dress from a shirt!

dress from a shirt!, originally uploaded by Gwedolgirl.

Dear Mom,

Last week, Katie, Evelyn and I co-designed and sewed Evelyn a dress from one of Carl's old shirts! The idea was Katie's, I did the sewing, and Evelyn art-directed and was a patient try-er on.

Looking forward to seeing you soon!
Love,
Gwen

Wristers

pulse warmers, originally uploaded by Gwedolgirl.

Dear Mom,

In the comments, Renee asked to see some KNITTING! And Renee is my friend from Luther, which makes this project doubly for her. The pattern, Rose Wristers, is from _Norwegian Handknits_, which you gave me for Christmas (Do you remember that, from those feverish, flu-ridden days?). The patterns are based on knits from the Vesterheim Museum, in Decorah, Iowa, where Renee and I went to college together.

I was looking through it early one morning after Christmas, waiting for everyone else to get up, when I realized that several of the little historic blurbs and pictures were about people from Boone County, Illinois, our old home territory. I read an excerpt about one pioneer woman, Christie Sleen Tillotson, from the northern part of the county to Katie, who had joined me the kitchen table by this point. Turns out, Christie Sleen Tillotson is Katie's great great or 3 great's grandmother!

The first pattern that I knit from this auspicious book, the rose wristers, were quick and easy. Dave thinks its nice that I used Buffalo Bills colors.

Love,
Gwen

Unfinished/Finished

Recently finished quilt, originally uploaded by Gwedolgirl.

Hi Mom!

This is some unfinished business, finally finished. I think you'll recognize the top - these were the only fabrics I allowed myself to buy the summer I worked at the quilt store (in 2005!). The pattern is "Gingham Rose" from Terri Christopherson's _Mad About Plaid_ booklet. In the right colors, the quilt pattern looks like gingham. The fabrics I chose for the top didn't really ever "read" quite the same way, so when it was time to choose a fabric for the border, I didn't feel it was necessary to use a check or a gingham.

I quilted the top in three or four days with the machine, using the walking foot and cotton machine quilting thread. The batting is 100% cotton, so it got nice and wrinkly after a trip through the washer and drier. It's warm! The project was pretty fast, all told, assuming a body didn't let the top sit around for four years between piecing and quilting. The quilt is about 65" x 75" - just large enough to cover the top of a full-sized bed.

I have another, older, larger top that I'm thinking about attacking the same way. What novelty, this "finishing".

Love,
Gwen