Tonight I asked Lauren (my youngest) to pick a number between one and four. She picked…three! So the winner of the cross stitch pattern is Renee G! Congratulations Renee. Send me your info and I will get it out into the mail for you.
This week I tried making a few things that have been on my mind lately. With mixed results.
The first thing I tried was covering a little box that brought some goodies in the mail. It was one of those foldable boxes that just looks cute. Wouldn’t it look cute covered in fabric? How hard could it be?
I’ve said before I am not crafty and this box is a perfect example. Covering a box is hard. Making it look good is near impossible. Those of you that can do it are to be congratulated:
Spots where I over-ironed the fusible and the glue seepage are more noticeable in real life.
The next day I decided to recreate a gift that I sent out to a swap partner. I made a folder to hold a note pad and markers to keep when inspiration strikes. When I made Jennie’s, I measured, made tissue pattern pieces and marked everything. It turned out well (i.e., she like it). Well, I figured, I made it once, I can just whip it up, right?
Wrong: It looks lumpy, the fabric is gross (why did I pick these colors?), the spots for the markers were too big and I forgot to put a closure on it. So I found bigger markers and put a velcro closure on it:
It will be OK for my purse…
Today, I looked at my American Girl Doll and I realized she was still wearing an outfit from winter. She was very sad:
So I made her a dress for summer. I also changed her under garments (!) and did her hair. Now she is happy again:
And so am I!
I recently participated in a Friends Swap. My swap partner and I exchanged gifts that related to the letters in the word “friends”.
My package from Jennie arrived today and all I can say is WOW! Everything is just wonderful. First of all, the package was perfectly neat:
I wish that I could pack so nicely. I took everything out and put them in a row so I could open them in order.
F is for fabric- I mean fabulous fabric!! I love it!!
R is for recycle. Look at these cute shopping bags Jennie made. I can fit them right into my purse.
I is for incredibly funny. She sent me Mark Lipinski’s latest magazine. (I sent her a magazine too. Great minds think alike!)
E is for embroidery. New needles, thread and scissors. Excellent! (Notice my use of alliteration)
N is for notecards. Did I mention that Jennie also does paper crafts? I may have to frame one for my sewing room:
D is for delicious. Chocolate, of course!
S is for scarf. I wish that computers had feel-o-vision because this scarf (oh-Jennie made this also) feels gorgeous!! It is bamboo yarn but it feels like silk. The note says that I can wear it during our “chilly upstate NY summer evenings”. Considering that we have barely had summer here (it has rained 25/30 days so far), she is right on the mark!
The box is cute too!
Jennie- thank you so much for the wonderful gifts. The thought and care you put into each one really shows. I was very lucky to get you as a partner. I will enjoy each and every one of my gifts!
For the last few days I really have not done any machine sewing. I have worked on my EPP hexagons and my cross stitch but I have not been in the mood to “sew” sew.
When I get into these moods I like to just work in my sewing room: cleaning of tabletops, putting fabric away and reorganizing overflowing areas. Here is a little show and tell:
This is my scrap basket. Anything too small or odd shaped to fold gets thrown in on the basket. I think it is time to sort through and get it somewhat under control. I may cut it into 2 1/2” strips and 5” squares to start. I guess I have a topic for my “What I Did On My Summer Vacation” theme.
About a month ago, I ordered some linen from Japan though Etsy:
I really love it. The solid I bought in NY last year. I think I am going to make some fabric boxes for my sewing room. I wish I could find some nice linen locally.
Yesterday, I went to my LQS to match a fabric for my hexies. I found exactly what I wanted!! I was so excited, I bought this:
Right now I am planning a log cabin and using this fabric for the dark and some of my off white fabrics for the lights.
Last year I re-organized my sewing room and I am happy to say that I have been keeping it up. I have added new fabrics and I am really running out of room but so far it is still working:
But here is the scary part. Most of my fabric is wrapped onto comic book cards so that they stack nicely and are easy to pull out of stash. I have gone through 400 so far and as you can see, not all my fabric is wrapped. That means I have more that 400 pieces of fabric!!
Some of you may remember that my oldest daughter, Adrienne is getting married at the end of August. Katie and I have been shopping a few times to find me a dress. I had bought an outfit for Katie’s wedding that I never wore. I had thought about wearing that but it needed some alterations.
Well, Friday I went out by myself determined to buy a dress and I did! I won’t post a picture yet but the dress is blue with a glittery, silver and blue jacket. I bought this purse to match:
I then started looking for shoes. I have big feet (size 9.5) AND bunions so I thought this might take a while. As a lark I went on Zappos.com to look at their shoes. Besides having lots and lots of shoes, they offer free, fast shipping (both ways). And surprise! I found a pair that I like. I ordered them Friday night and they got here yesterday (Monday):
I love them! I know the shiny part looks gold but it really is silver. And they are pretty comfortable. I had to order a size 10 (reviews said that they run a half size small) and they have a 2” (!) heel but I wore them yesterday for about an hour and my feet didn’t hurt. I plan to wear them daily until the wedding.
So if you have some time, check out Zappos. I have bought shoes from them a couple of times and have not been disappointed. (BTW, I am not affiliated with them-I just like shoes!)
No, I am not giving away a quilt!! I wish I could!
Several of you out in blogland are making, or completed, a version of the Jane A. Stickle quilt first recreated by Brenda Papadakis:
In fact, in this month’s Fabric Trends magazine there is a gorgeous version created in batiks and black by quilters in NY City.
