I have a question....

Remember my project to use up half-square triangles and scraps?

I did this....

And I did this....

Now I'm doing this..... I cut some Kona the size of the front/back of the sham, and started playing with fabric squares.

What??
It's going to be a pillow sham. (Grin)
There will be two, so here is the other. 

I'm showing you the process here. Laying out all these little scrap blocks in order to make a star, then choosing some of the low-volume ones to go around it. (Those center squares are such sumptuous prints; they look very similar because they are just different color ways of the same print.)

(If you are new to quilting, low-volume means fabrics that don't jump out at you like Padsworth does when he is bored on the lilypad. They are not so bright or intense; the contrast is turned down like the volume on your ipod when you don't want someone to hear you listening during a business meeting.)

Ahem.
I digress.
And don't anyone tell my associates that I do that in meetings....
Anyway, there are the two sham tops -- I'm going to use some Kona white for the backs of the shams, too, because there is a lot of white in that quilt for the bed.

Here is one with the squares stitched together:

Here is my question: should I stay low volume on the rest of the front? Or should I crank up the volume and use some of these brighter, more intense colors? I have about 3.5 inches to get to the measurement that I need. Yeah, when you stitch all those cuties together, it kinda shrinks things up and you need more of a border than you first thought. Don't ask how I know to say that, OK? Just smile and read on....

Here is a sample of a higher-volume border...

And here is the lower-volume....

Which one do you vote for?

Let me know in the comments!

Love,

Don't miss it!

Remember our friends at Stella Lighting?

Remember this lovely, my "Emmy" light? (Mary Engelbreit graphics!)

Would ya like to have one for your very own?

I just got word that they are having a bodacious (yes, that is a word) sale! Their text is right on the money:

              You craft. You quilt. You knit and you stitch.

You invest endless hours in the art you create.

You work hard, and so do your eyes. You take care to perfect the art you create. Now it's time to take care of your eyes, which make it all happen. Invest in a Stella and invest in you.

You can save 25% on any Stella Light!!! Oh my goodness, yes!
Use the promo code at checkout: imetstella

Now, this sale is over after Sunday, January 21, 2018, so hop over and take a peek at the wonderful Stella lights! (They are currently sold out of the Stella SKY TWO floor lamps, but they are expected to ship on February 9th, so if your heart is set on one of those, just chill and it will arrive soon.)

I just wanted y'all to know.....

Love,

Vintage find

I found something the other day that really cranked my tractor....so much so, that I researched the pattern and started pulling fat quarters from my stash!

Let me show you!

Look at this old beauty....

Here's a peek at the quilting, too (I bumped up the contrast so that you could see this lovely hand quilting):

I found that it is called by many names....in 1928 it was called "Hummingbird," and in 1933 it was named "Kites," and then in 1938 it was christened "Arkansas Snowflake"!  I've even seen it referred to as "Job's Troubles"!

Whatever it's called, I call it pretty!
From the amount of wear that I see, I'm theorizing that someone took a well-loved quilt and gave it new life with that lavender border, but I could be wrong. I'd like to restore it, but I'm scared to death of messing with it. (Grin)

I guess the best thing will be to make a new one in honor of the old!

My stash is calling!

Love,

Merry Christmas to all!

Here at the Lilypad, we are wishing all of our quilting buddies and the lovely, dear friends that we've made over the years here, a very wonderful Christmas.

We're praying for peace in our world, food in our tummies, songs in our hearts, and fabrics in our stashes.....

Seriously, we love you all, and hope your Christmas is blessed and peaceful.

Love to all,

Table "topper" (and placemats, too!)

Just as promised, here are some pictures of what I was working on when I had that epiphany about the labels. (Grin)

I've seen this idea before, but have no pattern.....just developed it on the run. Flew by the seat of my pants, you might say.

Padsworth and DragonDrop helped with the clipart we found...

I wanted this to be useful for winter, not just for Christmas, hence the mitten theme!

Found the snowflake clipart free on the interwebs (don'tcha love technology?), fused it, and carefully cut it out with my teeny, pointy, embroidery scissors. Then of course, I wondered why my hands were aching. (Grin)

Here's a photo when I had it sandwiched for quilting:

You can see that on a larger (square) table, there will be the snowflake in the center, and the mittens will be placemats for each person.

Some of you peeps will be smartypants and notice that I used the same fabric for the backgrounds -- on the center you see the right side, and on the mitten blocks you see the reverse!

The mittens all have the same red print for the cuffs, and the calico stars, too.

Simple zigzag this time - I hoped it would make the mittens look "fuzzy" and warm!

LOVE the way the snowflake turned out! Just straight stitch applique....

Used my fav thread from Aurifil:

From this thread collection (by the way, this has been awesome; the colors lend themselves to so many different projects. If you want a "jack of all trades" thread set, this is your set!):

Here's a photo of the finished present! Don't worry, the recipient never looks here at the Lilypad!!

And yes, I labeled it!

Love,