Scandinavian Houses II

I have been working hard this week. This is a quilt wall-hanging I made for a new baby's nursery. I am pretty happy with the result. It's a modification of my original Scandinavian Houses quilt, using more neutral shades of gray and navy, since the mother doesn't know yet if she's having a boy or a girl.

I'm going to add a few more details by hand - a button doorknob perhaps...maybe some hand quilting around the sun. There are a lot of different details involved - some simple appliqué, along with standard piecing, then minimal free-form quilting.

The top corners of the quilt back have these handy little pockets for inserting a rigid dowel to hang the whole thing from two hooks on each side. Normally, for a wall-hanging, you would use a longer, even sturdier sleeve to insert a thin plank along the top back. But, I came up with this design in case the mother decided to actually use the quilt; the pockets are small and inconspicuous enough not to be noticed when in use. It's possible that there is an even better way to suit both uses - I am still learning so much with sewing that I feel my mind will never get tired of it, even though my shoulders are killing me!

A Whole Lot of Pfaff

I am wonderfully tired. I spent every spare moment of the day in my creative zone and accomplished much. So, I'm rewarding myself with some couch time, a glass of bourbon, and a pretty golden box of truffles. Also, there is a steaming bag of hot water on my neck.

---

Oh.Yeah.
(The music in my head is what plays when Ferris Bueller's BFF reveals his dad's sports car)

I got a new sewing machine. It's a Pfaff 2056. A brand I had never even heard of until three weeks ago. A heavy metal, Swedish-made work horse that does things I didn't even know could be done. A machine I couldn't afford in the US shop I found it in, but by some miracle,  I found one on ebay that was within driving distance from my house - at more than half the price. I spent about three days sweating over the decision while I was visiting at my mom's house in Minnesota. One look in my eyes and my mom said, "You've got the fever, haven't you?" She doesn't even sew, but she knew what she was talking about.

Made in Sweden. OH. YEAH.
That makes me happy.

I flew back home to the UK and a few days later made the trek across the English Midlands in search of my new machine. Ever since, I find excuses to run to the machine - "What's that, honey? You left your mittens in Minnesota? Let me whip up a pair!" In 20 minutes there were mittens. Never mind that they were too small - there were mittens in 20 minutes!!!

So I have been sewing little bits of spontaneous projects between doing up several orders I have received from my etsy shop. I'm working on another bunting banner made entirely from one little boy's baby bibs. The mother actually had a bib for every American holiday during his first year, as well as several other cute little bibs, and a hospital receiving blanket. There were a lot of different sizes involved so the final design was a big compromise with what we wanted for length while keeping the best of the bibs still in the bunting. There are 16 bibs in all sizes, so we decided to alternate squares and triangles, since the triangular shape would not support most of the motifs. I think it is turning out really nicely so far, but I will be sure to post the final photos.

I'm also working on a quilt commission, that will also include full bedding for a nursery. It's a bit of a daunting project, but the quilt is based on my Scandinavian Houses quilt design so it is more free form and enjoyable for me to do.

---

So. That is why I have a hot water bottle strapped to my neck!