Wrapped Up in Quilts and other sewing adventures

Craftsy Block of the Month

2012-01-08T02:54:00.000-08:00

Yes, I have joined the Craftsy Block of the Month. I found it on a quilt group on Facebook. I have never done any block of the month. I have made the first two blocks for the month of January. They don't want anyone to see the whole quilt, so I have no clue if I will like it or not. They were really fast blocks and now I have to wait 3 weeks to start the February blocks. Join me!!

Little Black Skirt

2011-12-16T05:04:00.000-08:00

How do you take a picture of a black skirt? I have made 2 in 2 weeks. Recently discovered Christine Jonson patterns, which seem to be quite fabulous although expensive. This time of year I like to wear boots, tights, and anything that goes with them. A simple black skirt was needed. I actually paid way too much for a Eileen Fisher skirt, a black ponte, just like I wanted but it was 2 inches or more too long and since it cost a million dollars I did not want to cut into the fabric, so I started on a quest to make myself the perfect black skirt. I believe the task was accomplished.......

The first skirt was made with a black ponte and I made it similar to the instructions, elastic encased in the waistband. Although it won't be seen, I didn't really want that kind of waistband. I wanted it to be like the million dollar skirt.

The second skirt was made with this sorta heathered stretch fabric, kinda looks like black denim, looks solid until you stretch it. Casual looking but nice and stable. This time I put 4 darts around the waistband, about 3/8". Then I cut 1 1/4 inch elastic about one inch less than the waistband and serged the elastic to the waistband. Turned it under, and coverstitched it. It looks like a flat straight skirt without elastic but it is totally stretchy. Just what I wanted and of course, I had to add my label, which is part of my last name combined with knits. I love it and I have accomplished my goal of making

the perfect black skirt.

I have always had problems buying skirts. Pencil skirts that is. I like the look but my waist has always been too small. At least that is what I used to say. I could say my butt is too big. Somehow store bought skirts don't fit in those two places, if it's perfect in the waist, it's too tight in the butt. (until I bought the million dollar skirt, that one does fit well, that is why I bought it).

Now I plan to make the perfect long skirt, maybe I'll wear it for Christmas. So I plan to use a new sewing term I learned from Christine Jonson's patterns. Negative ease. You sew darts in the waistband out of stretchy fabric and you don't need elastic. There are only 2 pattern pieces and I will be able to make it to fit my fat bottom and it will magically fit my waist, I hope.

I really don't have a fat bottom......In fact, I got into a app on my iPhone that I had gotten in 2009 called Lose It. It's a diet type app. I hadn't looked into that app for quite some time and was VERY surprised that I have lost 13 lbs since 2009. WOW. Who knew I was losing weight? It is certain that leaving that terrible life is doing good things to me. I knew that 'that life' was taking a toll on me, I was very unhappy and I had gained 35 lbs. in 2 years. Talk about being depressed, not only was I miserable, I was getting fatter and fatter. Now I realize that I have lost 19 to 20 lbs. total. To me that sounds amazing. Being a little girl all my life, it is amazing. I don't know that I will ever get down to the weight I was 7 years ago, that would be another 15 lbs. I think maybe I was too small then, so 8 more pounds would be fabulous, absolutely fabulous....

holy moly

2011-12-10T06:25:00.001-08:00

I actually have been doing quite a bit of sewing lately, did you ever have a favorite shirt that had seen better days? Well I have one of those. It is my favorite designer, and I know I have a spending problem with her. I do not want to spend another $98 on a simple little shirt. So I decided to copy it. The first shirt I didn't make a pattern piece, which I did because it fit perfect, just a bit snug. So now I am trying to make a pattern piece

Here is the tracing that I did with a temporary marker. Love these little weights to hold the fabric still.

The front piece is the cut on the left. I bought the fabric several years ago, so it felt like I made this shirt for free. I have a large stash of basic fabric for tons of stuff that I am making now. I also just ordered some fabric from Emma One Sock. That site even has some Eileen Fisher fabric that I buy occasionally! Can't wait for my purchase to arrive.

The shirt was done completely on my BabyLock serger. Sometimes I wish a serger had a speed control because it goes too fast.

I always have to make a label. I was thinking my own label could be koroknits.

My serger does a fabulous cover stitch. I did all the hemming for the sleeves, neckline, and hem with the cover stitch, it was finished so fast.

I love it!

2011-10-22T16:39:00.000-07:00

I went to two fabric stores today hoping to get inspired to do some sewing. Between the two stores I spent $200. I hope I use the fabric. I liked this rather wild contemporary fabric. My colors....black, gray, white, with a splash of yellow. Anything with a splash. My favorite quilt to make has been a strip quilt, the one I made my daughter. I think this might be a strip quilt.

I also bought some fat quarter packs, one is Hometown. The other is Rivoli. Cute stuff. Have no clue what I'm going to do with them.....

I am well now. I finished my antibiotics and am back to work. This is my 4-day weekend, so I am taking it easy. Wish I had some energy to sew. I think if I start sewing, I am not going to wash the fabric. What do you think? I always wash my fabric, I just don't feel like doing it.....

No sewing

2011-10-11T19:33:00.000-07:00

I need some inspiration to start some sewing..

I got sick last night. Started to pee blood. Sorry, gross, I know. tell me about it. I was supposed to go to work today but went to the doctor and found out I have pyelonephritis. Great. They also want me to stay home for three days. That is the only good thing about this I think. Now, if I felt good, I would start sewing. I only have 5 blocks to go to finish a quilt. But I feel, blah. and my flank area feels sick. No pain, just a gnawing discomfort in my flanks. If I do too much, I start to pee blood again, I guess I need to rest.

The only energy I have is to take pictures of myself with my computer, therefore, here is a picture of myself. I am so bored......

At the Beach

2011-09-10T07:39:00.000-07:00

I made a sudden trip to Cannon Beach all by myself. Arrived yesterday and what a beautiful weekend it will be!!! Happy girl here!!!

After all my walking on the beach, I have the blisters to prove it, darn thongs!! Today I will be barefoot with sunshine, sand, ocean, and my Kindle. Time to relax!!!

I confess, I have more than one new quilt in my head. As far as the works in progress, I have 44 of 60 blocks completed(2 quilts). Fall is in the air, I can tell, this is the time when projects run amuck in my head.

I have my Bernina 730 for sale on eBay if anyone is interested. Sale ends Monday. Hope you enjoy my photo's, I think they look amazing myself!!!!

2011-09-03T03:21:00.001-07:00

I have been busy making two quilts at the same time. One for me,one for my daughter. My daughter-in-law is next. I have 40 blocks finished with 20 more to go. Maybe I'll make my DIL the same quilt in her favorite colors. These are 2 colored organic solids. Just love the organic fabric, so soft. Should be able to sew lots this holiday weekend. Yeah! I'm thinking of doing some hand quilting with Perlé cotton. Never did that before. Btw, I got over the trauma of my second date...I am quite happy by myself and love my little nook where I have my sewing area set up. My sister is close to finishing her first quilt. She has worked on it for a year! She is attempting stippling . I told her that was pretty difficult for a first quilt but that didn't seem t matter. She will be coming over to learn to do the binding! Proud of her, at age 60! I have found out that the ex has forged my name on a rather substantial check! The things he has done continue to amaze me. Can you say prison time ? He really deserves a little R&R in the tank.I'm going to see grand baby in 2 weeks. He is 11 months old. We will be going to Myrtle Beach for a week. Will be nice to go in a warm ocean, can't wait.

Second date

2011-08-15T20:41:00.000-07:00

Tell me how you feel about this comment on the second date. This coming from a professional, successful airline pilot of a major airlines who claims to be a "Christian".

"Take your bra off so I can see your titty's under your shirt".

The date was over. God help us.

Back to being a non-dating person.....

