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Wednesday, May 5, 2021

NTT- A Fun New Project

Happy Needle and Thread Thursday, friends!  I actually have lots going on in my studio this week, and I am so excited to share it with you.  I decided that since I can't stand and cut fabric for very long, I would make something using improv which doesn't require it.  For the past several days I've been sewing improv houses.


Rather than making a bunch of generic houses, I decided to start with houses that are special to me.  This is our first house in Texas.  Our son was born during the time we lived here, and we ended up moving when he was three, so all of the memories of his babyhood are tied up in this house.  We loved this house and thought we would live here much longer, but life and job changes just happen.  And a photo of it for reference-


And our first house here in Tennessee, which we also loved, but it was a little close to a busy street and over time, the traffic just got busier-


This house sits on a corner and I couldn't immediately find a completely frontal view of it (or a view that wasn't snowy), but you get the idea.


And finally, our current house.  It is tucked into a quiet neighborhood and has much more space than either of the two other homes we've owned.  From the street, it looks smaller than our second home, but looks can be deceiving!  It has plenty of room for my studio to have its own non-shared space (it was a converted dining room in our other home), and plenty of room for our son to have his own space upstairs too (teens appreciate that).  And with our master bedroom downstairs in this house, we plan for this one to be our forever home.  PS- those gables were NO JOKE.


And a photo of this one for reference too!  The main difference in this block from the actual house is the windows.  Rather than sew sets of skinny windows, I opted to just do single, larger windows to represent them.  And we have plans to take the shutters off the center set of windows, so I didn't include those.


I also sewed the two houses that my husband and I grew up in.  Neither of our parents still live in these houses, so Google Earth pics are the only ones I could find right away, and they're pretty grainy.  You'll just have to take my word for it that these are pretty good representations.  :)

My husband's childhood home-

and mine!-

Sewing these houses has been SO much fun!  I have dumped all of my scraps out on my work table, keeping them in color piles so I can dig through and find what I want.  Everything has been cut using scissors only, just using the rotary cutter to straighten my block edges a little bit at the very end.  I'm appreciating the less-than-perfect improv look.

My plan is to make about twelve houses.  I have plans for a few more significant houses, and then I'll fill it in with some generic ones.  Then I just have to figure out how to fit them all together!

Y'all shared some fantastic things at last week's party!  I love this simple but beautiful quilt by Something Rosemade-


Check out this beauty by Rebecca Grace Quilting-


This one by Donnaleeq is gorgeous!


Andree' at Quilting and Learning linked up this pretty quilt.  Check out all of that quilting!


And finally, this striking finish is by Quilting Gail-


Okay friends!  It's time to link up the awesomeness that's been happening in your studio this week!

Remember!  In July, Blogger will stop the Feedburner service, which means that if you're currently receiving my posts via email, that will stop at that time.  BOO!  I'm really disappointed that they're doing this, but we just have to roll with it.  Instead, please continue to follow me through another platform.  I recommend Bloglovin'facebook, or Instagram, and then bookmark my blog so it is easy to get to.  Thanks for your continued support, friends!

Okay, let's get this party started, y'all!

1You can link finished projects or WIP's , but just keep it about quilting and sewing!
2. Link to your specific post (not to your home page!) to make it easier for others.
3. Please remember to spread the word and post my button or a text link within your 
    post.  
4. Spread the comment love far and wide!
5. Following me is not a requirement to link, but is so very appreciated!

*If you're new to the party, here's a helpful tip for linking up- select "Auto Crop"  when selecting your thumbnail photo.  For some reason, trying to crop your own image results in the dreaded "white question mark box," and we definitely want to see your awesome work!  :)




19 comments:

  1. Oh, what a fun project, and hooray for finding something that you can do while you heal up. :)

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  2. What an awesome memory quilt that is going to be, Kelly!!

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  3. Kelly your improv houses are fantastic! You make it seem so easy. It sounds like you are recovering from something so I'm praying for complete healing and restoration. Godspeed.

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  4. Wonderful Improv Houses--your renderings are just lovely -- a beautiful memory quilt in progress.. nice work hugs, Julierose

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  5. I love your improv houses. A great inspiration. It's been a while since I made houses. Wishing you the best for your health.

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  6. In your search fir random houses to add, what about other family members-grandparents, aunts and uncles, or best friends. Maybe add out buildings or barns. You should be sure to list what houses they are, with addresses, for a legend to this map of your life. It’s a wonderful idea!!

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  7. In your search fir random houses to add, what about other family members-grandparents, aunts and uncles, or best friends. Maybe add out buildings or barns. You should be sure to list what houses they are, with addresses, for a legend to this map of your life. It’s a wonderful idea!!

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  8. The houses are an amazing idea - and they look great

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  9. You have given me a great idea. Hope I can turn them out. As we have only lived in three houses since getting married I just might get it done!!!

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  10. Kelly, I love, love, love your improv homes. What an awesome way to commemorate the special times in your life!

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  11. Thanks for the shout-out, Kelly! I love the idea of using the different structures you've called Home over the years in a quilt. Those houses look incredible!

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  12. It's good to see how you've engaged in something you're finding so fun. What a nice way to document your life. When I think about doing that myself, I'm overwhelmed, having lived in more than a dozen different houses. No way I could track them all! By the way... your followers don't have to give up receiving your posts by email. I already took down Feedburner and have replaced it with Follow It. In each blog post I write, I'm inviting people to re-sign-up with the service I selected.

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  13. I love seeing all your houses and the photos really give us a sense at just how accurate they are! What a fun, fun project!

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  14. I do not know HOW you 'just make' these beauties with scissors and improv!! They are absolutely wonderful Kelly!

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  15. Hi,
    Love all your House blocks. What an inspiration...now I'll have to
    figure out how to build my house block...have a great day!

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  16. You did a great job with these first houses. Have fun doing more. Do you have pics of any old ancestral homes? That might be fun to try.

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  17. Love your houses. What about a memory quilt with pictures of family and pictures of the houses themselves (maybe in a smaller scale). You are very talented making up these houses as you go.

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  18. Kelly, what a fun project! I must try it, eventually. Thank you for the great idea!

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  19. Hi Kelly, I've been following your house quilt - it really is amazing. I guess I missed this post because I didn't realise that you featured my quilt - that's been one of my objectives for a very long time, but I don't quilt many quilts these days. Thanks so much! Take care.

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Thanks so much for your comment and for visiting! I read and appreciate every single comment, and I reply to each one as soon as I can. If you don't hear back from me, you might be a no-reply blogger. :)

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