Good Morning, Quilters!
2018 is a very busy year at the Kennedy Household–we have two daughters getting married!
Last weekend, we tried to host a shower for my daughter, Deirdre who is getting married in June. (Check out Deirdre’s Diamonds from my new book!)
Unfortunately, a rare April blizzard dropped 16 inches of snow making travel impossible for most of the guests. We made the most of it-with extra helpings of tiramisu and Mimosa!
Deirdre had a great time and will always have a story to tell! (Hopefully–no blizzards in June!)
PARTY FAVORS
For the guests, I ordered tea towels from Amazon HERE and had a great time adding free motion embroidery to the borders. I used The Windowsill Garden and Silly Spiral Flowers from my new book and Tulip Time from my first book. Any border motif would work well.
STABILIZE!
After making several towels, it is apparent that stabilizer is very important. I love Sulky Fabri-Solvy for this because all you need to do is stick it on (no ironing) and it washes right out.
I found that without stabilizer, my thread broke frequently. If the design went off the edges of the stabilizer-even a few stitches, the thread would break or the stitches would knot and jam.
THREAD/NEEDLE
Heavy weight thread is best for this project. I used Aurifil 12 wt cotton and size 100 needle. I’ve used 30wt cotton and Lana wool as well on other tea towels. 12wt thread requires slower stitching to prevent breakage.
If you don’t already, please follow LoriKennedyQuilts on Instagram-where I share more “behind the scenes” and less formal photos.
What about YOU?
Have YOU made any quilted or embroidered party favors?
Do YOU have any exciting family events this year?
Do YOU have any suggestions for a long quiet retreat for me in 2019?
We’d LOVE to hear!
Happy Stitching,
Lori
PS…All tutorials, images and information are the property of Lori Kennedy at The Inbox Jaunt and are intended for personal use only. Feel free to re-blog, pin or share with attribution to The Inbox Jaunt. For all other purposes, please contact me at lckennedy@hotmail.com. This post contains affiliate links. If you choose to purchase at NO ADDITIONAL cost to you, we may receive a little “pin-money”. Thank you for supporting The Inbox Jaunt in this way!
23 comments
Kerry
Congratulations to you and your daughters. Bad snow, bad! My eighth birthday party was knee-deep in snow in April. I also had a brand new bike (first ever) that I couldn’t ride outdoors. Didn’t think the party would happen – but it did with everyone turning up. Something like 10 girls running around inside a tiny bungalow! y poor parents LOL!
There had better not be snow in June! Hope the weddings run smoothly with lots of sunshine on the girls days.
Not tried quilting on towels just yet but thank you for the heads up regarding stabiliser! Love the pot plants xx
Valerie
Dear Lori, I received your new book and loved the little quilt sample you included. What a sweet touch! Thank you!
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So glad! Years worth of tutorials and samples put to good use!
QuiltShopGal
I’m so sorry the snow storm hit in April, but proud of you all for pursuing on and realizing that you’ll have an fun story to tell for years to come. The shower looks like it was still great fun and the bride-to-be is absolutely beautiful. Love your tea towels. Great idea for gifts, as well as to practice FMQ. i appreciate all your tips & inspiration and the source for these towels on Amazon. Very reasonable price!
Barb Czarniecki
Beautiful towels and embroidery! Thanks for the inspiration. I grew up in MN. and can sympathize with the weather. We now live in CO and are expecting a snow storm tomorrow- you’d think I’d learn!
Gypsybaker
Here’s an idea for a getaway in 2019. See: friends@thepineneedlequiltshop.com
After 25 yrs this AMAZING quilt shop in Lake Oswego, OR closed…it nearly brought
me to tears. I used to live in Portland, so Lake Oz wasn’t that far a drive but until I
got into quilting (or hoarding fabric) a couple yrs ago, I’d never visited the shop.