First Date

2011-08-14T19:01:00.000-07:00

I'm dying to spill the beans that I had my official first date after my traumatic and well-deserved divorce! After a year of being alone, I met someone and yesterday we 'went out'.

Dying here,,,,,,who would think a woman my age would be giddy! It feels just like high school, I must say.

Shall I tell you about him?

Here I am on his sailboat. What fun I had!

He's a pilot for a major airline, he is one year older than me. He is fit, he is good looking, he was fun. And the best part is that there was definitely a mutual attraction......just saying....

Make-up bag completed!

2011-08-13T08:27:00.000-07:00

Here is my medium size make-up bag finished and in use! It is completely vinyl to stay clean from all my messy accidents while traveling.

LOVE IT

another bag

2011-08-07T09:45:00.000-07:00

I got a bit side-tracked because of the error the printer did. I had taken the pattern to a printer to have them enlarge it to 400%. I cut out fabric all evening and when I was putting it together I knew there was something wrong, I paid nearly $30 for this stupid printer and I think they only enlarged it to 200%. I wasted lots of fabric and time. I decided to use the scraps for potholders. Not quite finished but here is the start with my "new-old initials". (I went back to my other name, I would like to erase the past 5 years from my life, especially anything to do with that name).

I bought all this vinyl fabric for some bags and I couldn't help but start. I have the panels for the outside and the lining finished. Next is the zipper. The lining is the houndstooth in the background. Isn't that the cutest fabric.? I'm not using it for a eyeglass case though, but I have enough fabric to do that. I plan to use it for makeup. I needed a cute bag for my cute bathroom in my very cute apartment. I think my daughter will love this bag too and I will probably have to make one for her and also my daughter-in-law. I don't why I love making these bags, but I sure do....

First Block

2011-08-05T06:10:00.000-07:00

Here is the first block of the Drunk Love quilt. What do you think? Too bright? The pink will stay but I'm thinking of trying Kona mustard with it.

inspiration bag

2011-08-01T14:59:00.000-07:00

Today I went to Pacific Fabrics on 4th Avenue to find me some solid Kona fabric for the Denyse Schmidt quilt. I think I went a little crazy. I wanted bright, and I love this shopping bag I use around town.

Not sure if the colors will show up correctly but it is a orange and bright pink strap. I found some of the organic fabric in the colors that looked good next to the bag, and I went for it. Now that I am home, I am blinded by the brightness! Holy moly! They are in the wash right now, surely they will fade once I wash it a few times. The back is probably going to be a turquoise. That ought to tone it down a bit. Yeah right.

Another beautiful day in Seattle!

Inspiration

2011-07-31T21:01:00.000-07:00

I have been doing so much reading lately, I have had no time for sewing. My million dollar machine is feeling lonely. I decided to take a trip to Pacific Fabrics. Pacific Fabrics closed the store that I used to go to before I moved to Seattle. In my adventures checking out the stores around here, I was thrilled to find the Pacific Fabrics just 7 miles from where I sit. I jump on the freeway and I am there in minutes. Today I picked up a bunch of laminate fabric to make more bags. But then when I got home I started playing around with fabric and books and online stuff and I found this picture from Denyse Schmidt's website and my mind is now wanting to make one of these. The pattern is called Drunk Love 2-tone. My last quilts have been made with solid fabrics, so this fits right in. Now to decide the colors. It took me 2 seconds to figure out that I wanted to do red and orange, something like the top quilt that you can barely see....

I don't really care about quilt patterns much any more but it just so happens I have the book that this pattern is in. It must be meant to be. It is now late Sunday night, the weekend is almost over. My father has a birthday tomorrow, he will be 84. My parents are driving up here and I am going to take them out to dinner. The good thing is that I don't work tomorrow. Yeah. I will try to do some sewing before they get here....

Inspiration is kicking in......

eReader

2011-06-17T07:25:00.000-07:00

There is no sewing going on around this place, but I have been doing some reading.

I decided to get a Kindle. My co-worker thought the Nook Color was better and she highly recommended it. So I walked to the Barnes and Noble store and couldn't make up my mind which one I liked. I decided to buy it and return the one I didn't like. I decided to return the Kindle when I found out that a bunch of books I want to read are not available on the Nook although, according to the information on the website the Nook has 2 million books available. hmmph

Then my sister was given a Kindle and wanted to get a iPad, or a iPhone and couldn't decide what she should do. What is wrong with us? She is very incapable of doing anything on a computer, but for her needs I thought she should get the iPad. She finally just returned her Kindle and ordered a iPad. It hasn't arrived yet.

THEN, I knew she would ask me a million questions on how to use the iPad since I am the Macgirl and she can hardly turn a electronic device on. Since I really wanted a iPad to begin with but was trying to be frugal, I ordered a iPad and it arrived about 2 weeks ago. My excuse was that if I needed to help my sister, I had better have the device myself......plus the fact that my sister can't have an electronic device before me.....

Now I have 3 eReaders. This is just stupid.

If I could, I would probably return the Nook Color, but the return policy says it has to be done within 2 weeks. Since I did all this the Nook has come out with a different Nook and I think I actually like that one. No, I am not going to buy it.

What I have found out is I use all of them. I especially like the Kindle for the treadmill. It is so small and lightweight. It fits nicely in my purse and I can read at lunch when I am at work.

I also have the Kindle app (and also the Nook app) on my iPhone, so when I am stuck somewhere I can read on my phone and then when I use my Kindle, or iPad the next time, it will automatically sync to the last page I read. This is really a good thing.

The iPad and the Nook are good for reading in bed because of the light, but the Kindle is great for reading out on the deck. The Nook has Angry Birds on it(so does the iPad) and I love Angry Birds.

I love the way the iPad and the Nook turn pages. In fact, that is my only complaint about the Kindle. I keep accidentally touching the sides and it will turn the page. The iPad and the Nook use the slide or touch of your finger on the screen and that works much better for me.

So depending on where I am, depends on which one I am using. Don't tell anyone that I have 3 eReaders.

OS X Lion

2011-06-06T18:27:00.000-07:00

I'm a Mac girl. Everything Mac. Am I excited about the new OS Lion? You bet!!! I am a computer weirdo tech girl, don't know why I am on this forum, but I am.

I have resisted the temptation to get an iPad, but I have ordered one and it is now in Anchorage, Alaska (according to my tracking inquiry). Should be delivered to Seattle maybe tomorrow, or the next day. My sister is the sensible one. She was raised when my parents didn't make much money. Me, on the other hand, grew up with a Nordstrom charge card. Not necessarily a good thing. She has taken the plunge and ordered one too. I will have to help her because she has trouble opening email......So my reasoning is that I had to get one to help her.....

She has her grandkids about 3 hours away and is excited to use FaceTime. They have tried Skype, but have troubles. FaceTime for me and my kids in Indiana is effortless.

I just saw the video of Steve Jobs in his keynote speech for Apple. God bless this man. He looks thinner than ever. I pray for him. He needs our prayers for his health. He has been such a good thing for our country and our technology. Even if you are a PC person. Please, I am from Microsoft country here in Seattle. I appreciate all computer techno weirdo's. God bless Steve Jobs.

Thea's Puzzle Quilt

2011-05-30T08:51:00.000-07:00

Here are the pictures of my washed quilt for my new apartment. It is soft and wrinkly and comfty. I use it every night on the couch. I keep falling asleep on the couch and sleep until 1 am. I think TV programs automatically turn up the volume at 1 am, because that is what wakes me up to go to bed.

This is the finished quilt I made for my
"City Apartment"

Had to make some coasters to match. Green seems to be the color I keep buying for my new life.

A potholder of course......

I named the quilt 'City Quilt"

simple cross grid.....

love these colors....

Saturday

2011-05-28T20:57:00.000-07:00

I sat in my apartment most of the day, in fact, all day long. I took a 2 hour nap also, it felt great.

