Pretty in Pink
Soft floral evening gown with white and gold beading.
Floral Distinction
A very striking evening gown worn in a pageant! Love those colors.
Short and Classy
Very "Breakfast at Tiffany's!"
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Too Hot to Handle!
I finally finished up the potholders I started after Thanksgiving. The leaf-shaped ones were from a kit we received at the Quilt Retreat in Hawkins back in November. The others are a result of playing with disappearing 9-patch and other fabric experiments. The leaf pot holders went to sweet Teresa in Bryan, and the remaining ones went to a friend's new house and to friends in California.
I used heat-resistent Insul-bright with the regular batting and a backing of Quilted Iron Quick. Both products are available from Nancy's Notions online.
These were so much fun that I may make MORE!
I used heat-resistent Insul-bright with the regular batting and a backing of Quilted Iron Quick. Both products are available from Nancy's Notions online.
These were so much fun that I may make MORE!
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A Special Birthday Present
Happy Birthday to my sweet friend, Teresa. We have been friends since 4th grade in1961 - a LONG time.
The gift I created for Teresa really came from her mother, Mrs. Betty, who was my 4-H leader when we were young, and a life-long friend, reader, and quilter. Mrs. Betty passed away in 2014, and her family placed a basket of her handkerchiefs on the entry table at the funeral. We were all invited to take one on the handkerchiefs in memory of this sweet lady. I chose this colorful floral cotton handkerchief from the basket.
I saw an example of this handkerchief fold on Pinterest, but of course, there were no directions. I worked on folding the dress for a long time before I was able to make something presentable. I pressed the shirtwaist dress, stitched it down to hold the folds, and added ribbon and buttons to complete the dress.
For the background, I chose a complementary yellow floral from my fabric stash, and used a diagonal serpentine stitch. To my surprise, the stitching actually resembles puzzle pieces. My stitching experiment turned out pretty well.
The binding matches the background as I did not want to use a contrast and take the focus from the dress itself. I added buttons and ribbon to hang the piece, and stabilized the back with a pocket of bamboo skewers to keep it straight.
I was happy with the result, and it made Teresa VERY happy on her birthday. Hoping that Mrs. Betty and my high school homemaking teacher, Betty Davis, are looking down from Heaven and enjoying it, too!
The gift I created for Teresa really came from her mother, Mrs. Betty, who was my 4-H leader when we were young, and a life-long friend, reader, and quilter. Mrs. Betty passed away in 2014, and her family placed a basket of her handkerchiefs on the entry table at the funeral. We were all invited to take one on the handkerchiefs in memory of this sweet lady. I chose this colorful floral cotton handkerchief from the basket.
I saw an example of this handkerchief fold on Pinterest, but of course, there were no directions. I worked on folding the dress for a long time before I was able to make something presentable. I pressed the shirtwaist dress, stitched it down to hold the folds, and added ribbon and buttons to complete the dress.
For the background, I chose a complementary yellow floral from my fabric stash, and used a diagonal serpentine stitch. To my surprise, the stitching actually resembles puzzle pieces. My stitching experiment turned out pretty well.
The binding matches the background as I did not want to use a contrast and take the focus from the dress itself. I added buttons and ribbon to hang the piece, and stabilized the back with a pocket of bamboo skewers to keep it straight.
I was happy with the result, and it made Teresa VERY happy on her birthday. Hoping that Mrs. Betty and my high school homemaking teacher, Betty Davis, are looking down from Heaven and enjoying it, too!
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Too funny not to share...
Vintage Dancing Patterns
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Family, Career, and Community Leaders of America
I had a GREAT time on Friday judging clothing construction at the FCCLA Region IV Leadership Meeting in Galveston, Texas. Students from area schools created clothing projects and showed everything from cute little shirtwaist dresses, to a wedding gown, to a stage costume for a high school play.
For those of you who are not familiar with FCCLA, it has replaced our dear FHA.
I am happy to report that our KHS students will be moving to state competition in "Recycle and Redesign" (Occupational category) and in "Teach and Train" (Occupational category). Congratulations Ladies! We are all so proud of you!
For those of you who are not familiar with FCCLA, it has replaced our dear FHA.
I am happy to report that our KHS students will be moving to state competition in "Recycle and Redesign" (Occupational category) and in "Teach and Train" (Occupational category). Congratulations Ladies! We are all so proud of you!
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Moving on to state competition...
The dresses below are advancing to the state competition in Corpus Christi in April.
Kudos to the Aldine Nimitz Family and Consumer Science teacher who worked with her students. 4 of the 6 top places went to Nimitz students. That teacher did a GREAT job to help her ladies advance. I must say, that teacher KNOWS how to put in a zipper - all of the zippers from her girls were perfect!