The owner & staff were super nice when I visited on my yearly trips back to PDX &
even the customers were friendly (like in MN!)…beginning next month the owner is
going to post retreats for 2019 and I’m sure the locations will be relaxing & fun.
I remember an April blizzard when I lived in Excelsior, MN…it was on Easter Sun!
So, I feel your pain…in my memory still.
heatherdpear
I haven’t tried free hand embroidery on my machine. I don’t know why as it is similar to free hand machine quilting. I love what you did. I am inspired to try it .
Patti Godwin
Oh Lori, you really should consider moving south. It’s in the 80’s here today. They are building some pretty houses in the neighborhood. I can send plans. ????
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Oh if only…. maybe I’ll become a snowbird!?
Helen S.
Here in NC, when we invited close to 200 guests for our daughter’s wedding,we let them know that it was usually around 85 degrees at that time of year.That year, it was in the low 50’s with a strong wind situation for this outdoor wedding. One of my brothers purchased blankets for several members of the family.The weather didn’t last and neither did the marriage.
We all love her 2nd husband and their children.
Hopefully, all will be grand with your family and two weddings!!
Joellyn P.
Feel so bad for you. Wedding showers planning is stressful and to have a blizzard to keep the guests away is terrible. We were visiting my daughter near you in Lakeville. The blizzard was certainly an experience we’ll not forget. We saw many jack knifed semi’s coming home to MI on Monday. Love your idea of embroidered tea towels for guest gifts. I wish I’d known about it when I hosted my younger daughter’s shower.
Amy Roth
I love this idea! I am envisioning making these as gift exchanges with a monthly stitch group, maybe our quilt retreat!
Maureen B. in B.C.
Quiet retreat … Italy. The answer is always Italy. I’ll be there in September. ????????????????
Maybe even a Viking River Cruise, then Italy. Always Italy.
Maureen B. in B.C.
Absolutely you’d fit in the suitcase. However the flight from Minnesota to British Columbia might be more expensive than the one to Italy or France! ???? How about we just meet up there?!!
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You make an excellent point!
Maureen B. in B.C.
This is where we stay in Italy … Metina.it
It’s an agriturismo in Montepulciano, which is just about dead centre of Tuscany … many wonderful day trips nearby.
The owner is brilliantly trilingual (Italian, French and English) and a real gem.
Something to think (and dream) about.
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I won’t even be able to sleep. Sounds dreamy!
Barbara
We’re back to Provence, each year becomes a longer stay–oh my it is Heaven! You would love the vibrant colors at every turn Lori.
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Can I fit in your suitcase?
Brenda~Songbird Designs
Wow, Lori! After TWO weddings in one year, I think you need a really, really long retreat! We had one daughter and thankfully one wedding! We told my son-in-love that we had a strict no return policy and to be absolutely positively sure before embarking on this journey into our crazy family! Thankfully, after almost sixteen years, he’s still around! LOL So sorry for the blizzard spoiling your plans, but it looks like you had fun anway!
Linda
Thanks for the Amazon link – a great price and lots of colors. We have a patio cabana with a bar for summer entertaining, and my patio plates have several of the available colors. So, now you’ve got me thinking. Bar towels with FMQ embroidery of wine bottle, martini glasses, corkscrews …. even clever sayings in script. I just wish I were as artistic as you, but I’m not!
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They will be adorable!
Julie
I made 12 individually decorated hand puppets for my daughter’s 4th or 5th birthday and that was decades ago. I love the embroidered hand towels and I think I’m going to jump on the bandwagon. On another note, I just embraced your post about the “extra” quilt piece stitched to the back of that lovely quilt. I feel your pain and have ripped out entire quilts filled with stitching. Most recently I only had to do 9 rows – wrong thread, wrong weight, wrong color – don’t ask. BUT we keep going. AND I successfully quilted your leaves in the corners of my sister-in-law’s healing quilt. Thank you for your inspiration and being human. With gratitude.
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