Saturday Sewing…

…did not got as planned.  I cleaned and oiled my machine as I do before I start a quilt and started having problems immediately.  Of course it took me 2 1/2 hours to figure out that my needle was not in correctly.  Grrr. Of course it was my own fault.  After that I completed just one row and cleaned up.

I am also working on this project.  I changed it up a little and here are some of my blocks:

I got the rows sewn together today and I hope to get the top together…this Saturday!

Diane

Where Do I Start?

Has it really been EIGHT MONTHS since I last blogged?  To my followers I am very sorry and I hope that you will find your way back here.

So much has happened since I last posted.  Good news is that Adrienne and Joe (and Leonard) moved up here from Baltimore. Joe retired, Adrienne got a great job at Upstate, and Leonard is all ready for kindergarten.  I love having them just a half hour away.
The not so good new is we did not have a great spring.  Michael fell walking the dog at the end of March.  He broke 5 ribs, several vertebrae (is that plural correct?) and his collar bone.  He has had a long recovery but is starting to feel like his old self again.
The summer is going by too quickly.  August already? I did not get as much done as I had planned but I have been squeezing in some knitting and sewing.

A baby outfit

A vest for myself, front and back

A knitting needle caddy
The American Quilter’s Society was in town this week.  The quilt show was beautiful. Of course I forgot my camera but I did snap some pictures of my goodies when I got home.




By the way, this little quilt finishes to 13” x 14”.  The tumblers are 1 3/4” high, unfinished

One of the nice things about working at the quilt shop is all the nice people I meet. Many people were in town for the show and one special person that I met was Lee Anna. She is a fellow blogger and posts at Not Afraid of Color.  Please visit her site. She has some beautiful things to show including the cutest dog!
While downloading photos off my camera, this cutie came up:

Aren’t grandkids wonderful?
Diane

December Goals

And now the December rush begins…

Actually it should not be too bad. I have some quickie presents I plan to make (can’t show those yet!) and a couple of knitting projects to complete.  The projects for this month are the extras…things I would like to get finished.

First, though is my November project for a challenge with a friend.  Each month Jean comes up with an art project and those who take up the challenge can use their favorite medium to complete it.  Last month was my little purse.  This month our challenge was something for the table:

I made a fall topper.  Very easy and fun to do.

Now for my goals.

This has been on my design wall forever.  Mimi bought me the pattern a couple years ago and I picked out fabrics back in the spring.

The center is in 4 sections right now and the leaves for the set-in triangles are fused in place waiting to be appliqued. I don’t have the set-in squares ready yet.  I really want to finish this so I plan to work on it between Christmas and the new year.  It looks a little brown in the picture; there is more green than shows.

Finally, I am having fun with this. (Free view of mess included!)

The pattern is No Measure Bargello and I am doing it with a batik jelly roll. Not super difficult but a little fussy. Just what I like! If I like it, I will be teaching it in the spring.

To conclude, here is Adrienne modeling my latest shawlette.  My first attempt at beaded knitting and lots of short rows!

Diane

Starting Over

Sometimes when I am bored I hit the “Next Blog” button on my blog. It starts out with sewing blogs and then morphs into all types of different blogs, from poetry to foreign philosophers on motorcycles.

Sometimes I hit blogs that have not been updated in months and even years.  Some people say goodbye, some change formats and some people just stop posting. Did they get bored? Change life circumstances? Or, as some have told me, get a life?

No, I am not stopping.  As I have stated before, I like my blog. I look at it as a diary and as a way to watch my family grow.  I also enjoy looking at past projects.  I still surprise myself sometimes.

But I did lose interest for a while.  In fact I even lost all interest in sewing.  The thought of going into my sewing room just depressed me.

You see, my friend Mimi died in April. She and I did lots of sewing-and shopping together. We had a couple projects that we were completing together. We laughed and cried together.  I taught her about quilting, she taught me about the Civil War. When I hurt my back, she called me every day. She never came to visit me without a bunch of flowers.  I once mentioned I thought kitty clocks were cute. She got me one for Christmas. She was a wonderful friend.

Mimi and me at the beach in VA. Mimi loved the beach.

John, her husband, has asked me to finish a few of her quilts. As I work on them, I hear her talking to me. It has helped me to start sewing again.

A friend from high school has started a purse challenge on Facebook. I thought that the challenge might kick me back into gear. Here are the beginnings of my purse.  It combines a couple of my favorite things, Japanese fabrics and beading.  I found the inspiration in one of my Japanese craft books.

I will keep you posted on my project.  I am not going anywhere.

Diane

What Do You Think?

 

The other night my sisters-in-law and I went to see the movie Jersey Boys.  It was a very good movie.  Then we went to Cheesecake Factory for a light dinner and not so light dessert.

