The Purple Monster

So over a year or more ago my step-mother-in-law and I were on a trip to Georgia to visit my brother-in-laws family and we went to some local quilt shops. She had recently asked if I would make her a quilt for her bed and I had agreed. She got her first glimpse of batiks and she fell in love. This started us grabbing bits and pieces of purples as we came across them.

She liked a variety of designs and shades. She wasn't particular about the pattern so I chose one from the first Turning Twenty book that was published. It took fat quarters, assembled a block, chopped it up, and resewed it to give it a mixed up look. 

Now in all honesty I am not a fan of batiks and I don't love purple enough to make an entire quilt of it. Isn't it amazing what we will do for our in-laws?? lol

Once I had it all arranged I made sure that I pieced it all before our move so that nothing would get misplaced.

Old House

New house

I added on thin and thick borders and mitered the corners. The finished top size was 85 inches by 85 inches. Lovely and big. 

My lovely MIL wanted the backing to be jersey. I bought a purple king size jersey sheet set. I kept the flat sheet for the back of the quilt. I used some light interfacing to try and take some of the stretch out of it. I did the best I could-lol It was no easy job! I used Pellon Soft & Warm as the batting and used my island to baste the quilt. 

I got some dappled purple for the binding and away I went.

That's the finished project. It is hard to tell but I diamond quilted the inside. Stitched in the ditch around the thin border and then continuous line quilted the thick border. I couldn't wash it as it was too big for my washer. My MIL did when she got it and threw it right on her bed. I think she likes it!!

And now I hope it's a VERY long time before I have to make another purple quilt!!

Take care and happy sewing!!
~Kim

You know you are getting old when....

you get excited about buying new vacuums!!!

So some of you may remember a couple of years ago when I talked about getting my Dyson. If not, you can refresh your memory here. Well Hubby got his bonus check on Friday and I got "permission" to go spend some of it today. 

Last night at work I got some Target gift cards so that I could get me some extra fuel points and after a coffee stop, I headed there first this morning. I picked up a Bissell Pet Cleaning vacuum on sale. Plus I got a $20 gift card to go back and use later. 

This is an awesome machine. It picks up a lot and will be staying upstairs. It even has a pet hair brush from removing hair from the furniture and any where else it might land. lol

Then I headed to Meijer where they had the SpotBot on sale. 20% off on it as well as the pet specific cleaner for it. 

All you do it fill it, put it over the spot, and press a button. 3 minutes later the spot is gone. So far it has worked great on pee, mud, and puke stains....all dog related while hubby is in charge!! lol  It can also be used manually. It does make a loud noise which isn't all together bad. It keeps the dog away while its being used. 

Would have to say that I am pleased with my purchases and my 2 new friends!!!

Take care and happy cleaning!!

~K