Now, there is no way that I will ever make this quilt. I think that is is beautiful and I would love to have one but I know my limits. I have several projects going at once because I get bored quickly am easily inspired by new ideas all around me. However I did find a version of the quilt that I think I can complete. It is a counted cross stitch version designed by Linda Meyers:
So far I have done this much:
I am working on 16 count aida cloth (I don’t do linen) and the needle on the side will give you an idea how big each block is. The finished size will be about 12 “ square.
When I got the pattern I also picked up this one:
I will never make it so I have decided to have a give away. Just comment on this post and I will draw a winner Friday night at 10 p.m. (EST). One entry per person please! Thanks and good luck!
At the beginning of the month, Beth from Sew,Mama,Sew asked for sewers to meme (am I using that word correctly?) about their sewing machines. Here is mine:
What brand and model do you have?
Bernina 440 QE
How long have you had it?
4 years
How much does that machine cost (approximately)?
At the time I paid $2499
What types of things do you sew (i.e. quilting, clothing, handbags, home dec projects, etc.)?
Mostly quilts, quilting, some home dec, doll clothes, gifts
How much do you sew? How much wear and tear does the machine get?
I sew daily-mostly on cotton and quilt layers-I try to treat my machine kindly
Do you like/love/hate your machine? Are you ambivalent? Passionate? Does she have a name?
Love my machine-no name!
What features does your machine have that work well for you?
Bernina Stitch Regulator (for quilting)
Is there anything that drives you nuts about your machine?
No sensor for an empty bobbin
Do you have a great story to share about your machine (i.e., Found it under the Christmas tree? Dropped it on the kitchen floor? Sewed your fingernail to your zipper?, Got it from your Great Grandma?, etc.!)? We want to hear it
Not a great story but I traveled 3 and 1/2 hours to buy it because the store was offering 30% discount at the time
Would you recommend the machine to others? Why?
Yes- It is a great machine for any type of sewing-very dependable
What factors do you think are important to consider when looking for a new machine?
A good dealer (I did find one nearer); price; quality of stitching
Do you have a dream machine?
Yes! I want to get a long arm machine and frame
I also own a Husqvarna Viking Designer 1.
I bought this machine as used (Viking was offering a workshop which I took and then they sold the machines after-I was the only one who worked on it) in 2000 and I think I paid around $3000,
I really love my Viking although lately I do not use it as often as I use the Bernina. I just don’t have the room to keep both machines out. (When Adrienne comes home, she will only use the Viking) The Viking has a special purr when it is running that says “Be nice to me and I will be nice to you!”
The Viking is user friendly and for me very intuitive. The embroidery unit slides on and off easily and does a beautiful job. The best part is the sensor system with the presser foot: if the needle is down and I stop sewing, the presser foot raises just a hair-great for pivoting. There are three different heights for the presser foot. I also like the sensor telling me when the bobbin is running low. It has a great selection of fancy stitches and adjusts for different fabrics. Upgrades and fixes are generally available as a download that you add to the machine using the floppy disk drive on the machine.
Although great for piecing , I have never felt comfortable free motion quilting on my Viking. That was the main reason I got the Bernina. I have quilted individual blocks, however, using the embroidery module.
I know that this machine is old and I have a feeling HV will stop supporting it soon but I am happy with the machine and am not looking to replace it. I just hope the disk drive does not become obsolete!
So these are my 2 machines that live with me. Adrienne has my Viking 1+ and an older Viking she calls her workhorse, and my serger. I guess it is true-you can never have too many sewing machines!!
Two weeks ago (yes it has been a long time since I posted) we had a wedding shower for Adrienne, Maybe I should say her sisters had a shower for her. Katie and Lauren worked very hard to make the day special. Here are a few pictures from the party, including my three beautiful girls:
(I am really liking this Windows Live Writer! If you haven’t tried it, you really should.)
Remember this?
These are the strips I sewed together to make a Chinese Coins quilt. Well, I had gotten some off white fabric to put between the strips and I really hated it.
Then the quilt began to talk to me. It did not want to be a boring quilt: it wanted to have applique! So I went out and bought some green to make a some vines and some leaves. It was still not happy. While wandering around my local quilt shop I saw an interesting top with a pieced vine and applique leaves. I bought some creamy yellow fabric, went home and searched for some green fabrics in my stash. Now the quilt top is happy and so am I:
I took my green fabrics and cut them into rectangles and sewed the rectangles into a strip about 30” long. Then I cut strips 3” wide and pieced each of these strips to be about 90”. Then I sewed each of the long strips in between 4” strips of the creamy yellow fabric. When I sewed them, I kind of staggered the greens so they would look more random.
THEN, I cut a whole bunch of leaves from the greens and the leftover fabric from the pink and green strips. Again I randomly fused and machine appliqued them to the vines. I finally put the top together.
I am very happy with how the top turned out. I found a really neat fabric for the back and am looking forward to machine quilting it. Oh yes…the quilt is now telling me there should be a feather design in the strippy parts!
(If there is any interest, I will put up a tutorial on how I did the vine and leaves)
Alternate Title: We Are Officially Over the Edge!
Tomorrow is Buddy’s 2nd birthday so we had a little party for him. Lauren got him a cake. He also got a new bone and squeak toy.
Of course, we couldn’t forget Rush!
How do YOU celebrate family birthdays?
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