I did my exercise tapes this morning, which totally wiped me out, and I keep saying to myself how old I am and that is my excuse as to why I can't complete the stupid tapes. I have done them 4 times, and maybe I am getting better so I will keep trying. No matter how much I exercise, I have gained 7 pounds for no good reason. I can't think of a good reason anyway. I am not eating much, I have exercised at least 3 times a week. It has been quite disturbing.....

I bought a Nook Color. Another thing that I bought for no good reason. I bought several books for the cute thing today but can't seem to get interested in anything. I bought a bright pink case and a bright pink "charm", so it looks very cute. I bought a cookbook, a Bible, and some other interesting reads suggested by my attorney friend. Maybe I will read some tonight.

I made a great little dinner for myself. I sliced some red peppers, and sauteed them in olive oil, and added some cannellini beans for some protein. Sauteed it until they were soft and yummy. A bowl full of spinach leaves, a bunch of crumbled goat cheese, poured the peppers and beans on top of that and added some balsamic viniagrette dressing, homemade of course. It was quite yummy. Red wine too, which I continue to sip.....

After I finish my wine, I am going to get into my exercise clothes again and go downstairs and get on the treadmill for at least 30, maybe for an hour. and walk alternating with a jog. You'd think I'd lose a little, probably not with the way things are going.

I have seen all the traffic today going to some event at Seattle Center. I think it is some sort of festival of folk music. I am walking distance to the Space Needle. I have a view of it as I leave my place. I love my little apartment, it is very cute. I am 1.2 miles from work. It is heaven. I have gained 2 hours a day since I don't commute anymore from the south. I am SO happy with that. I am SO much less tired.

I hope I don't sound depressed. I am very happy with my new life. I can't even explain how happy I am to be away from being yelled at. Finally, I figured out that essentially I was being abused and I didn't even know it. It was quite shocking to me how I was treated in the end. Thank GOD, I am out of that situation......

I started to cut out something to make myself. Not another quilt but a nightgown. I am trying not to spend any money and I have SO much material. I need a NIGHTGOWN. I don't have a pattern but will try to make something up of what I have. My new goal, SIMPLIFY. It is going to be a sleeveless nightgown made of off white ponte knit (it's what I have). I hope it isn't too heavy weight, but in Seattle, it never gets too warm. At least that is a rare thing. It will be a V neck, mid-knee length, slits up the side. top stitched in grey. So far it is laying on the floor, awaiting me to cut it out......I have all day tomorrow to get it started.......I think I will try a new church tomorrow.....any suggestions of churches in Seattle???

March 27

2011-05-27T19:29:00.000-07:00

Hello world,

I think today is the day that I am divorced, not quite sure. I signed the papers and feel it is time to celebrate. 5 years of a very different life for me. I am ready to get back to my normal life. If he signs papers today, it will either be filed in the courts today or this coming Tuesday.

I now live in downtown Seattle in a high-rise apartment and living where I should have been living for the past 7 years, instead of living in a rural area with someone that I don't quite know how I ended up with. Unfortunately, I was taken to the cleaners. I guess this is what happens in this state and my attorney friend thinks I did okay. He at least didn't take any of my retirement which he kept threatening me that he was going to do. I married someone who loved to spend my money and I felt like a hamster on a wheel trying to keep up with the bills. I also didn't like financing an adult child as he sat and watched movies all day long after sleeping until noon. I was up at 4:30 getting ready for work, and would leave both the husband and his son sleeping and when I arrived home after working 10 hours and a 2 hour commute, they were home watching movies......I am stuck paying half of his $14,000 Visa that was in his name and I had no connection to. I guess I have to pay for my mistake and that is what I am doing. I am ready for my new life.

So here I am, in my cute little apartment, drinking Vodka tonics and writing to a blog that I haven't written on in a few months.

I have been sewing though. I made a quilt for my new place. Pictures soon....

sewing

2011-03-04T17:32:00.000-08:00

I really have been doing lots of sewing lately, really. Just finishing a baby quilt for my sister's grandson for his daycare.....

If anyone cares, I am going through an ugly divorce......seems he thinks I should be paying him lots of money, well, honey, you will soon be taking care of yourself and not relying on my income. Any day now, I should be done with this nonsense. One item of advice for every woman alive. Get a pre-nup. Even if you have no money. Get a pre-nup and say that you are not responsible for any of his bills without your name on it. That is the problem I am having. He thought he won the lottery when he married me and whoo-hoo, he was spending like I had all the money in the world to pay his Visa. Even though my name was not on his Visa. His response. Well, this is all "our stuff" . No it's not. He has 70% of the assets. and I paid 70% of the bills. Don't get me started.....

Latest Bag

2011-02-02T05:35:00.000-08:00

Here's my latest bag, pattern is from Amy Butler's Style Stitches. It's really huge but I found I have used it quite a bit. I used it as a carry-on this past weekend on a long weekend in Indiana. I threw my laptop in and books and knitting and it kept me busy, because flying on Monday was a day to be delayed in several airports. At least Delta likes me and upgraded me to first class. Love Delta.
I added a inside pocket and made some channels for my knitting needles. I have been doing quite a bit of knitting lately, almost finished with another baby sweater.
I Love this bag! Made with Amy Butler's home dec fabric from her August Fields collection, which is my fav. Need to order more of this fabric, yikes, it's expensive. My fabric addiction is so bad......

Sweater for gandson

2011-01-15T20:00:00.000-08:00

I finished the little sweater for that grandbaby of mine. It went pretty fast and I actually finished it! a miracle of sorts you might say....There is a little hat to go with it and I will start that soon. I am going back to Indiana on the 27th of January to visit my little guy and he will get his sweater then. I heard yesterday that he rolled over twice yesterday for the first time.

I had to make a label. I had ordered some online but they got lost in the mail apparently, so I made this one with my fancy machine and I think it looks pretty nice. He'll probably never wear this sweater, but he'll know his grandma made it for him forever.... my little sweetie.....

Bags and Pincushions!!

2011-01-10T05:13:00.000-08:00

I've gone crazy making bags. Made my boss this one and then had to make a matching pincushion. A little late for Christmas but she'll be okay with that! Life hasn't been too easy for me lately!

I've got a major bag in the works, thought I would get it done this weekend but ended up just cutting everything out and the interfacing. I love that interfacing, SP 101 for woven fabrics. I like it so much I bought a whole bolt of it with a 50% coupon from JoAnn's. I've already used 1/3 of it, so it was a good purchase. Every bag I've been making is using it. I highly recommend it.

My friend said he needed a pin cushion, I didn't know how to make a man a pin cushion. He's a funky sorta guy, so I decided on a black dot pattern with some funky green with it.

This little one is for me. It sits next to my sewing machine, so far it's still nice and clean.

....unlike this one that is a mess!!!

A well used pin cushion is a good thing I guess! I love making these little things. Quick satisfaction

A couple of bags for my junk that seems to collect next to my sewing machine. The top one has embroidery thread for that other project that is just sitting next to my bed.

A little stitching project, this little girl was so cute I had to do some embroidery and I haven't done that in years, don't know what this will end up in, but I've got ideas spinning in my head. Lots of little girls with different colored dresses in a quilt maybe??

Otherwise I have been knitting. I almost finished a Debbie Bliss baby sweater. I was working on the collar and messed up. I mean I really messed up. I think I have to redo the whole right side. Have you ever tried to undo a shoulder seam after you've woven it to the back? Impossible. The collar instructions got me confused and in repeating some rows, I got a long stitch and tried to repair it and by doing so, I ruined the whole thing right by the top of the right side where it couldn't hide. It's going to take me awhile to fix, I'm so disgusted. No pictures until it is respectable......if it ever is.....

