Pics of Finished Memory Quilts: MIL Clothes

Wanted to post a few pictures of the completed Memory Quilts we made from a family's beloved MIL's clothes. We ended up making 9 wall hangings. Working with adult clothes is more difficult than children's clothes because the colors, fabric designs, fabric weights are vastly different. It took alot of placing to make sure the quilt flowed. This client wasn't particular about the flow, but rather, using as many different pieces as possible.

It's Getting Chilly! Need Little Girl's Undershirts.....

Now that Ryan is 3, with the weather turning colder, we went out to buy her undershirts. Last year I kept her in the fantastic Carter's long-sleeved onesies and I never worried about her being cold because not only did I bundle her up, but also had on the base-layer onesie. My mom always had us in undershirts - it was part of our 'underwear'. Imagine my frustration when we came up empty-handed, both in-store and on-line. Not only did we strike out, but the only undershirts available were cami-tanks in bigger sizes. Some stores had nothing...nada....zip....and some stores only had....GASP....padded bras!!! I thought my husband would die of embarrassment when I held one up. First of all, I cringe at the thought of a 7 or 8 year old needing a bra....and a padded one? Why can't little girls be little girls? Don't they already grow up too fast?

All those ladies out there and those with little girls...any advice??

Memory Quilt: Baby Quilt from Dad's Clothes

A sad story...my sister's friend's brother was terminally ill just as his first child was due to be born. He didn't live long enough to meet his son, but his sister gathered up a few pieces of his clothes and asked that we make a baby quilt from them for his newborn son. We only had 6 pieces of clothes with which to work, but that proved to be ok. And we chose a bright baby flannel for the outer border and back. This will be a great blanket for the baby and widow to have now and for the future. A sad story - but something memorable for his family.

Saturday Night Movie: "Catch Me If You Can"

We've never seen it and heard it is a great flick, so we're getting ready to watch. Over the past few weekends I've seen "Margot at the Wedding", "Babel", and "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button". I like Cate Blanchett and Nicole Kidman - I like that Kidman chooses indie films and I've seen a fair amount of her work. I'm not too crazy about DiCaprio, but maybe this film will change my view??

Memory Quilts: CLOTHES

We met a couple at the Fair Harbor Pine Walk Fair, who saw our sample Memory Quilt made from my niece's baby clothes, and asked about some wall-hangings made of her mother-in-laws clothes. She had passed away 5 years ago and they clothes were sitting in a box - no one wanted to throw them out, but also didn't know what to do with them. She felt it was fate when she happened upon the fair and browsed the vendors for 10 minutes before hopping a water taxi to Ocean Beach. When she dropped all the clothes, we went through her requests and specifications - at the fair she thought she'd like three quilts. At the drop-off, she ordered SIX!! Two weeks later, she upped it to NINE. While it is harder to coordinate adult clothes than baby clothes, the project has been fun and challenging! Here are the layout pictures of 7 - we spent days making sure the fabrics were all different and looked like a coherent piece when sewn together. By now, all the tops are sewn together and one is completed!

Saturday Night Question: Labor Day Edition

SO is anyone out enjoying a last-hurrah unofficial end of summer weekend? We're out in Fair Harbor on Fire Island and after a great low-humidity day between the bay and the ocean and the deck and the park. I even took a jog this afternoon that felt like it was going to do me in. BUT on the way back from Saltaire, I saw a sign for a band that was going to play tonight. We just came back from 2 hours of drinks and dancing on the bay to the righteous sounds of "Brother SO AND SO" because I cannot think of the name. Now, we're home and cooking dinner after the pina coladas and wine. So this is an easy question - more like 'what are you doing' than a question....so what ARE you up to this weekend? Relaxing? Reading? Traveling? Swimming? I'm about to start "The DaVinci Code"....if I can stay awake past 10pm. :-) Cheers!

Saturday Night Question: Towels - When to toss?

I was thinking of trying to do a regular Saturday night post since we're now old, don't have plans like we used to on Saturday nights, and usually at home. Plus, we find it hard to keep our eyes open past 10pm. So to add to our busy schedule, I thought maybe there are others home surfing the blogs when the kiddies are in bed? and if so.....I'd REALLY like to hear your thoughts on this pressing question:

Towel laundry....is there some secret trick to getting our towels to smell better? Don't have problems washing clothes, but do you ever wash towels, throw in the dryer with a dryer-sheet....only to get out of the shower to find the towel STINKS?? Does anyone have a secret on keeping towels smelling fresh? OR....when do I actually throw in the towel????