Verna and Kate Spain

Earlier today I posted pictures of the quilt top I’m putting together.  It’s made with Kate Spain’s new collection for Moda, titled Verna .

Well, about an hour later, Kate left a comment on the post, which was so kind of her, and although I have absolutely no idea how she found her way to my post, I do know that her comment led me directly to her website .

And I think I can say that I now have a new favorite designer to watch.

Let me back up.  A few weeks ago a new Crate & Barrel catalog came in the mail, and I devoured all the pictures, as usual.  One in particular was torn out of the catalog and kept for 2 reasons:  1.  I want these!  2.  Inspiration.

Did you see these too?  And do you like them like I do?
Loire plates
I mean, I’d like several in each color, but if I had to choose, I’d take the aqua ones.  They’re beautiful and affordable.  You can buy them individually or in sets of four.   Hello!  Can they get any cuter?

Back to Kate Spain.  You see, not only is she responsible for the gorgeous quilting fabric that I’m currently in love with, but imagine my delight when I read a few posts on her blog and discovered that SHE is the designer of those lovely Loire plates, the very plates I tore out of the catalog,  from Crate & Barrel!  She also designed these awesome melamine plates .

Wow!  I was so excited to discover that two different products which I’m so drawn to are designed by the same person.  Cute stuff!

Well, it gets even better than that.  She’s currently giving away one layer cake from the Verna collection, and some totally cute gift bags and takeout boxes for a second winner.  So hurry on over here and get in on the fun.  You have until March 20th to enter.

And thank you, thank you Kate for sharing your awesome designs!  I love them.

Hopeful Homemaker

Tulips

Sadi Gulistan said, “If of thy mortal goods thou art bereft, & from thy slender store two loaves alone to thee are left, sell one, & with the dole buy hyacinths to feed thy soul.”

pink tulips 1

I will freely admit that the beauty of a hyacinth combined with its heady scent is wonderful.  Yet after years of quietly repeating that quote to myself, I must say I’ve found that many different flowers feed my soul.

tulips 2

This week it was tulips.  They were a $5 splurge at the grocery store.

pink tulips 3

I love the way tulips are both bold and delicate at the same time.  Strong but fragile.  Graceful yet dramatic.

pink tulips 4

They’re so tall and straight and pretty when they’re all closed up, but then they begin to open…

pink tulips 5

and the drama and beauty merely increase.

pink tulips 6

People are like that.  Most of the time what’s on the inside is even better than what’s outside.

I like the way these two ended up leaning on each other.

pink tulips 7

This week my tulips reminded me to have an open heart, to accept each day for what it offered, to find beauty in what I have.  Sometimes we need beauty as much as food to remain truly alive.  Flowers really are food for my soul.

pink tulips 8

Which flowers feed your soul?  Please share!

Have a beautiful weekend!
Hopeful Homemaker Posted at The Inspired Room

Aqua Dots Strip Quilt


red and white binding on quilt

I just finished a quilt that I made just to try machine binding.  It’s a quilt-as-you-go strip quilt, which means it’s quick and simple.

red, aqua, polka dot quilt

I’m loving the aqua, red and white color scheme with tons of polka dots.  Those three colors (and the dots) are among my favorite things right now.  I’m calling it my Aqua Dots Strip quilt.

I found the binding tutorial on a great quilting blog, Red Pepper Quilts .  The tutorial is here .  Four years ago when I started quilting, I took a class on binding and I’ve been finishing my bindings by hand ever since.  I usually cut my binding only 2 inches wide because I like a really tight, neat binding with no gaps inside it.  I enjoy this process, but it takes many hours and thousands of stitches (think 8-10 stitches per inch around a 400 inch perimeter).  I strained my elbow a little carrying my baby’s car seat, so stitching by hand has been irritating it some lately.  I’ve also found that sitting down to do some hand sewing is much harder when you have 3 or 4 children dive into your lap every time you sit down (not to mention the fact that there’s so much cleaning to do that you don’t feel like you CAN sit down). So this tutorial got me excited, because I’m at a point right now when I’d LOVE to be able to fully finish a quilt on my machine.

Here’s a peek at one of the nicer spots on my binding after reading the tutorial.

quilt binding

Don’t worry, there were other spots (several of them) when I completely missed the binding and had to go back and fix it.  All in all, I’m pleased.  This is definitely harder than it seems, because you stitch from the top but the binding you’re stitching is on the bottom so you can’t see it at all.  I pinned pretty well and had my machine on the slowest setting.  This method will take some practice, but I think it’s worth getting good at.

red & aqua strip quilt

The fabrics I used in this quilt actually came from a little quilt kit I purchased a long time ago when I thought that our last baby would be a boy.  For some reason, for years I really felt like we’d end up even.  Well, that didn’t happen, and these fun fabrics were still in their bag.  The binding was a great excuse to whip it up, especially since it’s a pretty small quilt (baby size).

I taught myself a great lesson in this quilt, which is that haste does NOT produce quality.  The strips weren’t cut perfectly when someone assembled the kit, and I didn’t bother to fix them.  I also was so intent on finishing it quickly that I didn’t stop and rip out a couple of mistakes… which means that the stripes in the quilt aren’t completely straight and that there’s some curve to one end of the quilt.  Oh well.  I think the quilt is still cute, and it’s certainly going to be used, but I won’t be giving it away as a gift or anything like that.  I really don’t feel like it’s a reflection of the work I’m capable of, or of the attention to detail that I usually have when I’m sewing.  Good reminder, since I’ve got like 10 quilts I’m really anxious to start!

That said, the purpose of this quilt really was the binding.  I’m definitely going to work at mastering this one!  Here’s one last look at the quilt after it had been through a rinse cycle and then the dryer.  I do like it!   I love the happy colors and the dots.

aqua dot strip quilt

What do you think?

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