2011-01-08T20:10:00.000-08:00

What an honor! Thank you to Sandy from Sew.......This is My Blog for tagging me! Right now she has an awesome giveaway going on! Make sure you check it out!! You better go fast because it ends tonight!

The idea behind being tagged is to award great blogs with less than 300 followers and to get the word out about these wonderful blogs. The rules are simple!

1.Tell your readers who tagged you.

2. Add a link to their blog.

3. Award 3-5 bloggers who you think deserve this award.

Inform them & post directions to your blogspot.

Please don't tag people who already have 300 followers.

I'm having trouble tagging anyone, because every blog I see have more than 3 kabillion followers except me!! I do enjoy looking at everyones blogs though! I don't quite know where the give-away is, but I am sure you can find it on Sandy's blog. Thanks Sandy, you are my lifeline right now....

Merry Christmas

2010-12-25T07:54:00.000-08:00

This has been a fabulous Christmas for me. Even though I have had a touch of some sort of flu for the past several days, it was still the best.

My daughter flew in from Indiana. I didn't know she was coming until last Saturday, so that in itself is enough to send me over the edge. Felt like old times, when we would fly here to spend Christmas with Grandma and Grandpa. So both Amy and me are staying at Grandma's now and Grandma is taking care of us and spoiling us all week.

On Christmas Eve, together, we made the cutest bags.

My daughter is not a sewer, but I think she might have gotten the bug. I have Amy Butler's book, Style Stitches, and I showed her some bags that we could make. She picked some fabric from my stash. She chose Michael Miller's Owl by Myself, and a coordinating dot print. I chose some Amy Butler fabric from the August Field collection.

This is Amy, working with my machine, first time sewing, she is being so careful!

The front panel is done, she top stitched it perfectly!! She learned how to fussy cut and use a rotary cutter.

Amy thought the auto-cutter was so cool.

I think she did a great job!! She wanted to "funk it up" so she chose a bright purple zipper to use. In this photo it looks blue but it is very purple.

I had a great time making this bag, I plan on making many more in all sizes. I thought I would use this one to hold accessories while sewing that always end up next to my machine. Amy wanted to use it as a cosmetic bag. She says her make-up always "explodes" in her make-up bags, so I thought it should be lined with vinyl. Another learning process for Amy!

This is the one that I made. I swear if my daughter fell in love with sewing I would buy her a new machine. A little early for that, but I do have my old Viking. It could use a tune-up and I am sure it would be perfect. Now how can that be carried on a airplane?

Christmas Season

2010-12-18T23:27:00.000-08:00

Making some last minute gifts for my son and daughter-in-law. It is a match to the baby quilt that is not quite finished. I hope they like it.

I put the binding on completely by machine, no hand sewing done at all. It is always a frightening thing to wonder how the binding in the back is doing while you are stitching in the ditch.
Turned out pretty good on that back side. I love to make potholders, but I have never made them for myself. Tomorrow I will make a matching hand towel. I don't know if my daughter-in-law will think they are silly or not. I know that the colors are perfect for her kitchen. I think my son does most of the cooking and he loves fish, hence the cute little Swimmy fish in the middle.

Tomorrow I am going to go buy some DMC floss and do some embroidery. I don't know where that urge is coming from. Actually I do, I found a cute little design that I purchased online here. It is just so cute I can't stand it. I did lots of embroidery before I had kids and my mother still displays some huge things I made years ago. My mom doesn't throw anything away.

I also am getting the urge to do some knitting for that grandbaby of mine....my knitting books are packed away in storage and that just irritates me so much. I wouldn't be able to find the books with boxes because there is too much furniture in the way. It seems I will never get much stuff back. You know my stuff, craft books, fabric.....I brought to my temporary living area as little as I could, but as much sewing stuff as possible...not much room but I've got the basics.

The divorce is going slow because the soon to be ex cannot refinance the house. Seems he needs my income. What a shock.

guitar strap

2010-12-11T05:32:00.000-08:00

I know I've seen some cute guitar straps on blogs, but now that I am looking for them, I can't find any. Does anyone know a blog that has made some cute ones? I was thinking my 83 year old father might need one. He is still picking at his guitar and continues to add guitars to his collection. What a great dad I have.

Fish lunch on the Sea of Galilee

2010-12-09T05:29:00.000-08:00

This is the fish lunch I had on the Sea of Galilee. I wasn't expecting a real fish to land on my plate, didn't think much of what was coming, I guess I expected American fish and chips. So I was surprised to have this dead fish, eyeballs and all looking at me. It tasted like tilapia, and maybe it was, it was good. I am a girl from the Pacific Northwest, we love fish, so it was a great lunch. I have about 1000 pictures from my Israel trip. It was such an awesome trip.

Time to go back to work

2010-12-06T06:50:00.001-08:00

Tonight I fly back to the PNW. I arrive late tonight and will have to get up early in the morning to get back to work. Time to stop playing with baby for awhile, so I'm quickly getting depressed about that....how can I leave this little guy?

heartache, heartbreak.......he's smiling at me and starting to coo, it's oh so sweet....

BUT, I am ready to do some sewing. I am reminded of the huge mess my sewing table is in, in my temporary living situation. I can't even start anything until that table is cleared off. While Eli's mom and dad have been sleeping in until noon while I am here, I have been either playing with Eli or surfing quilt and sewing blogs and finding all kinds of ideas and plans. If you know of any blogs I should check out, please let me know.....

My major decision that I will needing to make is where shall I move? My choices are downtown Seattle, north Seattle (Ballard or U district), or a big move would be to head to the midwest to be near this little guy who is tugging at my heart strings. Could be a 3 year plan to move to Indiana though...or not.....decisions, decisions.....

My boys

2010-12-04T02:02:00.000-08:00

What a busy month. 10 days in Israel, 2 days back to work, now 5 days in Indy. My body clock is so messed up. I think my time zone is somewhere in the middle Atlantic...

The fish quilt didn't get finished for this trip, but is so close.....it has turned out as I wanted..I should have it finished by next weekend. I think I will actually not be going anywhere...

This weekend is with the 7 week old grandson. growing so fast. Here is a picture of my two boys, one big, one small.....

My next quilt---for my son

2010-11-11T12:23:00.000-08:00

My next quilt is for my grandson, with my son in mind......He loves fish and has a web page about it here. This cute little fabric with the goldfish was made just for him. I found it on etsy and I bought a pajama leg panel of it. Doing some fussy cutting and piecing the fish together to make a 45 inch panel

The colors will be browns, and light aqua. Going to look for another bit of fabric. I'm just going to cut strips of varying widths similar to the picture and have light gray minkee for the back. It needs to be done by Dec 2nd and I leave for Israel next Saturday. I've got work to do. Why does work seem to get in the way ALWAYS?

Grandbaby

2010-11-11T05:41:00.000-08:00

I have to say that this is one cute baby. Look at that little precious, and he's highly advanced in his activities too! When you are 2 weeks old that's important! How can you describe a grandmother's love. I don't feel like a grandma (how do gramma's feel?), but somehow it happened. This baby looks just like my son did 28 years ago. BUT I think he's cuter.....his mommy must have made him cuter....thanks Carmen for this little bundle of joy!

This is me holding my baby right after birth. His head is still cone shaped here but by the next day he had a perfect round head. I just love this little guy....

This is the day two (24 hours old) and look how

he is looking at his daddy. Isn't that just precious?

Life Changes

2010-11-07T02:06:00.000-08:00

This has been quite the year, I had a grandson delivered October 13th. He arrived weighing 7 lbs 9 oz. Such a perfect healthy boy. Elias is his name, looks just like my son.

Mother and baby are doing fine, although she did have to have a C-section, just like I did with the baby's father!.

The baby's room is light green with white baby furniture. I hope I have the right greens here. If not, it can be a on the floor quilt.

The back is minkee, that super duper soft stuff that I now want to have for a quilt of my own!! I think everyone needs one.

