PinkLemonadeBoutique

The Wedding er...First Anniversary Quilt

So as you can guess from the title I'm referring to a quilt that was supposed to be a wedding gift for my stepson and his wife. That was the intention anyway. Of course as so often happens with me lately, I start gung ho on a project and then burn out. Don't know why.  I used to be so much better at finishing things! Anway, they were married in November, so I think I have plenty of time to finish, as I understand it, technically you have a year to give a wedding gift.   So I think I like it.

 

 

I'm hoping one the border goes on it won't look so busy. The border fabric is a soft gray with scattered pinkish flowers spaced far apart, so there's lots of space to rest your eyes. Not sure how I'll quilt it yet.Any suggestions?  
 

Great weekend kickoff.

So a fabulous Friday it was. The highlight being able to join and attend the first meeting of the New England chapter of The Modern Quilt Guild  in Boston. Arlington to be exact, in the delightful Fabric Corner, owned by the equally delightful  Mark who was so incredibly accomodating and offered us fabric at a discount. There were milk and cookies, lots of bonding a fabric swap and of course much fabric buying. I came home with some gorgeous 1/2 price Amy Butler Love home dec fabric (which i had no idea it existed) and Love flannel (ditto) omg. The rest of Nigella Grandiflora on the bolt, which admittedly might be my favorite fabric of all time. And I bought some incredible Echino fabrics, double OMG. Oh, and some Kona cotton just to keep it sensible. 

Then this morning we were up and out the door by 8:30 (why I don't know) and went to Borders and I splurged on my beloved Maria Claire Idees and a splendiferous book on how to make stuffed animals. I never have the time to make any, and so far the books I have collected on them outnumbers the actually number of stuffed animals I've made. I just can't seem to resist them. And with the cuteness contained in this particular book, I dare anyone to put it back on the shelf and walk away. Plus I had a 30% coupon.

Let's take a peek inside shall we?

I don't know about you, but I think that is a mighty fine looking lion, and the fox is killing me with his lanky stride. Olivia has requested the sleepy beagle replete with a pink twirly skirt. I may have to take a break in "work" sewing and just do something fun like that.

As if it could get any better, last night we were watching Diners, Drive-ins and Dives and Guy Fieri was visiting his wifes hometown of Providence RI specifically the Liberty Elm Diner. He was chowing down on the fresh roasted turkey sandwich with pea shoots tomato and mayo...mmm. So we marched right down there this afternoon and ordered us up some of that goodness and it was delish. Great diner, great staff, great food, great vibe.    

I don't know what is wrong with me that whenever it's time to make a shopping list for the week and decide the dinner menus, I draw a complete blank and cannot recall any recipe that I have ever made. Even though I LOVE to cook and do so almost every day. So in an effort to get organized and streamline this whole process I have created a recipe binder. I know this is not a revolutionary idea, but it's pretty life altering for me. Plus I have some sort of romantic notion of my progeny  some day pouring over grandma's recipes and thinking what a talented and organized lady she was. So I took a utilitarian binder, some plastic sleeves and tabs, and made a pretty little cover in this fab. retro print.

This is such an easy thing to do, and I cover every book that isn't pretty. If anyone would like a tutorial on how to do this let me know, and I'll post one.

It's been a great weekend so far, and I think I just heard my husband walk into the kitchen with fixin's for lemondrop martini's...
   

 

  

 

  

Technicolor shades of gray

I hate to start this post off with the proverbial weather talk, but I can't resist grousing about the solid week of rain/sleet/snow (sometimes all in one day) we've been experiencing here in New England. Of course weather wise I know we have nothing to complain about compared to other parts of the country, but still. Luckily I have been cheered very much by my current project. It's sooooooo exciting. I haven't shared it here yet, but if you hop on over to block party you can read all about it.  For the past year or so I have been engaged in a virtual quilting bee, and now the 12 of us are working on The Book. Currently we have 2 more weeks until our blocks are due and it's been soooooo much fun! 12 little packets of differents fabrics/block designs are sent to us to make up with our own interpretation of the block since all the blocks are modern twists and leave room for improvisational design. Then they are collected and sent back to the person who picked the pattern/fabric for the quilt to be constructed and quilted. So despite the gray weather I have contented myself with beautiful fabrics of which I can only show some snippets since I am sworn to secrecy until the book is published.

This is just a small sampling of the sublime colors and fabrics I have been playing with. And even though I am quite comfortable combining quirky colors together, a couple of the blocks have been a surprise to me. For example, I opened one packet and out came animal prints in shades of brown, and then hot pink, orange and yellow solids...and I thought huh? Then I started to cut, snip and sew away and what transpired was one of the most beautiful blocks I have ever put together. I couldn't stop staring at it. Later on out of the blue I remarked to my husband over drinks and dinner, "You know, all colors look great together, you should see my wastebasket." He said "huh? Oh ok hun." I think he thought it was just the Margheritas talking.   

