Tuesday’s Tip July 27,2010

Mimi is visiting me this week. I turned her on to quilting a couple of years ago so we have been talking,sewing, talking, visiting quilt shops and talking.

Mimi moved to Virginia four years ago and just started meeting quilting friends.  She made the comment that a lot of her sewing is done in solitary.  That got me to thinking and evolved into today’s tip.

Join a group!  Having a group to sew with is a wonderful experience, even if only once a month.  You get to bounce around ideas, solve problems and get inspired.

Our local library has a few sewing groups meeting each month and all advertise that all are welcome. If you are so inclined, it is easy to start a group.  Reserve a room, put up a sign and see who shows up.

When my children were little I invited a few friends to my house. Some did cross stitch, some did mending or knitting, and some just talked while our children played. We ended up meeting once week, in different houses for over 2 years.

See if there is a local quilt guild. Most will allow you to visit once or twice before joining.

Many quilt shops have groups that meet weekly or monthly.  A small fee gets you a great space to lay out quilts, solve problems and meet new friends.

Even meeting with just one friend once or twice a month will inspire you to keep going. Sharing ideas and fabrics is a whole lot better-and cheaper- than the latest quilt magazine (ok-I still buy the magazines!)

Now, go quilt!

More of Diane and Mike’s Excellent Adventure

While in Baltimore visiting Joe, Adrienne and Leonard, Michael and I did a couple of the touristy things. We went to Annapolis and visited the historic section.  No pictures there but I do have  picture filled details of all the food we ate!

We have to go to Ikea while in Maryland.  Why is there no Ikea in Syracuse??? One of there days I will go down with a truck and get everything I want. My husband and I did get lunch:   

Fruit salad for me and Swedish meatballs for my husband.

Back at Joe and Adrienne’s the next day, we had a veritable feast.  For me (and Joe) , steamed shrimp and hard shelled crab.

Here is Joe patiently teaching me how to eat the crab:    

Before…

 

And after…

Adrienne and my husband opted for THIS:

It is a steak and cheese burrito (btw, they each ate one!)

No after picture-just a lot of moaning!

Tuesday’s Tip July 20, 2010

It   is   hot.   Consequently, sewing in my room is near impossible since the room is upstairs with no air conditioning.

So I have been doing some hand work which I can do downstairs in my family room with a fan blowing a gentle breeze.

I have been working on my 12 Days of Christmas blocks.

I am on block two.

So here is a neat trick I learned from my embroidery friends at the library.  We meet twice a month-it is one of the rare times I see my next door neighbor.

I am doing the outline stitch but this trick also works on other stitches.  It was originally taught to me when I was working on a cross stitch project.

The pattern calls for two strands of floss.  Use only one strand but cut it twice as long as you normally use and fold it in half.

Here is the end with two strands.

Here is the end with the fold.

Thread your needle with the end with the two strands of thread.

Start by putting the needle through from the back of your piece to the front.  Pull the thread up a ways.

Now make a stitch going back down.  On the back of your work you will have a loop where you folded your thread.

Put your needle through the loop and pull snugly but not too tight!  Ta da! Your thread is secure on the back with no knots or threads to weave under.  It is great for redwork because it eliminates any shadow from the threads showing on top.

Bring your need back to the top of your work and continue stitching.

 

When I finish a thread, I weave it through several stitches and then trim the thread closely.

The ladies at the library scrutinized the back of my work and said it looked “pretty good”.  Let me tell you, that is a high compliment coming from them.  They all do excellent work!

Keep sewing!

Picture of the Day

Quilt Show

While I was in Maryland our guild had its annual quilt show.  I was unable to attend but here are some pictures I took during the set up.

These are the fat quarter quilts:

                Below are the challenge quilts:

These two (with the ribbons) were the winners:       

The two hardest workers at the show!

Meet Leonard Joseph

View Full Album

IT’S A BOY!

Adrienne had her baby this afternoon around 2:00 pm.  Leonard Joseph weighed in at 7 lbs. 10 oz. and is 19” long.  Joe says that he has a full head of dark hair.  They are both thrilled and so are we!

Adrienne sent some pictures to my husband’s cell phone.  As soon as we can figure out how to e-mail them to me I will post pictures.  I am flying down tomorrow so I will get lots of good pictures then, also.

Done!

I finally finished my fat quarter quilt for June.  Now I can put it in the Quilt Show which is this weekend in Skaneateles, NY, at the high school. I plan to be there if Adrienne still hasn’t had the baby.

Speaking of which, here are some burp cloths I made to bring down with me (along with the quilt and other doodads I have picked up) when Adrienne FINALLY has this baby:

They are not in color because Adrienne still does not know the sex of the baby-but we all do!  Talk about keeping an important secret!

Tuesday’s Tip July 6, 2010

We are always looking for more efficient ways to set up our sewing spaces.  Some sewers/quilters have made room next to their sewing machines for ironing and cutting stations so that they can sit in one spot and complete all three tasks without having to get up.

As tempting as this sounds, I have avoided this practice.  We need to get up and move around!  It is good for our minds and our circulation. And as I get older, I find that my joints don’t protest as much if I get up and move more often.

So here is my tip for today:  Get up and move while you are sewing.  I get up and stretch every 20 minutes or so.  It gives my back a break, gets some oxygen into my lungs and brain and wakes up Buddy (who is usually asleep right by my chair-why does he do that?)

Happy 4th!

We had a very pleasant day.  Katie and Dave brought the boys over and we spent the day outside swimming.  We had a cookout with hamburgers, hot dogs, potato salad and strawberry shortcake.

   

P.S.  No baby yet!