While this pregnancy was going on, Grandma (me) was busy preparing for a divorce. Life changes......I am now out of the house, living in a temporary living situation, life has been tough and rather abusive. How did that happen? It's an unfortunate situation which had to stop. Not much quilting or other sewing has been going on with me, but now that I am halfway situated, the quilting has begun,,,,off to make another baby quilt. This one is going to be inspired by my son's love of fish.

I hope my writing and quilting will help me with my life changes, cause things are really crazy for me right now, sewing needs to be my stress reliever......

2010-07-01T19:48:00.000-07:00

Here is my first strip quilt! I am completely bonkers about it. I made it for my daughter for her birthday.

She has not received the quilt yet. I am going to hand deliver it to her when I fly to Indiana. I hope she likes it of course, because I fell in love with it. I became completely hooked on strip quilts. I like this one so much I bought much of same fabric to make one for myself!

On the last quilt I made, I tried to sew the binding on with my machine, but quickly I realized that wasn't going to work. I tried it again with this quilt and was amazed at my improvement!

This picture is taken on the front of the quilt.

This picture is taken from the back side and the perfect corners. How'd I do that so good?

The picture quality is really bad, I know. I take all my pictures from my iPhone. I have 3G, so no zoom, no flash. Soon, I will be getting the new iPhone with zoom, flash, 5 GB, and movie too. Can't wait to get that.

Rumor has it that Verizon will get a iPhone early next year. Maybe I will wait, maybe I won't. I really want that movie capability by October when my little grandson arrives!!!

Anyway, I am completely hooked on these strip quilts. I have 2 more in the works. I read another blog about someone being hooked on strip quilts months ago and now I understand it. Perfect for those of us who love contemporary quilts!!

Dot Bag

2010-05-08T19:02:00.001-07:00

Here is the bag I made 2 weeks ago. I am loving it and plan to make some more. It was so much fun to make, I enjoyed it so much!! The inside has 4 pockets, trimmed with dupioni silk. The top is also trimmed with brown dupioni silk and some other trim. The bag is from a pattern from paradiso designs called Okashi courier bag by Cheryl Kuczek. I hear she is a local Seattle designer and gives classes. The outside fabric is a Micheal Miller print called Mirror Ball Dot.

The inside fabric is 100% cotton chambray, by Robert Kaufman, it looks orange one way, and pink the other way. Love it. I had to go buy some more of both fabrics.....at Fabric Crush!! Love that store....

My great-nephew Isaac

2010-04-23T08:50:00.000-07:00

This is Isaac, born April 13, to my nephew Aaron and wife Emily. He joins a brother, Jakob, who just turned 2.

Today, home sick again. Only worked 2 days this week.Got a great head cold. I need some warm weather, a high of 62 doesn't quite make to warm but it is better than tomorrows high of 54.

My Jakob. He's a little Huskie fan. He also loves loves loves his Thomas the Train collection.

I am not too sick to head out to a few quilt stores. Fabric Crush and the Quilting Loft might need to be visited. I finished a quilt top and need some batting and I'm sure there might be some other things I need.

BSR

2010-04-20T18:34:00.000-07:00

I finally finished this quilt that I made last summer. This quilt is a pattern from the blog, Oh Fransson! I love her stuff. I used the BSR foot on my machine and stippled the entire top. That foot is amazing. More amazing is that it sells for $900. Good thing it came with the machine. Some people have trouble using it, but I never had any trouble with it. It is so much fun, it has a infrared light that sees how fast your are moving the quilt and it stitches along with your movement.

It is the time of year that we have outdoor fires, here's a picture of the first of the season. A glass of wine and the neighbors visiting, love those nights.

Quilt for Daughter-in-Law

2010-04-07T05:15:00.000-07:00

I see a quilt that just might work for my DIL, it's easy peasy, check it out here. My other thought is to do something like this. I like them both: contemporary, clean, simple. Which do you like?

I have worked 8 days in a row and have 2 more to go. I am irritable, grouchy, and really need to get away. I wake up at 3:30am, don't have to get up till 4:30. grrrr. I start to plan a vacation and then a staff member hands me a request for the same week off. grrrrr. I am tired of my 2 hour commutes....Okay, enough grumbling, I am going to have a nice day at work,,,,,by friday I hope to have some energy to get in the sewing room to clean, as it is complete chaos, it needs a overhaul. I wish I could stay home.....

My DIL likes purple

2010-04-04T06:03:00.000-07:00

It really isn't my fav color but I found some purple I like. A wonky or not so wonky log cabin is what I will make her. There is one more print that I found that I am going to throw in for my son.

He loves his fish and this has cute little pink fishies and the perfect color yellow fish.

I found a GREAT new quilt store in Seattle. This one is called Fabric Crush. This store is for the contemporary quilter I would say. It is located in Wallingford Center in Seattle. It is in a old building which they have restored with very cute swanky little stores inside. The lighting in this store is remarkable. Here are some pictures I found. They also had a good selection of books for sale. I wanted all of them!

Happy Easter everyone! Unfortunately I have another emergency case at the hospital. According to my new device down the page I had visitors from all over the world yesterday!! I would love to read comments~~~~ Hello?

Anna Maria Horner pincushion caddy

2010-04-03T09:33:00.000-07:00

I bought the book written by Anna Maria Horner, Seams to Me, last year sometime with the intent of at least making the adorable pin cushion caddy. I cut out the pattern pieces and got it all together and it was a mess. I found out later from some internet searches that the pattern pieces from the book are WAY off. I nearly threw this thing away but I kept making the curves smaller and smaller to fit the inner tube. I should have just made the inner tube lots bigger but it was too late for that. I finished it, its crooked, stuffed strangely, but it does work as a handy dandy pincushion caddy. My husband was laughing at me for throwing this thing around the living room, when I was thoroughly disgusted that the pattern pieces didn't fit.

Someone online figured out a formula to make the pattern work, and if I wasn't in a hurry I would post that. Maybe later.

I do think this little caddy is a great addition to any sewers to catch all those things we need to keep handy.

Unfortunately, I just got a emergency call, it's off to work for a call case.....

Head Cold

2010-03-29T18:38:00.000-07:00

I don't know if it's this cold or what, but I am sick of making this shirt. In fact today, I accidently cut the fabric right near the front, I think I'm going to toss it in the garbage soon. Or do you think I cut it on purpose?

I'm feeling a little bit more like making a quilt!! Imagine that!

I have already called in sick tomorrow. I just took 2 advil, and 2 tylenol cold and sinus tablets. I ache, and I can't breathe. I haven't gotten out of bed all day. It has been pouring down rain all day, a good day to lay around. We have had this terrible cold going around work and I started to get it on Saturday. I cancelled my trip to Wenatchee on Saturday, but then after eating and taking a shower I felt better and jumped in the car for the 3 hour drive. It was my great-nephew's 2 year birthday. I'm glad I went.

He saw his dog pee on a rock and thought it looked like fun, so his dad let him try. These are the tricks you do to potty-train your little boy I guess.

Vogue 1054 by ralph rucci Chado

2010-03-21T18:58:00.001-07:00

This is my next sewing adventure. I am making it in a deep raspberry or maybe it's just a plain red tencel. I love tencel. The pattern is labeled as "advanced". I don't know what makes it advanced, but if they want to tell me that I am an advanced sewer I will let them. Lots of seams to this shirt. I think every section has 3 pieces that you seam together, then bind in a contrasting fabric (didn't know that until I brought it home, then had to go get more fabric). The buttonholes are hidden behind the " front fly" and have bound buttonholes. You mean I can't use my fancy, smanchy buttonholer on my million dollar machine? I think I will bypass the bound buttonholes, maybe. Then it calls for hand stitched trim on the collar and front fly. I don't know that I will do that either.

