Basil Backpack III

This Basil Backpack was made for the client’s son. Her little guy loves sneakers and sports so the coordinating fabric choice was easy. The Basil is made from bottom of the uniform leg.
BDUs had a drawstring built right into the hem of the pants so that the leg would remain bloused when tucked in the boot. A Basil is an upside down section of the leg so that the cuff of the pants is now the top of the backpack. The ACU pants that the client gave me does not have that drawstring . So sticking with the military theme, I used 550 cord instead.

The girl who is modeling the backpack is an average-sized 5 1/2 year old. Hopefully that gives a good idea of how this would fit on your little one.

Wasabi III,IV

The Wasabis were made for a mother and teenage daughter. Mom is active-duty and wanted her wallet to match her muted-tone Parsley. The wallet was able to include the pleat work that is located on the side of the uniform. Daughter is a teenager and likes vibrant purples and pinks.

Parsley III

This Parsley was not made for a military spouse but rather for a female servicemember. Because she wanted to use her Parsley Purse and matching Wasabi Wallet while in uniform, the coordinating fabrics had to be the color of the ACUs. After much auditioning of grey-green, taupes, and tan fabric against the ACUs, a selection of these muted colors was finalized.

Parsleys are made from the uniform shirt. Most Parsleys have exterior pockets since those were the breast pockets on the shirt. This Parsley was made from a maternity ACU which does not have pockets on the top. It does have patch pockets on the bottom of the shirt which I used in the interior of the bag. A mini-pocket was added to hold a cellphone or IPod.

Chive I and II

The Chive is a fully-lined zippered change purse that is made from the uniform cuff and sleeve end. It can easily hold coins, lip gloss, and calling cards. These two Chives match the Parsleys and Wasabis posted on Rosmarinus Designs in July. I had lost these Chive pictures in the depths of my computer but my friendly resident computer expert was able to unearth them. Thanks kiddo! :)

I love you truly KKG

Let me be the first to say that I did not make this quilt. Rather, this beautiful wallquilt was created by the Needleworkers Interest Group of the Northern Virginia Alumnae Association of Kappa Kappa Gamma (ΚΚΓ). These sisters of mine took time out of their extremely busy lives to create this beautiful quilt for me when I needed it most. Needless to say, I was overcome when they gave this to me.

For all you Kappas, you will recognize the fabulous symbolism that was incorporated into the design. A fleur-de-lis medallion was appliqued in the center. The inner border has gold key and light blue owl appliques. Each key and owl has a Kappa Needleworker signature along with her undergraduate chapter. The next border is a modified Virginia Reel which not only ties into our Commonwealth but also references our 2001-2004 Philanthropy Quilt. You can't see it in the picture but the machine quilting on the quilt incorporates beautiful fleur-de-lis, hearts and the crossed-over loop of an issue ribbon. On the back is a hand-lettered label embroidered with gorgeous long-stemmed blue irises. In case you non-Kappas haven't figured it out, the owl is our mascot, the key is our badge, and the iris and/or fleur-de-lis (technically a stylized iris) is our flower. Our colors are "the blues of the sky and the sea".

Our Needlework Group membership transcends age, birthplace, career status, etc. We were born in different decades, went to different colleges (and pledged different chapters of Kappa)came to the DC area at different times, yet our love for Kappa and for needlework transcends these differences and renders them unimportant.

I will treasure this quilt always!

Fennel I

The Fennel is a quilt that sizes nicely on a full-sized double bed. It also works great for a college twin bed that has been slightly lofted with cement blocks or those plastic cup riser things that you can find anywhere that sells dorm supplies in August. The extra width hides whatever the student is storing underneath the bed. Fennels are usually grids of 5 x 5 or 5 x 6. This Fennel was based on a 5 x 6 grid but 3 shirts (column 1 top, column 3 middle, column 5 bottom) had designs that were longer than the grid, so I used mini-designs from the front of shirts, or in some cases the mini-logos from the recipient's shorts.

In any case, this Fennel was made for a female high school graduate, who also was a Gold Award Girl Scout, Governor's School Student, Girls' State Delegate, a varsity athlete, officer in several school clubs, and was involved in state and federal politics. These quilts are like mini-resumes. I learn so much about the recipient based on the provided clothing.

Thyme I

I'm a decent needleworker but only a so-so-at-best computer geek. My fellow Tartans would be appalled as our school is fairly well known in the computer world. In fact, I just recently discovered that it was at Carnegie Mellon where the sideways smiley :) evolved. This was back in the days when we had bboards and computer labs instead of PCs or gigantic mainframes with cards. In any case, I am not so great at formatting these posts but I will keep plugging along and hopefully I will get better. Thyme marches on....

The Thyme is a tote bag that uses both the back and front of the uniform. This Thyme was made for a Coast Guard wife who incorporated the colors of her sorority by selecting two shades of blue (and yellow) for her coordinating fabric. With the additional yellows and the blues, this color choice would be ideal not only for sisters of Kappa Kappa Gamma (ΚΚΓ) but also members of Alpha Xi Delta or Sigma Gamma Rho. The recipient opted for an exterior side pocket so she could put a water bottle in it.

BDU shirts have 4 patch pockets with flap closures. My designs always use the two breast pockets on the exteriors of the Thyme, Marjoram and Pansy and I use the lower pockets in the interior of the bag. Since the Coast Guard utility uniform only has 2 pockets instead of 4 like the DOD service uniforms, I made interior pockets from the patches on the arms which I am assuming are there for reinforcement.