Design Wall Monday–December 31, 2012

Not much has been going on around here over the last several weeks. 

I still have Margie’s quilt hanging there waiting to have the background quilted and I still have part of the border for my Great Granny quilt hanging there.  I know, it’s sad, very sad.  To see what others have on their design walls, click on over to Judy’s Patchwork Times blog. 

I also have this laying on my cutting table.

My husband and I are headed to New York next week so I’m thinking I’ll make a few “Click-it” bags to take as gifts for some of the girls in the family.  We’ll have to wait and see how ambitious I get this week. 

I know for the rest of the country this doesn’t seem very cold but here in my little corner of the world it’s cold, very cold. 

Brrrrrrrrrrr! 

I hope you each stay warm, safe and happy this New Year’s Eve.

Enjoy,

Wacky Devine Nine

Yesterday Emily and I quilted a Wacky Devine Nine quilt (minus the border) that was made a while ago.  Shelli (my daughter) and Emily (my granddaughter) made the quilt top as a gift for a baby girl born a to one my Shelli’s co-workers.  It’s not exactly a typical baby quilt but it matches her room and is definitely one she can grow in to. 

The challenge for us was quilting it using minky on the back.  Did I mention, I have one of the original, really old Handiquilters.  After talking to my sister, Melinda, for technical advice.  Em and I got started and immediately had a problem with skipped stiches.  After another call to Melinda we changed the needle for the second time, added thread conditioner to the thread and replaced the bobbin, we were successful. 

And look at how wonderful the back is.

It turned out so snuggly and soft so I’ll definitely use this again for the back of a quilt. 

We still have to bind it but, hey, they don’t need it until Wednesday so we have oodles of time, LOL!

Enjoy,

Pillowcases for Sandy Hook, CT

Yesterday Emily and I made two pillowcases for the children of Sandy Hook.  I’ve been reading about the effort to collect 600 pillowcases all over the blog world so we wanted to contribute.  We made one for a little boy and one for a little girl.  In our rush to get them in the mail yesterday I neglected to take pictures but this will give you an idea.

This was the main fabric for the boy’s and here’s a very small glimpse of the girls princess pillowcase.

They both came out really cute and hopefully they will find they’re way to some children that will love them.

You can read more about the effort on Bonnie Quiltville blog.  Here’s the address where they can be mailed if you’d like to participate.

Quilters Corner, 312 Danbury Rd., New Milford, CT 06776

Enjoy,

What’s been bugging me!

Have you ever had something that bugs you but you don’t do anything about it?  You know one of those little things not really important just a little thing that bugs you.  Well this one has bugged me for years.

I have a wonderful sewing table made by Koala.  I love it.  But it has always had one issue that bugged me.  It came with a clear acrylic insert made to fit my Pfaff.  You would think being clear would be a good thing but it really didn’t work for me.  The glare and the color underneath made it sometimes difficult for me to focus on lining up and feeding the fabric though accurately.  I would fix it by either laying a piece of paper underneath or laying a piece of fabric under there. 

Finally I thought, Why not paint the underside of the insert.  Since I couldn’t decide what color to paint it, I finally decided to simply frost the acrylic by painting it with frosted paint and it worked beautifully. 

I forgot to take a before picture but here is an after.

I love it and it was such an easy fix. 

I have the same problem with the inserts for my SewEzi table.  No problem, I have a spray can of frosted paint that will fix it. 

Enjoy,

Design Wall Monday–December 17, 2012

Once again I have one of my dear friend Margie’s UFO’s quilt on my design wall.  This is another quilt that I am committed to finishing on her behalf.  The only thing that it needs is background quilting, binding and a label.  It will then be ready to be auction off to benefit a charity. 

I’m going to just relax and meander away to my hearts content. 

To see what others have on their design wall check out Judy’s Patchwork Times blog. 

Enjoy,

I Sewed–Yea!!!

For some reason I really haven’t managed to do much sewing but today I changed that.  It’s not much, just a little zippered bag, but it’s made and it’s cute.

And here’s the inside.

Hopefully I’ll get my mojo back and get some more sewing done.

Enjoy,

Design Wall Monday–December 3, 2012

On Halloween I posted a picture of a quilt made for me by my friend Margie.  At the time I told you that she had suffered a massive stroke and was fighting for her life.  You can read and see the quilt here, it’s gorgeous.  What I didn’t tell you is that my dear Margie lost that fight, Halloween night when her family removed her from life support.  Needless to say November was a very difficult time for all of us in our friendship group.  I can’t begin to tell you have devastated we all are. 

Margie’s daughter asked my friendship group, The Wednesday Wacko’s, to go through and disburse all of her sewing things.  She wanted us to have whatever we wanted and then donate what was left.  Margie, like so many of us, had way too much “stuff” as well as fabric, thread, kits and UFO’s.  Several of us took one of her UFO’s to finish for her.  This is the one that I’m planning on completing. 