 

I really wanna quilt.

  I've been so intensly occupied with my purse making business that I can't remember the last time I made a quilt start to finish. I'm beginning to feel nostalgic. Lately I've been reading blogs and gazing at Flikr photos of quilts and quilting vicariously through these. This post would be endless if I mentioned all the quilters i really admire, so I'll just share a few with you, that lately I've been especially fond of.

First is Laurie Taylor who  makes these gorgeous, luscious, color saturated quilts. I love her wild abandon approach to color and pattern. 

Allissa makes these wonderful, eye-catching beauties. I love her use of white to frame the great fabrics. i recognize so many of them as some of my favorites. Squares are something she also uses alot of, which is my favorite patchwork shape.

 Ok, i could stare endlessly at Malka's   quilts.  And i think I have in the past week or so.  She combines her handdyed fabric in ways that will amaze you. They are an alchemy of vintage, stripy, dotty, floral goodness. A mix of tradition and innovation that is fresh and modern. I covet. 

So, armed with such inspiration, I stole a few indulgent hours yesterday and fashioned myself a wonky log cabin pillow, adorned with my first attempt at stipple quilting. I think I like it. Ok, I love it. 

      

So I'm thinking..."Pinklemonadeboutique at home", what do you think? Boy that's a mouthfull, I would need to shorten that I think. These are some  purses that I've made recently for the shop. 

  

 

   

Of Babies, Peas and Anne Geddes...

On the same day as I started a baby quilt for a friend who is expecting, my mother in law came over with a glorious bounty from her garden.

 The baby's gender shall remain a mystery until the blessed day, which of course sends us baby quilt making people into a tizzy, does it not? For me, when a friend announces that she is with child, the first thing that swirls around my head is a baby quilt! We wait with bated breath until that 4 month ultrasound reveals the gender and then as soon as we know, we head off to the quilt shop with boy fabric or girl fabric in our heads. It literally makes me giddy. I love making little baby quilts. I get to indulge in the sweetest, pinkest, girliest fabric on the planet. Or with just teeniest less enthusiasm, I am on the hunt for vintage train or stripes, or Jack Russell Terrier fabric for the boy.  So when I realize that gender neutral is the way to go, I am a deer in the headlights. Polka dots? Too girly for a boy? Blue/green, to boyish for a girl? Yellow, too obvious? Purple, too kooky? If there is a print that has a hint of even magenta and the baby turns out a male, will the father secretly fear for the boys masculinity? Such are the worries of the baby quilt maker. I love making them just the same. Especially since I make purses all the time, it is such a treat to stop and indulge in my favorite craft of all. A baby quilt is small, manageable, instantly satisfying and  I can usually piece the top in one afternoon. This particular quilt I started at noon, and had it basted by Liv's bedtime. I will show the final product when it is complete, but here is a pic of the fabrics all together. Oh, and it is gender neutral. I hope.

  

The main print is by Kaffe Fassett, and it's called "Planets" I beleive. They remind me of oblong Everlasting Gobstoppers. The background is dark plum. I am now wishing I incorporated orange in my coordinating fabrics, but I was kind of overwhelmed and overly influenced by the nice quilt shop lady (who by that point was sick of me wandering around the shop muttering to myself, and pulling every other bolt of fabric from the shelves.) 

 So with the thought of babies swirling around my head, my Mother in Law arrives with beautiful fresh peas from her garden. Here she is with Liv shelling them on the back deck. How perfect. Liv is delighted by a pod bearing a motherlode of 9 peas. 

 Understandably, I couldn't get this crazy image out of my head.

Introducing Pinklemonadeboutique BABY!

I am so excited to announce a new line Pinklemonadeboutique BABY!

I've just listed it on ETSY today, and hope this sweet little set will be off to a sweet little girl soon! I was so inspired by the scallop edge quilt in that fabulous and famous book Bend the rules sewing by Amy Karol, i thought it was the cutest little quilt I've seen in ages, the scallop edges were lots of work, but don't you think it was worth it? I do. It's ruined me to plain old straight edges from now on. i added the whimsical little bird, and daisy to the matching bib.

Also, up on etsy today are 3 new wristlets:

Grandmother's flower garden...

That's the name of this patchwork quilt pattern. I have always wanted one, I've seen gorgeous take your breath away vintage ones...all way to expensive for my budget. So I set out to make my baby daughter one for her big girl bed. 3 years ago. It's really the most labor intensive project I've ever gotten myself entangled in. The process is english paper piecing, you take these 6 sided little paper templates, wrap the little piece of fabric around it, secure and whipstich together, one....by.....one. Actually it's a bit of a zenlike process, once you get into it. And if you're in the mood. I go through fazes where I'll work on it compulsively, and then I can't pick it up for months. Oh well, maybe it'll be a nice wedding quilt...I used the sweetest little 1930's repro fabrics.      

meanwhile, the poor girl needed something for her bed,

and a little chair pad...