Heartbreak

You always hear about people who are struggling with a parent with dementia or Alzheimer's.  I found out today just how rough that is when my dad and step mom came over and he didn't know who I was.  I hadn't seen my dad for over 50 years and five years ago we connected for the first time.  It's like loosing him all over again now that he doesn't know who I am.  It breaks your heart to have a loved one look at you and you can see in their eyes that they have no idea who you are.  I saw that today in my father's eyes and it tore my soul apart, the pain was awful.  I can now honestly say "I understand what you mean" when somebody talks about the heartbreak of Alzheimer's or dementia because I'm living that nightmare now.  

JoAnn Fabric Contest Quilt

You know I have got to be crazy to even consider this, but it has happened.  A neighbor showed up at my door a couple months ago and had this flyer in her hand.  She says "You really need to enter this contest".  I'm thinking, what????  me, enter a quilt contest.  I'm a beginner or advanced beginner I guess.  So, I think about it for a couple days then call her and say "Okay, I'll do it".  Next thing I know we're in her car on the way to JoAnn Fabric to get the material needed for the quilt.  

Once I got the fabric I had to find just the right pattern.  I stumbled across a vintage pattern called Rolling Star. How vintage, you can't find it on the quilt pattern sites, that's how vintage.  I fell in love with the design and I was off and running.  

Tried to do the star on the sewing machine but just couldn't get it to work, so I did the entire top by hand.  Came out a lot better than I expected.  Got the top completed, sandwiched the quilt and quilted it.  Then I had to decide on a border.  Friends on Facebook suggested I use Prairie Points.  Prairie Points???  What the heck are Prairie Points and how do you make them.  So, back to the web to find them.  Okay that looks easy enough, just folding over fabric to make triangles.  Made a whole lot of them for what is basically a wall quilt.  

All the work is now done, the photos are taken and on the way to JoAnn Fabric along with my application and receipts of the fabric I purchased. They're sneaky, you can only use JoAnn Fabric to enter the contest and they want documentation you did buy your fabric from them.  

So, now we're in a hurry up and wait state of mind.  It's gonna be a really rough two months until they decide who wins.  I'm gonna be a nervous wreck by that time.  

Oh, where's the quilt, duh, forgot to show you.  Here's what it looks like.  I call this quilt DOUBLE VISION because it looks like it's spinning if you just let your eyes roam over it, but if you really concentrate on it, it looks like the towers are coming right at you.  


So, keep your fingers crossed and a few prayers wouldn't hurt either that this is a finalist.  I would be ever so excited and in shock if it was chosen since this is my first time entering a quilt contest.  Catch you all on the flip side.  

Star Flower Quilt Project

Oh what fun we're having in The Outlaw Quilters Guild.  I have a wonderful project going called The Star Flower Quilt Project.  We have 18 people who are making star flowers to go on this quilt.  Each star flower is being done by hand and the stars will be hand appliqued onto a pale yellow backing fabric.  Each star is coming out so different.  Once it's all put together I'll do another post showing the quilt top.  I even have a good friend who's daughter is going to quilt it for me.  

There is another reason for this quilt but I'm not going to mention it right now.  How's that for a little tease.  

Anyway, thanks for stopping by and I hope you all have a wonderful day.

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Well, the quilt is finished and sent on it's way to Canada.  Heather got it two weeks ago and absolutely loves it.  There were so many people involved in the creation of this quilt.  It came out so beautiful. 

Friendship Quilt Finished

Over side Friendship Quilt Throw ~ 48 x 63

It's been a month and I'm happy to say the Friendship Quilt is finished.  I decided to do this a bit differently and used ribbon to tie the quilt. The back is also tied with the embroidery floss I used to anchor the ribbons.  What a lot of work and I'm very pleased with how it turned out.  

If you are interested in this quilt you can email me at tigger021@live.com  

This quilt will sell for 125.00.   

