Complete Satisfaction!

Oh so pretty, even if I do say so myself.

As always, my girl is involved in the process.

I really love the end result of this type of quilting.

The baby boy getting this quilt will have it on his bed in his college dorm room. I can see it all now.

Finished size, a generous 47" X 60" (approx).

Boy's Quilt: Almost finished!

I am working on my first quilt commission. I have made about half a dozen quilts for myself, family, and friends, but have never done it for money. That is about to change. I think that each time I endeavor to get a quilt done, I am surprised by the amount of work and hours it takes to get it finished - like childbirth you forget the pain when the end result is so beautiful (and of course, it's not pain all the way through)! Yesterday, I finally finished the quilting part. I also treated myself to a new ironing board before getting started on the binding (isn't it just lovely? Simple pleasures, I tell ya.)

The person I'm making the quilt for only requested a certain color palette, but the rest was up to me. Let me say that making a quilt without a specific desire laid out for you is like cooking a meal for someone whose tastes you are totally unsure of. She seemed to like simpler square forms so once I decided on the fabric I thought the best way to show it off would be a modified "around-the-world" pattern, which is similar to the quilt I made for my daughter earlier this year. It really shows off color and fabric in a way that doesn't get dated over time, and I think it is especially nice for a boy. I will post the finished photos soon!

Before and After

I love to redo old ugly furniture. Actually, I've only redone about three things, mostly simple projects like this one, but I'm working my way into more difficult projects. In this case, I had this old plant stand, decaying in my garden for a few years, when I finally decided I wanted to bring it into the house to use as a small table in my bedroom.

I used some Mexican oilcloth in an interesting silver pattern (found here), got out a pair of scissors and my trusty staple gun, then simply re-covered the worn out base. The cast-iron bit could use a new coat of paint, but that will come later.

Voilà! A beautiful new little table for inside the house.

New Work

Check out the shop for new aprons, bibs, and hopefully homewares soon!

Aprons on Film

Check out the latest photos on facebook from the filming of Florentine and Pig - you can see some of my aprons in several of the photos!

For a little boy...

I was in an amazing Swedish department store that had tons and tons of fabric I loved. When I saw this striped fabric (along with a few others I have yet to touch) I immediately envisioned this little boy's overall set.

Months ago, I bought a packet of patterns from a thrift store for mere pennies and I have been working through the packet, redoing and redesigning some of the almost frumpy-style kids clothes. Amending patterns can be daunting at first, but as long as you cut conservatively to start with you can always adjust sizing later.

I've been primarily sewing for little girls but with this creation I'm absolutely sold on boys clothes. Actually, the overalls could be worn by a little girl as they're not especially boyish.

You won't see these in my shop - I'm just too in love with them to part ways. If I ever have a little boy they will be his! Unless one of my friends is very lucky :).

Publicity

Last week, I was contacted by a rep from an up-and-coming children's cooking program in the UK; she found one of my apron designs on my folksy shop (www.folksy.com/BellaLou) and wanted me to create a variety of aprons for use in the first 10 filmings. The brand and name of the program is Florentine & Pig, and presenters from CBBC (Children's British Broadcasting Corporation) will be hosting the show from a quirky cottage in the English countryside. And most importantly for me, my aprons will be featured on one tiny wearer - very exciting!