Scalloped Borders

i told a friend that i would scallop her border for her.
it really makes a big difference.
anyways, since i was doing it, i thought i'd make up a tutorial for it.
(please keep in mind that i've NEVER done a tutorial and i am lacking sleep.)

i always start with a trimmed quilt.
and i always start with the top and bottom of the quilt.
so fold your quilt in half and measure.
this quilt measured 52 x 60.

now you need to make (or find) a template. usually, a scallop for this size quilt is anywhere between 7 - 9 inches in diameter. divide your quilt measurements by numbers within that range until you are able to get close to a whole number.
for example: i found that 52 % 8.5 was pretty close to 6 and 60 % 8.5 was really close to 7.
which will give me 6 scallops on the top & bottom and 7 scallops on the sides.

next you need to make a template. if you have a compass you can easily make your circle...
if not you can use my ancient method.
using your ruler, draw a vertical line (in my case, 8 1/2 inches) mark your center point.
lining up your ruler with the vertical line and keeping it centered, draw a horizontal line.

continue drawing lines until you feel comfortable free handing a circle. cut out your circle, and wah-la you have your template!

starting with the folded side, place your the center of your template along the fold and trace the pattern. next, place your template on the opposite corner and trace.

continue to trace your pattern until you have a continous scalloped pattern.

in my case, i will end up with 6 scallops like i calculated in the beginning.

keeping the quilt folded, cut along the scalloped line.

this will now become your pattern for the bottom border. fold the quilt in half and cut along the pre-cut edge.

yeah! th top and bottom borders are done. now repeat the above steps to scallop the side borders.

now the binding! just a couple tips. i make my binding from 1 1/2 inch bias strips and i start my binding on one of the four corners.

when you get to the corner, be careful to get that fold of fabric out of the way.

i stop right about here (see picture above). lift up presser foot and turn quilt.

i usually use my awl to keep the fabric away from the needle. (i couldn't find it today)

with my right hand, i pull the fabric back and away, lower my pressure foot and continue.

when your all done, you'll have a beautiful quilt!

i hope this made sense and your able to use it.

Our Valentine Class

went well...

the cupcakes turned out just as i hoped...i originally thought it would be nice to make 3 others for the gals that worked at the shop. then i realized that i couldn't give them a valentine that read, "kiss me" or "my love"...so i saved those for the kids.

the kits...

held this little quilt i put together.

so with the tables set, and instruction given

everyone got to work.

they were quieter than ever before hard at work. the best part was that almost everyone finished the project!

that's success!

I'm getting things

together for tonight's valentine party at the quilt shop.

here's a sneek peek at the project they will be making.

as i was putting the kits together, sammy, sissy's bird had to get into the action.

he LOVES my sewing room!

here's the makings of the valentine cupcakes.

i love my class!

happy valentines day ladies!!!

A Valentine Treat

for all to enjoy! how cute are these?

cute as a button, i tell you!!!

yes, these are called pretzel buttons! who knew? you can find the recipe here.

if you make them , i'd love to here are they turned out!

i think this will be my fhe (family home evening) treat for next monday...you guessed it we're having a valentine (love) theme. i'll be sure to let you know how it turns out!

A New Hair-do

before...

after...

oh how happy she is.

Bunny Hill Block of the Month

a tisket a tasket she's got another basket.

but first let me show you how block #1 turned out.

here's block #2 (anne's original)

I'll post mine, when i get it done.

A Few of My Valentine Quilts

here's the one i posted in my previous post.
it is from cheri saffiote, but it was just something she taught, i'm not sure if there is a pattern for it.
if your interested, i'll ask her if she has a pattern or even remembers it.
it seriously was probably 8 years ago.

the heart quilt was from a good friend of mine jill. she is the queen of quilting! we've got to get her blogging! hint, hint!!!

the pillow i made is a bareroots pattern. did you know that barri from bareroots is cheri's sister. yep, both equally talented!!! the small quilt was made by my mom. what ever talent my sister and i have, we got it from her. our house was always decorated just right. my mom was always a seamstress, but it wasn't until 10 years ago that we both took up quilting. we both fell in love. my sister is great at woodworking and paper crafts so between the 3 of us, we have just about everything...

Let Me Translate

"i love you so be nice."

apparently we (bub, dad, me, and sissy) weren't being nice...according to her.

she was proud of herself for writing this by herself and we got a kick out of it.

when i asked her if i could take a picture, her face lit up.

brownie points for mommy!!!

What 'cha doin'

today? it's wednesday...

i must admit that today has been one of those days where i can't seem to get anything done. i feel like i'm running in circles. that's what happens when my routine gets tweaked. i got my hair cut today (i love when i get my hair cut...) and i had a meeting with the best teacher ever to discuss next week's valentine's party. speaking of valentines...

that's the only thing i did do today.

i finally got the box from last weeks post empty.

here are a few of my decorations.

(Oh...WAIT!!! Anthea, Putter...are you reading this???)

ok, so here's the deal...my neighbor, friend, reader said that she would like to see more personal posts and queenie said the same thing. so for those of you who read this to keep up with my life and my kids i'm going to try to indulge you while continuing to enrich and inspire those who come by for the crafty, quilty stuff. so with that said...i will attempt to put something personal into the crafty posts.

i said attempt...

so back the valentines decorations...

this is a small quilt that cheri saffiote taught at the quilt shop years ago.

i don't think the pattern was ever published.

ummm, this jar was full of red, pink and white candy corn but it's bob's favorite.

need i say more?

(oh, btw...the white board in the back is something that has helped my family a ton. it's a weekly calendar and it's in plain view for everyone to see. the simple things make a big difference.)

joanne fabrics always has the cutest holiday decorations and they are usually 30 - 50% off. but look beyond the decoration and you will see the personal part of this post.

do you see it? the blue painters tape in the shape of a window...

let me tell you about that...

one month ago (yes...it's been a month) i needed to paint a big sheet of butcher paper for the bulletin board at church. it was bright yellow and i wanted butter yellow (picky, i know) anyway i mixed the paint and then asked "bob" for some help taping it onto the wall. my intention was to paint about 2 inches from the sides because i had a border that was going around it. bob, being the professional painter (really) thought that he could do it better and faster (which is typical). but...instead of going just up to the edge of the paper he decided to go over the edge which resulted in a huge, bright yellow rectangle on my living room wall!

hello, not my idea of tasteful decorating!

when confronted with the problem, he said, "i have to paint the living room anyways, i'll do it asap." the following week, my brother-in-law came over and said "are you guys putting in another door?" from there, he and sissy made a window and from there sissy wrote welcome in tape to match the front door. one month later, it's still there.

how long do you think it will be there? til we move? who knows...would any of you put up with this?

i didn't think so!!!

(p.s. bob's smiling)