I've got the front and back sections seamed and connected at the side and shoulder seams. Next is to work on the 'front fly'.

I think my sewing is finished for the night. I have 4 days of hard work ahead of me and then this weekend I am going across the mountains to my great-nephew's 2 year birthday party. His mom is about to pop out baby boy #2 in about 2 weeks.

I spent 3 hours of the day at my My Label club. Today, we were shown how to make Besom pocket. I've done that kind of thing years ago. It was nice to see someone else do it and hear all her tips. She brought with her one of those Singer Featherweights. It smelled kinda bad, but they swear it makes the best straight stitch. After watching her use it, I didn't really want one....but we'll see.

Hubby is making dinner, and I am drinking a glass of wine. The big red dog is at my feet. These are how my evenings are, mmmm, the smell of garlic is the best aroma........

Perfect Day for Making a BABY QUILT

2010-03-12T18:32:00.000-08:00

My day off!! I love them. Today, it is raining and I love to stay inside and sew. I have a lovely view from my sewing room. Spring is on its way as the magnolia tree (or whatever it is) is starting to bloom.

Here is the quilt that I am making for my new(only) grand baby coming October 14th. I bought the material at the Sew Expo in Puyallup, that was the day I found out about this little one. I had no patterns, so I just thought I'd make a little coin quilt.

You can't tell I want a girl can you?

I decided to channel quilt the white strips, after much playing around.

I did lots of stitching in the ditch.

This is almost the finished product. I haven't started the binding, but I want to put some stitching in the coins and I can't decide what to do.

It's kinda blurry but can you see the x's. Or I could put some little flower design which sorta mimics the flowers on the backing.

SO if you would please comment and let me know what you think I should do

Should I:

Stitch in the ditch
leave it alone
put x's in the ditch
put a flower design in the ditch

PLEASE COMMENT
thanks :-)

grandbaby

2010-03-05T12:52:00.000-08:00

I have some news to share with anyone who wants to listen.......... I am going to be a grandma. Now do I look like a grandma? I don't think so : ) This might not be public information, but since this is such a quiet blog, no one is going to find out anyway. The date is around October 17, so we have a long way to go. This will be my first grandbaby. My mother has 2 great-grand son's, so I am hoping for a little girl, but I will take whatever I get. The sadness comes when I think that they are so far away from me. My little daughter-in-law is such a tiny thing and she has no mother but me. Oh, how I wish they would move near me. I bought some material at the Sewing Expo in Puyallup to make a little baby quilt. I was told of this baby as I was driving to the Expo, and then I couldn't think straight for the whole time I was there!!

I bought material at the Marcy Tilton booth and also some linen and Tencel at some booth that I can't remember the name. I think that is all I bought. I made a pair of pants so far, and I finished that white shirt. My husband took some goofy pictures of me in it, so I will post, when I get home.
I also am working on a 5-day headache. It just won't go away. I am so glad it is Friday and I will have 2 days off so I don't have to think about work. Work has been busy busy, but today, I gave myself a easy job(i am the boss thank goodness), so far so good, but soon I will have to go down to x-ray and do some hard procedures that may take several hours. Headaches associated with nausea are just no fun.....

Sharon Hultgren

2010-02-24T13:57:00.001-08:00

just a little tidbit of information here. How many of you have any quilting cutting devices that have the name Sharon Hultgren on it? I have several. It turns out she is related to me. She doesn't know it but I am. My grandmother is a Hultgren. Isn't that cool? I think the quilting gene passed through my grandma to me, because it didn't get to anyone else in my family. My grandma is Hazel Hultgren, long gone, but never forgotten... I believe the Hultgren clan is in Minnesota somewhere......

Gingher Rotary Cutter and Seam Ripper

2010-02-23T05:29:00.001-08:00

I saw this at JoAnn's and have been dreaming about it ever since. The price was $69 at JoAnn's but I saw it on Amazon for $39. Apparently it feels wonderful in your hand. Other girls were talking about a cutter made by Martelli which is really a different type of cutter, the handle is in your palm. I bet they will have a display at the Puyallup Sewing Expo. I will have to check it out, they also have a great mat. You can see a video of it here.

Then I heard from one of my Yahoo groups that they have a seam ripper. They were raving about it. Love to buy new tools!!!

quilts

2010-02-19T20:17:00.001-08:00

I may not be doing much quilting lately, but I can tell you this. I am wrapped up in one of my quilts that I made years ago. It's one of my favorites, I should post a picture, maybe tomorrow, it's called the misbehaving chicken. I made it about 8 years ago......time to eat some dinner. thankfully, the husband always cooks for me....and I am so tired after working so hard all day and being up since 4:30am.

Sewing!!

2010-02-19T19:12:00.000-08:00

I wish I had more time to do the things I like to do. I'm talking sewing here.Ever since I entered this stage of my life (that's another story), I have no time to do these things and I don't feel like I ever will. I work long hours and have a long commute. I am usually too exhausted to do much. The good news of the day is that it is FRIDAY! Yeah.

Tomorrow is supposed to be a beautiful day. I should go skiing. But I could stay home and do some sewing. I have plenty of material to play with. I ordered some material from Marcy Tilton's website, but for some reason, it has not arrived. I ordered 5 yards and a CD. I think it comes from Oregon, which is right next door to me, but it isn't here yet. I am anxious to receive it! This is what I plan to makeNext weekend is supposed to be the Sewing Expo in Puyallup, Washington. I have never even heard about it. That is another thing I would like to do. Puyallup is like 5 minutes from here. I read that it is the "nation's largest sewing show". Marcy Tilton has some classes offered and so do many others. I really like Marcy Tilton. I bought one of her patterns, Vogue 8552. I have made several versions of this and the picture above is a version also, but she has pieced it somehow. I like it and also the material it is made of, which is what I am waiting for!

I found a new fabric store that I really like!! I think there are several around this area. It's Pacific Fabrics. Is it a chain? Any more around the country? They have pretty good basic fabric for clothing and the big surprise for me was that they have quilt fabric too. I don't mean JoAnn fabric quilt fabric, I mean Amy Butler, etc. As for notions, things I had looked for at JoAnn's and couldn't find, they had it at Pacific Fabrics. I think I have enough fabric to keep me sewing for awhile.

Sunday I have my My Label club. It will be my second time. I had some assignments to finish before class. One is the tunic top to see if I have my measurements correct in the program. THe boob area might be a bit tight. Either that or it's the weight that I have gained. OPPS!! Then I also made the elastic waist pants. They turned out great. I made them in black Tencel from Pacific Fabrics. I love Tencel. I also made a white turtleneck, tunic length, and made the collar more of a twisted cowl. It isn't too exciting, more of an experiment with my software program.

My next projects include a BIG shirt, I think a plain white, like this: Not quite that long but something like that.

Now I am off to my favorite clothing site, Eileen Fisher. She is just my style......

My Label

2010-01-29T12:06:00.000-08:00

My new sewing machine has caused many additional purchases. I'm not talking fabric, I'm talking electronics here. First there was the serger, that cost a fortune. Then I got a new laptop. Then I got some software, and that is where I have been spending my time.

The software is called My Label made by Bernina. Bernina received lots of my money last year. I tell myself, it is my way of helping the economy and based on the news this morning, it appears I have helped our country bounce back.

I drank the Kool-Aide years ago when it comes to computers. I am a MAC girl. And as they say, once you go Mac, you can't go back. I tried. The Bernina program is made for PC's. Since my laptop is 6 years old, it could not run Windows programs like the new ones. Trying to save money, I did pick up a HP laptop in November. I absolutely hated it. I tried to get along with it. It irritated me to death, thankfully, the store had a return policy and I returned it. A few weeks ago I bought a new MacBook Pro. I bought Parallels, which is a program that enables you to use any software that have been made for PC's that you might want to use. My Label is one of them, and also the embroidery software that Bernina sells.

