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Saturday, February 25, 2012

Some accomplishments over the years

My mother is an artist of the highest order.  She has been sewing since she was a young girl and taught me to sew when I was 8.  I haven't upholstered furniture as she has but I have made drapes, clothes, knit shawls and attempted many, many other crafts.  The following pictures are examples.  Several of them are of quilts I've made.  Many of the ones I made never faced a camera, unfortunately.  Not that they were very good but I would have liked a record!

Made for one of the children I nannied, in my favorite colors.









A faded, very loved quilt I made for my first grandchild, Samuel Austin Bowman.  He has been promised a larger one but it hasn't happened yet.










Made for my daughter, mother of my grandchildren, and a sunflower lover for years and years.  I remember she let an overnight visitor use it.  The gentleman was kind enough to throw it in the washer "on hot"!!!!!  Jen panicked but it worked out alright.








Quilt for grandchild #2, Elizabeth Jayne Bowman.  It, too, has become worn as she is now 8.
















A huge work of love.  While I was working as a nanny in Berkeley, I found this pattern.  My Laura was a huge fan of flowers, any flowers, but specifically tulips.  When I got home in September, I couldn't wait to give it to her but she wrapped it up and opened it again on Christmas Day.  Hence, this picture. 













I made several of these fish quilts for sale but this particular one was the first and was made for my brother, Dan, an avid fisherman, particularly off the coast.















This particular quilt was made for a fund raiser at our family church in Redding.  I put it up for bid and the winner chose the colors and pattern.  Easily recognizable as Wedding Rings. 

This is one of my all time favorite projects.  I made my daughter, Nicki's, wedding dress from start to finish (not the veil).  There is hand sewn lace on the train, the front of the gown and just under her bouquet.  She looked positively gorgeous in the dress!  Her sister, Jennifer, produced the wedding which explains the beloved sunflowers.  There were even goldfish in bowls on the tables!












Over the years I have attempted and accomplished countless other projects and crafts.  I was addicted to craft magazines and ate up the ideas I found.  A couple of those crafts follow.


Gourds I opened, cleaned out, sanded, drilled and beaded. 

A rug I hooked 1,000 years ago.  I think my husband married me just to get this on his wall. 
















And the rabbits, oh, the rabbits.  I made over 200 of these babies, most of them sold.  This particular one means a lot to me because I made it for my dear, dear friend Christine, who died within a month of being diagnosed with leukemia.  I inherited her and she resides in our barrister's case to make sure she stays fresh.












I guess I need to get back to work considering I have a room-high craft cabinet and numerous vacuum bags full of fabric.

3 comments:

  1. Wow! Maybe you should do crafts for a living! Beautiful work!

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  2. Your quilts are absolutely gorgeous! Tell us more about the gourds- how did you dry them?

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  3. People pay hundreds of dollars for quilts! And you already have all that fabric.

    I remember a dress you sewed completely by hand and another one (or maybe it was the same dress) with a lot of smocking that was perfect. For me to remember anything from our high school years is pretty remarkable, so I must have REALLY been impressed. :)

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