Last Round Up

Raggedy Trilogy ... a Belated Post

 

Ever so long ago I posted about what was to be referred to as the Raggedy Trilogy. Somehow way led unto way and I never posted the completed quilt made for our first granddaughter's first birthday. This was it when it was newly completed and ultimately gifted. That has been very nearly seven years ago now. It was, however, completed on time and is somewhere in her home. It all began when I had completed my first  Dresden Plate and wondered what to do with it.  If I could remember more of the construction decisions as they came about, I would gladly relate them here, but come on. Seriously? No way to call up those details this long later. Suffice it to say, every quilt has its own adventures in decision-making and end-arounds. I'm sure this one was no different.

         See also:

The May 6, 2017 post .... Post Script or Postage Stamp? <- Click here to see post.

The Jan. 17, 2017 post... Digital Design.. Free Style  <- Click here to see post.

and see the Raggedy Ann Pillow, completed back then, posted before this post.

Raggedy Pillow project...from 2016

Once I got started on the Raggedy Trilogy, it seemed that ideas kept coming to mind for use of the fabric leftover from the quilt.  I decided to do a pillow of Raggedy Ann and had worked out the front in increments which were stacked in order using Heat.N.Bond lite to attach for applique. I found some eyelet lace in my mother's stash from the 1950's when she had made my sister and I costumes to celebrate our city's Sesquicentennial...a happy and sentimental addition. Why not?

 I found the perfect buttons for Ann's eyes in Mother's button jar, too. Having gone this far, I decided this project was just the right size for me to try my hand at prairie points. (I like to start small with first attempts.) Once that was done, it seemed the pillow might be turned over from time to time, so since it was easy to imagine the back side of Ann, nothing to do but forge ahead...or behind, in this case.

The Prairie Points had worked out fine for the front, but the back asked pretty please for peppermint-like yoyos. So, okay. That's what it got for asking so sweetly.

Could I do all this again? I kind of think not. That's the way of inspired works, it seems.

 

Folded One Piece Ornaments

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oq934F4_KKY&t=1154s

Sometimes the Fabric Does All the Work

Sometimes the fabric makes the quilt, or at least the design.  That was the case with this donated fabric. Donation fabric always makes donation quilt. Since it would likely be faced with multiple washings, the machine stitched binding was, hopefully the smart choice. It was actually nice to use one of the "special" stitches for that task. I think I used a deep & wide blanket stitch for binding finish work with a contrasting pink thread. Yes, I do love it when a plan presents itself and actually works!

When You Care Enough to Send the Very Best...But Don't.

Years ago I was the "go to" person at my office in New Orleans when someone was having a last minute birthday celebration, but no one had remembered to buy a card. A brief, personalized poem would quickly be drafted and with a bit of office-supplied card stock, and signatures all 'round, we were set. It happened so often that the office quit buying cards and started giving me a little heads up about upcoming celebrations. Eventually, I would letter a small line at the bottom back of my cards that read along these lines: "Ace* - when you care enough to send the very best...but don't."

  This year I ran across this nifty tutorial for making scrappy Christmas tree ornaments and decided they were just the thing for my card list.  [The tutorial is preceded by an ad.] Of course, I did not find the tutorial until well into November. So, though finding scraps is no problem here (there's an abundance of those), time  proved to be less easily garnered. 

So, here are the three cards I managed to put together. They are fun to do. Embellishments can take whatever turn suits your fancy. For me, though, these may be only for a chosen few. That other card manufacturer...the one with all the stores and movies and such...they're safe: no big threat from this production line.

* "Ace" is my "cyber name".

Little Triangle Thread-Catcher and More

These are not reversible. There is a time of decision for which will be the turn-down tab and which the bag's base. Pattern is cut the same for each, so there's time to decide which will be which just before you begin sewing up those fold to stop-mark seams.

These small "thread catchers" are supposed to keep me company sitting by my machine ready to receive any little thread snippets that I normally toss on the floor...if I bother snipping them at all. I'm going to have to change my messy ways, if this is going to be used as intended. Good thing I've already thought of alternate uses for these in the mean time. Don't you think they would be great little Dove chocolates holders for gifting? Or maybe a nightstand earring holder for when you are away from home for a night or two? Or...hair clip or elastic band holders...or desktop paper clip boxes? Seriously! It's just cute, even if not being used for anything. 

If you needed a larger based catch-all, I think you could size them up a few inches. My sister-in-law suggested making them to match placemats and somehow put napkins in them, but they have a closed bottom, so I'm not sure how that would work. Still, it could be revamped for that, I suppose. 

Definitely the hardest thing about making it is figuring out what buttons to use on the flaps.

Click on the link below to see where I found the pattern and the "how-to" of assembling it:

Here! Right here! Click. Click. Click!