We then went to a few stores at the mall, one of them selling Vera Bradley goodies.  I decided I wanted a new cover for my I Pad. Unfortunately, they do not have a style that fits the I Pad Air.  So I found a shirt in the 60% off bin and made my own.  I even used the tag from the shirt to put on the case!

I used a Nancy Ziemann pattern but I adapted it to my own needs (size, etc.).

I think it looks pretty good, but what do you think?

Diane

P.S. It has been a while since I posted. I am sure I have lost a few readers.  It has been a tough couple of months.  More on that later.

Civil War Melodies

I realized that I have not updated my Civil War Melodies quilt in a while.

It is a funny quilt. I look at the fabrics for the quilt and think that I really don’t like them and then I piece the blocks and the fabrics look nice together. I have to learn to have faith.

This was a BOM for 2013. I am now officially halfway done. Yay!

Last July when I was only a couple of months behind I started Block 5:

For some reason it really slowed me down. It was one of those fussy kind of blocks-no easy way to attack it. That stripe also made me a little crazy.  But now it is done. I completed Block 6 in an afternoon and am now on to block 7:

I would have finished today but I didn’t like the way I had originally fussy cut the blue stripey material (OK- I cut it wrong…) so I need to get more.  I work tomorrow so I can grab it then and finish up on Wednesday. I peeked at Block 8-lots of half-square triangles…

I am starting the new Civil War BOM for 2014 this month so I had best keep going!

Diane

Kimberly’s Garden

I loved this fabric when it came into the shop so I made this quilt from the free pattern that was on line:

It was not difficult but diagonal settings seem to take much longer to do! Now to get it quilted…

Lauren got us a puzzle for Christmas.  No family dinners for a few days.

I am also working on a present for my friend Mimi whose birthday was New Year’s Day. No pictures yet but I will post pictures after I get it sent out. She is in Florida right now. Obviously, I am not.

All in all a productive day!

Diane

New Year, New Purse!

First, to all my friends and family, I hope you all had a blessed Christmas and a happy and safe New Year. I know that I enjoyed the family parties and time spent with my husband, children and grandchildren.

Contrary to popular belief, my blog and I have not fallen off the face of the earth. I have been busy sewing, knitting, and working, both at the quilt shop and at the Y. I made several gifts for my family this Christmas. You will have to believe me, I did not take pictures.

But I do have a picture of my new purse and wallet! The purse is the Mini Professional Tote. I took a class in November and just found the time to finish it.  It is a great pattern; lots of pockets and it even has a padded pouch for a tablet (Did I mention that I got an IPad Air for Christmas? Thank you Michael!).

The wallet was straight forward once I got past folding the pockets for the credit cards! The pictures made no sense-the wallet took less time that that one step.

I plan to be a better blogger this year. I have been busy making-and learning new things that I hope to share with you. My resolution? To enjoy and be thankful for every day!

Diane

Back-Again!

Let’s just pretend that I have not updated in so long because I have been busy completing projects…Yeah- that sounds good!

I have been busy. Since May I have been working 2-3 days a week at the shop, along with lots of subbing at the Y (afterschool care).  But I have been working on several projects.

I managed to make a pair of socks:

I chose not to have the stripes match.  I also tried a 3 needle bind-off on the toe:  evidently it looks better if you turn the socks inside out first… I still like them!

I am also half-way caught up with my Civil War blocks of the month:

Each month there are 4-8 blocks to complete.  The one on the right was a bear- 96 half-square triangles in that set!

Katie put in a little garden for me for:

Dylan is riding a two-wheeler:

AND, I got a quilt back that I had hand quilted. I made this quilt top about 6 or 7 years ago. I started to hand quilt it and I immediately gave up.  Then I learned about a group that hand quilted to raise money for their local library.  I am more than thrilled!

I only wish that the quilting was more visible in these pictures. They all did a great job! Now to get the binding on…

Diane

 

Trying a (sort of) New Technique

I am still plodding along on my postage stamp/granny square quilt blocks.  Most of the blocks look like this right now:

I was adding quarter-square triangles as I sew and was planning to add the corners and trim the squares at the end. It seem to take forever because the triangles are bias on 2 sides so that the outsides will be on the straight grain.  The bias edges have a mind of their own and need to be pinned as I sew.

The last block I made looks like this:

That is because I added squares around the outside (the black fabric) as I sewed and them trimmed the block into a square (sorry no picture !).

Now before the quilt police come and arrest me, I am aware that my outside edges are all on the bias.  Before I trimmed, I used a little spray starch to help stabilize the fabric.  And there are sashing strips between each block which will also help to keep the blocks square.

I am doing this because it saves lots of time.  I am able to piece and square my blocks in less time than it was taking me to piece as I was before. This makes me happy.

And when Momma is happy, everybody is happy!