New Quilt

Butterfly Quilt

I have made my decision and this will be the next quilt to make.  It will be so pretty with all the different florals and marbled fabrics.  Each butterfly will be a different pattern so there will be no two butterflies that are alike.  Should be fun if I can ever get with it to get the fabrics cut out.  I have the template cut out and ready to go.  Now I just need to get the fabrics ready and then get the butterflies sewn and then appliqued on the quilt.  Never done applique before, we'll see if I like it.  LOL

The Rite of Spring

I just joined an online quilting guild called The Outlaw Quilters Guild and they were talking about a churn dash. I thought it was something mechanical until I looked it up and found out it's the name of a quilt.

This is a churn dash double monkey wrench and only my second attempt at piecing. I'm having so much fun doing piece work I can't wait to get started on the next quilt. Need to figure out what I want to do next. Maybe something that doesn't involve triangles. LOL

I love this quilt because it has so many different colors in it.  You can look at it for a long time and see something  different each time.  I had to also include some adorable fabric with bugs on it. Can't have a Spring quilt without the bugs, right??
I thinking of actually sending this one out to be quilted since I have so much time into it.

All that is left on this one is the batting, backing and binding and it will be finished.

It's Finally Ready To Finish

I thought it would be so much fun to do a pieced quilt and started looking for a template pattern I could use.  I found a whole bunch.  Now I had to pick one, I did, the Friendship Star.  

This is a real challenge to do because you have to make sure you get the pieces in just the right order or you have to tear out and start all over again.  I got so frustrated I actually put the quilt away for quite a while because I felt I wasn't good enough to do one of this magnitude.  

After a few months I got into this wonderful group called The Outlaw Quilters and got inspiration from them and decided I was just making this quilt harder than it really was.  Once I got that into my head, the pieces all fell together and a quilt was born.

It's not as big as I hope it would be because I made a glaring mistake with ten of the blocks, but it's still big enough to be a large throw or a toddler's quilt.

Now it's time to put the batting and backing on it and get ready to start sewing so I can get it listed and hopefully sold.  


I hope you all have a wonderful day!


Nancy

Button Teddies

I have done my very first attempt at button teddy bears.  The arms and legs have buttons sewn on them and that helps them to move.  The small one is an exact replica of a panda I took apart and the biggest one is one I made by expanding the patterns to make them bigger.  Turned out pretty good. 

These are also for my friend and are made from her mother's fleece jacket just like the teddy bear and bunny were. 

Project for a Friend

Finally received the items from my friend Peggi to start making the stuffed toys out of her deceased mom's fleece coat.  So far the teddy bear is coming out really cute and I can't wait to do the bunny.  I also have a special surprise for Peggi that she is going to love and probably start crying over.  Once I get everything done I'll be sure to post some photos.  

This is such a special honor to be allowed to do this with her mom's most precious article of clothing.  She loved that fleece jacket and to be asked to make stuffed animals out of it for her grand daughter to cherish for many years to come is such an honor.  

Do need to get some bigger bells to put inside the stuffed animals.  The bells she sent me aren't going to be big enough.  Even with a muslin bag to protect the bell it's not big enough to make any noise once inside the bear.  You can barely hear it.  Need something bigger.  I thought about putting a squeaky inside, but don't know if that would be very appropriate.  

I'll keep you posted on my progress.  Have a wonderful day.   


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As promised here are the teddy bear and the bunny.  They sure came out good.  I've never worked with fleece before so this was a challenge.  I did discover, I really don't like working with fleece very much.  

A Bit About The Handcrafter's Cottage

Welcome to The Handcrafter's Cottage.   Here you'll find all handmade items created by me.  I have quilts, wreaths in cloth, rag and grapevine, shelf sitters, door stops, candles and so much more.  

I'm always trying to find new things to create and hope to get some more great ideas going real soon.  Right now I'm working on a pieced quilt which is taking quite a bit of time.  I had no idea these piece quilts could be so darn time consuming and of course I had to pick one that is really complicated for my very first attempt.  

This doll wreath is just one of many items I currently have for sale.  You can see this wreath in my eBay store at http://stores.ebay.com/thehandcraftercottage.  Once I figure out how to do the URL with the photo so you can just go to it, I'll get that set up.