Wednesday, May 25, 2022

Foodie Blog Hop - My Day!


Welcome blog hoppers!  I am thrilled to be participating in a blog hop again after 3 years, oh holy cow that went by quickly.  Thank you so much Carla for letting me join in again!

I absolutely love to quilt but when I'm not quilting, I am in the kitchen baking and occasionally cooking too.

John and I celebrated our 11th wedding anniversary by cooking together this year, it was great!


This last weekend I made some specially decorated sugar cookies for my aunt's bridal shower, they were Strawberry Lemonade flavored with lemon royal icing and were a big hit.  I absolutely love the joy I get from seeing people enjoy eating something I have made.



I also really love aprons, and as you can see I have a couple here:


L to R: Easter apron from mom, houndstooth apron I made in high school home ec 18 years ago, 2 Pampered Chef aprons I earned when I was a consultant, summer/fall double sided apron mom made me, and Christmas/blue backed apron Grandma Linda made me.  I rotate through them all throughout the year!

Then I came across this incredible kitchen-themed fabric at our LQS about a month ago (Kiss the Cook by Michael Miller) and I just knew it would be perfect to make another apron to add to my collection, and I am really excited with how it turned out!  I love that it's double sided too.

apron, quilted apron
I made my apron as a large nine-patch made with 10" squares, then changed my mind and cut the side squares in half to make it closer to the usual apron shape.  We made a similar one for my mom a few years ago but with 9" squares but left the pieces whole and she loves how it wraps around her. The pieced blocks I used are Colored Wheel blocks from the Quilter's Cache website.

If you've never made an apron before, there are a couple ways to go about it.  The method I used for this one creates a double-sided apron, which you CAN add pockets to before sewing the two sides together, but I completely forgot on this one.  I can always add some after the fact if I decide I need to, but I rarely use them.  Here are some photos of me pinning the pieces together before sewing:

Remember to pin the ends of your apron strings to the center before trying to sew around the edges!  I also baste the apron strings in place by sewing back and forth across the strings 2-3 times inside the 1/4" seam allowance.


I found that by taping my solid piece of fabric to my cutting table I eliminated shift while I was pinning them together, which was amazing for when I went to sew around the outside edges.  And I pinned about 3/4" in from the edges so I could leave the pins in until I was finished sewing.  Then just turn it inside out and topstitch 1/8" around the outside edge to close the hole you turn through and give it that finishing touch!

baker offering cookies in a blue apron
Cookies anyone?

I had a few scraps leftover from piecing my blocks for the apron so I also put together a cute little hotpad!  I may have a hard time using it though, it's so pretty...

Thomas kept a watchful eye over all the activity until I took notice of him, then he fell asleep.  He also enjoys keeping tabs as we cook, you know, in case wayward chicken pieces find there way into his mouth.

Thank you so much for stopping by!  I hope you feel inspired to go out and make yourself a new happy apron to wear in the kitchen while creating goodness to share with others!

Please be sure to visit the other bloggers posting today and see my previous post for the list of the whole week's worth of bloggers.

Thursday, May 26th


Have a wonderful day!
Brandy Pettit blog signature


Friday, March 25, 2022

Hello again!

Well hello quilt blog world!

I was so surprised to see I haven't posted in such a long time, but I guess it makes sense because I have been quite busy!  I mean, the last couple years have been pretty intense for everyone but on top of a pandemic happening I was also working away on my longarm quilting.  I have a few photos for your perusal today, mostly wanted to pop by and say "hey" and "promise I'm still alive"! ;)


Brandy at her Handi Quilter Infinity with ProStitcher  longarm
I went full time into longarm quilting January 2022!  I just love all the fun quilts I get through my door, check out these pretties:

Ansley Park e2e example on baby quilt

Blue vintage quilt with baptist fan quilting

example of dinosaur tracks e2e quilting

Detail shot of Dream Big panel with custom feather quilting

custom graffiti quilting on marine vinyl

Rapunzel e2e quilting on rainbow quilt

Puzzle Time e2e quilting on Rudy's Puzzle quilt

Blue Spool Sewing Room tote bag
I even had tote bags made!

Brandy and John at the arcade in Lincoln City
John and I celebrated our 10th wedding anniversary last year at Lincoln City.  It was super fun and we look forward to going again.

Brandy and John at the beach
The beach is a beautiful place to be!

Thomas and Belle helping pick out fabric
Thomas and Belle are still doing wonderful in their Quilt Inspector jobs.

I hope you are all staying happy and healthy and getting a ton of quilting done!  Hey, if you need anything longarm quilted, let me know.  I have an average 2-week turnaround and would love to help you finish your quilts!

~Brandy