I good portion of it is completed and the rest of it is prepped and ready to be hand stitched down.  I don’t have the pattern and I’m sure there are still some things missing from the border.  If you know what pattern this is, please let me know so that I can finish it properly. 

To see what others have on their design wall, head on over to Judy’s Patchwork Times blog.  

Enjoy,

Design Wall Monday–November 26, 2012

My design board for this Monday morning.

This is the beginning of my Christmas gifts for the gals in my friendship group.  If you’re one of the Wednesday Wacko’s can you figure out which one is yours?  Since December is almost upon us, this has moved to the top of my To-Do list. 

To see what others are working on, head on over to the Patchwork Times blog.

Enjoy,

Happy Thanksgiving

Hope you have a wonderful day.

Enjoy,

Blocks for Hurricane Sandy

Erin over at My Patchwork Life is collecting blocks to make quilts for victims of Hurricane Sandy.  

Here’s a couple that are on their way. 

Enjoy,

A Little DIY

On Monday my BFF, Marilyn, was having some work done on her car so we decided to kill a little time.  First we, of course, had breakfast and then headed back to my house.  After goofing off there for a while we decided we should go to JoAnn’s and use our 60% coupons.  After checking with the auto repair shop we still had time to kill so we headed to Goodwill to see what kind of treasures we could find. 

Now keep in mind, I didn’t need a chair but this one was just sitting there all by itself begging me to take it home. 

It’s solid oak, very sturdy, plus I just like it……….and the price……………….

That’s $4.99 folks, how could I not?  So of course I bought it and put it in the back of the car afraid of what my husband would say.  Since he was home all day yesterday I decided to just not mention it and leave it in my car.  While out and about yesterday I stopped at the home improvement store and bought some sand paper, spray paint, and of course gloves so I wouldn’t damage my manicure. 

Today John is playing golf, so first thing this morning I got the chair out of my car and set it up in the garage and started to work on it.  I decided it’s going in my guest room which has pale yellow walls and is accented with black and yellow.  I had some extra fabric from when I made a bed pillow for the room so I decided to paint the chair black and recover the seat in the left over fabric from the decorative pillow. 

Here’s picture of the seat before, after removing the worn fabric and with the new fabric.

Quite a difference I’d say and I love it.  My granddaughter Emily is here today (she thinks the guest room is her room) and she really likes it too. 

Total cost?  Under $15.00.  I may have to make stopping at the Goodwill store part of my regular routine. 

Enjoy,

Design Wall Monday–November 12, 2012

Not much to show today.  I’m back to working on my border for my Great Granny Quilt.

Sometimes it feels like one step forward, two steps back.  I really need to get back on track and back in my sewing room.

To see what others are up to, visit Judy’s Patchwork Times. 

Enjoy,

It’s Halloween

I guess I should say Happy Halloween but today is a very sad day for me.  My friend Margie made this little 21” square wall hanging for me 3 years ago, but today Margie is fighting for her life.  Margie had a massive stroke and heart attack on October 21st and is still unresponsive.  She could sure use your prayers.  She is a gentle, kind person and I love her very much.

My friendship group is making her a Hugs and Hands quilt.  Here are just a few of the blocks I’ve collected so far.

Cutest Letty’s Bag–Ever !!!!!

Finally, it’s finished.

And the inside…….

And a close-up of the outside pocket. 

I love, love, love it!

Enjoy,

Design Wall Monday–October 29, 2012

I finally finished the handwork on the yo-yo flowers and leaves that are going on the pocket of my new Letty’s Bag. 

All I have left is to complete the final assembly.  Hopefully, that will happen later today. 

To see what others are up to this Design Wall Monday, click on over to Judy’s Patchwork Times blog. 

Enjoy,

Blogger’s Quilt Festival

This year I decided I really wanted to participate in the Blogger’s Quilt Festival but the difficult part was figuring out which quilt to share.  I finally decided on this. 

She is just a little thing, but so cute.   I call her Miss August and although her name would suggest she only comes out in August, in fact she spends a great deal of time hanging on my front door.  The plan has always been for me to add more months but so far……..NADA!  Maybe someday. 

The quilt is 16 1/2” x 16 1/2”.

Techniques include paper piecing as well as standard piecing

Inspired by Garden Girl from Leisure Arts Garden Club Quits

Designed in EQ7, pieced and quilted by me

Categories:  Small Wall Quilt, Machine Quilted

Be sure to go to the Blogger’s Quilt Festival page and check out all the wonderful quilts.

Enjoy,

Design Wall Monday–October 22, 2012

Finally, I have something to share on my design wall. 

This is my attempt to make one of my Letty’s Bags that was inspired by the sample I saw at Sewing Party last week. 

The yo-yo’s are all made, the French knots are sewn to the red wool felt centers and I’m now in the process of sewing the red felt centers down.  I still have to work on the leaves and then finish assembling the bag but I will tell you this………I love it!  Here’s a close-up of the flowers.

To see what others are up to on this design wall Monday, head on of to Judy’s Patchwork Times blog.

Enjoy,