Anniversary Quilt?
We just celebrated our 20th wedding anniversary -- had a wonderful time -- and I even finished the anniversary quilt on time! Well, sort of...because this isn't the original 20th anniversary quilt I started about four years ago, thinking I'd have it done in time. Love is all about putting the other person first, right? Well, that's just what I did! I made a special quilt for my husband, and now it's the official 20th anniversary quilt! 
It's got quilted footballs and Flying Elvis motifs and is completely machine stitched, right down to the binding. And the quilt to the right, Still In Love, just may become our 25th anniversary quilt! It only needs a final border and I'm planning a scalloped outer edge and hand quilting on this one. The goal is to get it done this year...honestly! Gotta sew...
Tissue Case Instructions
I meant to get these instructions up sooner, but life got in the way. I'm working on an anniversary quilt and need to have it done by Wednesday. It turned out to be quite a bit larger than originally planned, but I'm finally ready to machine quilt it. I'll post a photo when it's done. ;-)
Tissue Case
You will need: Foundation fabric, about 7" x 9.5", lining fabric, scrap fabric, thread and your choice of embellishments.
Crazy patch onto foundation fabric and embellish as desired. Make a 6.5" x 9" template and sew just inside the lines, so it doesn't unravel. Cut down to 6.5" x 9". Also cut your lining fabric 6.5" x 9". On right side of lining, draw a center line at 4.5". (Later you will be folding up to this line.) With right side of lining and right side of crazy patch together, sew 3/4" seams on both 6.5" ends. Press. Turn right sides out. Press the seam allowances open, and press seams so that no lining will be peeping out on crazy patch side. Sign your gift on the lining with a permanent Pigma pen. With embellished sides facing down, fold the short ends (6.5") under to the center mark that you drew on the lining. Pin both sides and sew with a 5/8" seam, making sure to backstitch to reinforce the tissue case opening. Trim seams and clip corners. Turn right side out. Insert cardboard and tissue pack (taking tissue pack out of the plastic).
Clear as mud? Hope not! Gotta sew...
Tissue Cases
Not much stitching going on at my house lately, but I did manage to sew a couple of tissue cases to give as gifts. One of these is made from a RR block that I had already cut up and used in a wall hanging, and another RR block that was returned to me unfinished. Aren't they lovely? Many thanks to Lillian for writing out the pattern by hand for me a long, long time ago! Gotta sew...
Too long...
It's not that I haven't been stitching. It's just what I've been stitching has been a little bit different than my normal CQ projects. I stitched a baby afghan for a relative and have been working on pillows for the living room. We are in the middle of redecorating and that's been fun, but time-consuming. I've started a Patriots quilt for my sweet husband and have been looking at the 20th anniversary quilt that needs to be finished by April! 
I've got my hands full! I am still working on the never-ending teacup motif, and it continues to grow out of control! I'm going to remove the floral stitching on the cup and replace it with a light color...when? I don't know, whenever the spirit moves me! But I do plan on having it done sometime this year!
Happy New Year!
Looking back, 2007 was a good year and I have a lot to be thankful for. I maintained my 35+ pound weight loss and even more noteworthy than that, my Dad made it through quadruple bypass surgery with flying colors! Praise the Lord for that miracle!
On the stitching side of things, I finished three large sane quilts in 2007 -- one for Daniel's mother, that I named Amy's Quilt, one for his daughter Alexys, Texas Wildflowers, and a third for me -- and that's pretty amazing! I didn't do as much embroidery and crazy quilting as I had done in the past few years, but I was still a car quilter, stitching on the road whenever I could! I stitched a CQ purse for a contest on the Crazy Quilting International at Yahoo Groups and finished a small quilt made with RR blocks from the same group. I stitched a few embroidery motifs and I just know 2008 will be the year to finish the teacup! LOL
So as a new year is upon us -- even if things didn't seem to go the way you planned last year -- we can all look forward to 2008 with hope in our hearts and needles in hand! Happy New Year! Gotta sew...
We just celebrated our 20th wedding anniversary -- had a wonderful time -- and I even finished the anniversary quilt on time! Well, sort of...because this isn't the original 20th anniversary quilt I started about four years ago, thinking I'd have it done in time. Love is all about putting the other person first, right? Well, that's just what I did! I made a special quilt for my husband, and now it's the official 20th anniversary quilt! 
It's got quilted footballs and Flying Elvis motifs and is completely machine stitched, right down to the binding. And the quilt to the right, Still In Love, just may become our 25th anniversary quilt! It only needs a final border and I'm planning a scalloped outer edge and hand quilting on this one. The goal is to get it done this year...honestly! Gotta sew...