Kudos to the Aldine Nimitz Family and Consumer Science teacher who worked with her students. 4 of the 6 top places went to Nimitz students. That teacher did a GREAT job to help her ladies advance. I must say, that teacher KNOWS how to put in a zipper - all of the zippers from her girls were perfect!
Lovely Lace
This cute navy lace over a cream lining won first in our hearts with its crystal encrusted neckline and keyhole back.
So sweet and beautiful!
Just beautiful, and very well done!
My favorite
This beauty needs only a tiny bit of work, and it should place at state. The fabric is a cotton brocade and the collar is hand beaded. The seam finishes and lining on this dress are top quality. You could wear it inside out!!
Fifties Flashback
This dress is simply beautiful! Purple with white polkadots, and a lime green lining. Her poster was 50's themed and cute as can be!
Green Distraction
Flashy and flirty!
Purple Fantasy
This short formal was too cute!
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Pillowcases
I had a great time making these pillowcases for my sweet baby granddaughter! If you need instructions, here is the link: http://thecottagemama.com/2011/12/15-minute-pillowcase-with-french-seams/
Puppies
This fabric was left over from a baby shower gift I made a couple of years ago. It turned out really cute!
Dora
I'm not a fan of cartoon characters, but Baby Girl LOVES Dora.
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Project Weekend
Oldest daughter, hubby, and I had a great Saturday of crafting. And, I finally unpacked all of my stuff from the quilting retreat last weekend.
Hope to get lots more done over the Christmas holidays!
Hope to get lots more done over the Christmas holidays!
Birthday Blocks
Here is Charla's project for the weekend. She has created birthday cake blocks for Sweet Baby Granddaughter. We have decided that Charla will make a block for every birthday, and I will sew them together into a quilt to be given to her at age 18.
Lovely Lamp
Hubby assembled this lamp from my MIL's old Singer and a kit I bought at the Quilt Show in Houston earlier this month. The shade is covered with a vintage quilt top. I think it looks GREAT!
Quick and Easy!
Charla and I recovered this previously old, ugly card table with vinyl coated fabric to give it a cheery, updated look. It was pretty easy to do!
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Quilt Retreat - Hawkins, Texas
November 13th - 16th
A good friend and I attended Stitchin Heaven's fall retreat and had a GREAT time. We met lots of sweet quilters from all over Texas as well as from other states. The projects were all fantastic, and we got LOTS of sewing time in.
A great big "HI" to Sheryl, Melissa, J.J., Diane, Susan, Barb, Gay, Sylvia, and sweet Miss Jan!
Thanks to Kitsie, Lucy, and all of the nice ladies at Stitchin' Heaven for the wonderful retreat!
Table set-up
Lots up tables set up for sewing fun!
Brookhaven
Our view off the porch of the log cabin where we were sewing. "Sew" tranquil!
Beautiful!
It would have been great to sit out here and enjoy the view, but it was just TOO cold! And, it would have cut into my sewing time!!
My Retreat Project
Below is my retreat project. I was able to get all pieces fused and ready for applique. Although I only completely finished one block and part of another one, I got a great deal of work done during these fun sewing days. And it was great to make new friends!
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Some of my favorite quilt shops and links:
- Quilt Frog, Spring, Texas
- Painted Pony 'n Quilts, LaPorte, Texas
- Sew Contempo, Webster, Texas
- It's a Stitch, Humble Texas
- Calico Cats Sewing, Lake Jackson, Texas
- Missouri Star Quilts
- Stitchin' Heaven, Mineola, Texas
- Southern Fabrics
- Fat Quarter Shop
- Nancy's Notions
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Dress for Baby Girl
I know this is not a quilting project, but I did use a jelly roll to create the skirt for this adorable dress for my sweet granddaughter. I added red rick rack and red ribbon to complete the dress. I also bought turquoise leggings from Walmart and sewed ruffles of the jelly roll fabric on the bottom. I finished off the outfit with a big bow using red, turquoise, peach, and cream ribbon. She was adorable in it!!
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Quilts for Christmas - 2012
The quilts below were Christmas gifts for sweet friends at work and for my Mom.
Francine's Fantasy
In purple, gray, and yellow. It's just her style!
Laurinda's Comfort
In blues and yellows - her favorite colors!
A Quilt for Mom
In earth tones. It looks beautiful in her den!
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Avery's Christmas Request
Avery wanted Santa to give her a pink dress with a white kitty for Christmas. Well, Mrs. Santa jumped into action and made that happen for Sweet Avery!
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More stuff for Avery
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More quilting projects
Christmas Mini Quilt
TINY log cabin blocks in this quilt. I will NEVER do this again - but it turned out really pretty. The finished product has prairie points and stippling.
More Log Cabin
Made from some scraps. Guess I will make a pillow out of this eventually.