A New Family Member, Ice Fishing, A New Job and More Quilting.

There's a little bit of everything going on at our house these days.

A new family member: Two weeks ago we welcomed a new member to family. Nik is a young man from Austria who will be spending the remainder of the high school semester with us. Nik is our second exchange student in a little over a year. All I can say is that we have been blessed. Both students we have hosted have been wonderful kids that have enriched our lives.  It's fun to see American life for the first time through the eyes of these students. Every day is an adventure. 

Ice fishing: Winter in South Dakota has brought us snow,  frigid temps and frozen lakes. I've not been a big "outdoorsy" person except when it comes to FISHING which I've been participating in for as long as I can remember.  Last winter, Jeff and I explored a few surrounding lakes to try our luck at ice fishing.  I can't say we were entirely successful but what an extraordinary way to enjoy the Black Hills of South Dakota.  

This weekend we packed up the kids and ventured out onto the ice. With 12" of ice to support us and near 50 degree temps, the conditions could not have been more perfect. 

Ice Fishing on Roubaix Lake in The Black Hills. 

....but the pattern photo looks so awesome! Kwik Sew 125 Old McDonald's Playhouse

When the project doesn't quite meet your expectations....

I love Kwik Sew patterns. When I saw this new Ellie Mae pattern in my local quilt shop, I had to buy it. 

Little ones love to build forts/playhouses. This playhouse fits over a folding card table which almost everyone owns. My bestie has four little grandbabies and a five year old herself. I knew that this would be a hit in her house!

The Kwik Sew 125 Playhouse

The back of the pattern envelope.

I purchased the pattern; searched for architectural  fabrics (wood grain and shingle look); and started on the animal appliqués.

The appliques were a piece of cake. While watching a movie with my family, I copied; cut; and ironed all of the appliqués. It was fun watching these cute little animals come together with their own personalities.   

I then cut the panels and started placing the appliqués. You first place the main door and the shutters on the front. I  fused the shutters.  You are then to place the right side of the door frame to the wrong side of front wall. Sew 1/4" around the inside of the door frame and  then cut out the opening.  Flip the door frame to the right side.

1. OK, this sounds good but.....the door frame is too big!    I made the door smaller. 
2. I don't know if this will hold up over time but I appliqued the door  to the front  of the playhouse and cut the opening leaving 1/4" inside the door frame. 
3. From the back I added Steam a Seam to that 1/4" of fabric and folded it to the back side of the quilt and ironed it down.  I zig zagged around the door to secure the fabric down.  I repeated this process with all of the windows.
4. Iron on the grass appliques and the animals. Zig zag around them to secure.

Looks good so far.....let's sew it together.

Oh boy, things aren't matching up well whatsoever.  How can that be as these are simple pieces.  I fudged it together   and ironed it the best I could. 

The roof is held up by a  pvc pipe frame that sits on top of the table.  It has a peak at the front and the back.  When I placed the playhouse over it, it sagged in the middle. The pvc should be reconfigured to have a support in the middle if you want it to look good.

The Finished Product

Looks pretty good from the front. The seams need ironing.

Saggy roof. It needs an extra pvc support beam.

Even though I was a little bit disappointed in the pattern drafting,  it was  a success ........because it made one little girl very very happy!!!

Merry Christmas, Kay!

My very first t-shirt quilt.....a labor of love.

My daughter has been asking for a tshirt quilt for quite some time.  All the ones I've seen are sort of the same....rows and columns.  I searched online for ideas for the quilt and ran across photos of some really awesome quilts.  They were all Too Cool T-shirt Quilts.   Lucky for me, there was a book to teach me how to make one.

I could not find this book locally but was able to locate a pre-owned one on Etsy. Score!!!  The book description is that it will guide you through each step of making the quilt and that the quilt will defy your expectations (I must agree).

This book walks you through selecting your t-shirts and helps with incorporating special items other than t-shirts into the quilt.  The best part of this technique--- you don't use any iron on backing or cotton sashing....only t-shirts!

Ten templates to make or buy.