I have been spending my free time, playing with My Label. It is like playing with paper dolls. It is a 3D pattern software program. My time hasn't been spent on making quilts, but making clothes. I never thought I would be doing that again, but I am. My husband, is like, "wow, you made that?" I have been staying away from the Eileen Fisher boutiques for a couple of months now. Thank goodness, my checkbook is really liking that....

SO SANDY, that is where I have been. Still trying to lose the 10 lbs I gained and now it is off to the treadmill.....

Evolution

2009-12-06T07:58:00.000-08:00

My husband didn't notice that the first serger turned into another serger, .....They do look alike don't they, he came into the sewing room and saw me working, .......phew.......he didn't say a thing.....I am SO bad.

Another new Serger

2009-12-05T18:04:00.000-08:00

I took the Imagine back and got the Evolution! The Imagine is a fantastic machine, but it doesn't have the coverstitch that I have always wanted. This is probably the last serger that I will have in my life so I might as well make it top of the line.

I was happy when my daughter told me she wanted to learn to sew. Well, it is about time!! I think I will give her my old serger which is about 25 years old.

Today I made a knit shirt but it didn't turn out quite as good as the last one. The material is so fine and I have gained 10 lbs. It probably will look much better on my daughter, so Merry Christmas Amy.

I did spend 30 minutes on the treadmill today.

Baby Lock Serger

2009-12-03T19:41:00.000-08:00

I got a new toy. I took out my 25 year old serger and it just couldn't serge on the fine interlock fabric that I bought. I spent 2 hours trying to fix the tension and it just wasn't working. I did some investigation on sergers and asked my Bernina Yahoo group about their preferences and the winner was Baby Lock without a doubt. I went to the store and the 2 sergers that I was interested in were the Imagine and the Evolution. The Imagine is a 4-thread, and the Evolution is up to a 8-thread. I took home the Imagine but the Evolution is playing with my head. All for one stitch which is the Cover/Chain Stitch. Does anyone have any opinions on either of these machines?

It sews like a dream without any tension changes. I don't know how it does it but you can go from thick fabric to very thin fabric and it does it perfectly. And to thread this serger is something else, it threads by 'jet-air'. Now that's unbelievable. The ladies at the store say that they serge when they quilt. I can't quite imagine that.......

The most amazing thing that I heard this week was that my daughter is just a tiny bit interested in learning to sew. She saw some 'arm warmers' that she thought were so cute. When she visits for Christmas, I will have to show her how easy those are to make on a serger! I can't wait to see her.

Sewing Machine Cover

2009-11-28T18:32:00.000-08:00

This little project took me forever, because I just kept playing with which embroidery design I would use. I put a different one on each side. The embroidery was fun, but putting it together turned out to be a pain because I used clothesline for the piping and those upper corners were tough. I changed the foot on my machine to a #70 and that made all the difference.

My quilting is on hold as I keep finding other projects to do. Yesterday I made a twisted turtleneck tunic!!! I haven't made clothes since I was pregnant and that was quite awhile ago. I made it really quick and it turned out pretty cute. I wore it yesterday with skinny jeans and some boots and the men in the house were quite impressed. The picture isn't too great, the wind was blowing and it was freezing outside. I think I will be making more clothing, it was fun.

Step Two in the flea market fancy giveaway

2009-11-20T17:51:00.000-08:00

Not much blogging lately huh? Work has been extremely busy and I just get home and sleep. I now have 4 days off. I have been doing some sewing, trying to finish a sewing machine cover, it's almost finished. Hopefully will post a picture tomorrow? I'll try anyway.

Sleepless in Seattle

2009-11-01T01:35:00.000-07:00

It's one of those nights and I can not sleep. I took a headache pill, which can make me drowsy, but it hasn't started working yet. I am reading quilting blogs and decided to write on my own.

My sister called me today and is looking at a new sewing machine. She doesn't even sew. The saleslady is trying to sell her the Bernina 440QE. This is a really nice machine, a bit over her head, but she called me to get my opinion on the price, etc. I hope she gets it, she deserves something nice for herself. She is interested in learning to quilt. The machine is selling for $2899 brand new from a dealer. Not a bad price for that machine. Something tells me that she won't spend that much!

I did some playing with the embroidery on my machine. My next project is going to be a sewing machine cover. My old machine had a hard plastic cover that was easy to put on, but this machine came with a soft case that I would only use if I was taking it someplace or putting in a closet and since my machine sits out on a table, it needs a cover.

My nephew is having a baby and I just bought some embroidery designs that are so cute. I can't wait to make something. A bib would be something quick and fun. One of the designs says "big brother", I could make that for Jakob who will be a big brother in about 6 months :) Here is a picture of my little sweetie that I never get to see because he is 200 miles away.
This was at his Grandma's house, the toy is one of his daddy's from 30 years ago. I can't find any better pictures than this one. I hope to see him soon. He lives on the other side of the mountains.

It's a good thing that daylight savings starts tonight, at least I get another hour to sleep. It is now nearly 2am, which means it is really now 1am. That doesn't sound nearly so bad.

I am buying embroidery thread online. I heard about this site that sells Isacord 1000m for just $3.15. I pay that at JoAnn's for Sulky and it only has 225m(250 yards) on it. Husbands don't know that you can easily spend $100 on thread. You agree that they don't need to know those things right?

I need to get up in 6 hours to go to church...... I really must get some sleep......I put a really comfty chair in my sewing room that I am sitting in right now. I find myself spending all my time in this room, big tv, nice sewing machine, everything I need......

Pumpkin

2009-10-28T04:53:00.000-07:00

If you look closely, you will be able to see that there is a dog carved in this pumpkin. Can you see it? It's a Golden Retriever......This was made by my husband, the artist.

Here is a real picture of Murph, he isn't posing for the pumpkin on this shot. But he does like to pose. Wish I could stay home with him, but it's off to work for me.

H1N1

2009-10-26T12:56:00.000-07:00

Have you received your H1N1 shot or intranasal vaccine? I encourage everyone to get it. There are several of my nurses that are refusing but after having a few deaths in my hospital on healthy low-risk patients, I am ready to get mine. Although we are short on our supply, I will get mine as soon as I am able. I work at a major trauma hospital and I am surprised that even we are not able to receive enough vaccines. Age 2- 49 get the intranasal and over 50 get the shot.

The Christmas season will soon be here and I am starting to make some Christmas gifts, here is a start of one. Not sure what it is going to be : ) A pillow? A potholder? A pocket on an apron?

We are still working on finishing up the sewing room and also the guest bedroom. It has taken up a few weekends now and I am ready to get that over with. Spending lots of money on things I don't want to be spending money on. Like closets. I am wanting to buy some of the new Amy Butler fabric!!

My Sewing Room is almost finished!!

2009-10-19T09:50:00.000-07:00

This is the way it looks when you enter the tiny bedroom, I mean, sewing room, I mean, "studio".

I love Gerbera daisies.

I will be getting a larger cutting area but right now this will work.

My husband threw away the blinds, it's off to Home Depot to order some new ones. At least I have a beautiful yard to look at. My husband does a great job out there!

So there is my room, the other wall will have a cutting table, which resides at Ikea for now. I have a nice comfty chair that you can't see and the closet is way cool. Not ready for prime time yet.....

What do you think?

October

2009-10-16T06:13:00.001-07:00

October is half over. Can you believe it? My sewing room is almost finished being painted. I fell asleep on the couch, as usual, around 8:30 last night while he was painting. I checked out the room this morning and all he has left is the trim work and the inside of the closet. I ordered a new closet system from Storables which I will pick up tomorrow. That was over $700, lots to spend on a closet I suppose.

Having some health issues. Going to my main doc this morning. Had a terrible 'procedure' done on Monday. It was absolutely the worst pain in my life and as a nurse, I cannot believe they would even do that without some sedation. The doc said they might have to do it again as she does not know if they got enough tissue to sample. That will be up to the pathologist. Well, doc, next time, it will be done in the OR with anesthesia, because I am not doing that again!

Here is a block I did awhile back, I did about 10 of them, all wonky different. I should get back to this and finish it, but as you might guess, I have lots of unfinished stuff laying around, which is one reason a $700 closet system was purchased. I am so ready to get this room organized!!

By the way, the block is from my favorite blogger, Jacquie, from TallgrassPrairie. I think the circle fabric is the exact fabric that she had posted on her blog some months back. She is my inspiration. She has a tutorial on how to make wonky log cabins if you are interested, right here.

Christmas Fabric

2009-10-15T04:47:00.000-07:00

Is it me or does the fabric for Christmas completely suck? I would like to make some Christmasy stuff but I don't see any fabric that gets me excited to do anything with. For example this, it's cute but I don't have anyone in my family who does Christmas in blue.

I don't want traditional prints, but I do want traditional reds in some bright contemporary Christmas fabric.

Excuse me, I suppose I should be calling it holiday fabric just to make sure I am politically correct. NOT!!

Apple Green

2009-10-12T08:59:00.000-07:00

This is the color that my new sewing room will be. At least it reminds me of it. Bright and cheery. The paint is in the cans, just waiting for hubby to get busy. I could do it myself but he so loves to think it's a man's job. Go for it honey. I just want my walls green!

Authentic potholder

2009-10-10T20:52:00.000-07:00

My mother is having a birthday. I had to make something quick! She doesn't want presents, at 81, she says she needs nothing. I know she would love something that I made, so here it is, it will 'match' her kitchen, with her black granite countertops with a slight touch of green in it. Green, her fav color.

A matching apron will be made tomorrow.

My mom has the same Le Creuset in Kiwi. It looks so cute.

This is the backside.

I love to make these potholders, especially when the quilting starts.

Quilt Top- Fall Colors

2009-09-30T05:07:00.000-07:00

I have been busy making the back bedroom (since the kid left) a sewing room. My dining room is now a dining room again. I did do some sewing and finished a quilt top. I was ready to quit on this top because of certain blocks I don't like, but instead of throwing it in the pile of never to finish stuff, I decided to keep those blocks in. Now that it is finished, I have decided to use the embroidery on my machine and add some butterflies to the blocks I don't like. I will post that picture when I get brave enough to embroider right on top of a finished top!

Flea Market Fancy by Denyse Schmidt

2009-09-12T05:18:00.000-07:00

This is the line of fabrics that so many quilt bloggers are trying to have reprinted. A petition is going around to sign. You can find it here: http://sewtakeahike.typepad.com/fleamarketfancyfreaks/

How to find a quilt store via your iPhone

2009-09-11T14:12:00.000-07:00

It's really fun to take road trips and find quilt stores in the middle of nowhere or find them all over a big city! It's easy, just open up Maps. Tap on Search, Tap on the magnifying glass in the upper left corner. This will open your search. Then just type in "quilt stores", and whatever area you are in, red pins will drop down all over the map, wherever a quilt store is!! You can also type in "quilt stores in Indianapolis" or wherever. Then tap a red dot and the name of the quilt store will appear, tap on the right arrow thing and it will take you to a screen with the address, phone number, and website for that quilt store. BUT the coolest thing is that you can then tap, "Directions to Here", you will get all the directions you need to get to that quilt store!!! Any questions please write me. Sandy, thanks for asking!!!!

Country Quilt

2009-09-10T21:58:00.000-07:00

This is a block for the quilt that the husband wants. The fabric was found in Whitefish, Montana at the cutest quilt store. I have made 4 blocks and then got interested in other projects. He doesn't understand that!

My machine is needing to go to the doctor. For some reason the tension is not what it should be and that has me all crazy since it is a brand new machine and cost me a fortune.

I am on my way to Indiana for a week, so there will be no sewing for awhile. I will also be driving to South Carolina for a few days. I will search for quilt stores via my iPhone, which is such a cool feature of the GPS. Maybe my kids will let me stop at a few of them, but they are driving, I am just the passenger.

It is time to start packing, my plane leaves in 8 hours!!! and I still need to get some sleep!

Baby Quilt Ideas anyone?

2009-09-09T18:58:00.000-07:00

I just found out the great news that my one and only nephew, Aaron, is having another baby. Grandma (my mom) doesn't even know yet. I need to get some ideas for a contemporary baby quilt. Any ideas anyone? They have a beautiful baby boy, who is 1 1/2 years old, named Jakob. We don't know what we are getting, another boy or a girl. Either way, a quilt is in the making.

Flea Market Fancy

2009-09-07T14:33:00.000-07:00

I just saw a yard of this fabric going for $40 on ebay. I can't believe that. I never got any of this line, I would like some, but I will not be paying more than $9.50 a yard!! I wonder how it's going with the group of quilters trying to bring the line back into production ( I did join the group ).

I am going to Ikea to turn the back bedroom into a sewing room instead of the dining room. The kid leaves in 2 weeks, and it won't have room for him to sleep in any more. Just kidding, he has found room on the floor to sleep all summer long. Funny thing, he had a bedroom with a queen size bed, but he preferred to sleep on the floor in my exercise room. I don't get it.....I know it used to be his bedroom, but his bed and stuff are away at college. The kid doesn't like change....

cup of coffee for the afternoon

2009-09-03T15:17:00.000-07:00

I took the day off, and have been running around town, first to Lowe's, then to a quilt store, then to the grocery store. Now the day is almost over and I still haven't cut any fabric. Maybe a cup of Tully's will give me some energy. Tully's is a great coffee place in Seattle that most people around the country don't know about. Many people I know like it better than Starbucks. Imagine that. I think I like this French Roast better than the Italian Roast.

Okay, back to my fabric cutting.......

fabric for coin quilt

2009-09-03T11:00:00.000-07:00

lots of washing and ironing done today. I think I need more blue. A coin quilt is in my future. Today, I needed a mental health day from work. I stayed home. Fabric is great therapy. One thing I don't have is a design board. So it's off to Lowe's for me. Then I will return and start cutting. Unfortunately, work will be needing me tomorrow......

potholder

2009-08-31T16:30:00.001-07:00

This is not what I had planned for today, but this is what I ended up making.

and here is the backside.....

I love orange.......

I am Nuts

2009-08-30T10:30:00.000-07:00

what can i say? I just spent another $150 online worth of fabric. I decided the fat quarters I bought yesterday were not enough to do much with so I wanted to add a bit to them. Now I have to figure out how to get to the mailbox before the husband sees this delivery. I bought a combination of Joel Dewberry, Valori Wells, Amy Butler, and Kaffe Fassett. All in the colors of orange and browns. I must feel that Fall is in the air. QuiltHome.com is fun to play with their 'design wall'. I think I just spent an hour playing......

Here is a picture of the Objects of Desire Pinwheel quilt top.

What have I accomplished today?

2009-08-29T21:55:00.000-07:00

Another Saturday is near the end, and did I get anything finished? No. My new sewing machine was doing strange things and I rushed it to the hospital. Well, by the time I drove the 30 miles, I decided I should try a few things first. I walked around that huge quilt store and was not inspired by anything. I went to another quilt store north of Seattle called The Quilting Loft and did buy another $40 worth of fabric.

I changed the thread in my machine and now it is working just fine. Could my Bernina be that sensitive? My Viking never complained about thread. I was using some Italian thread called Aurifil. It was $10!! I stopped at JoAnn Fabrics and bought some Gutermann's. My machine apparently prefers German thread. I must say that the automatic threader, the automatic cutter, and everything seems to work better with Gutermann's thread.

Here is some of the fabric I picked up at the Quilting Loft. I love the polka dots of course. I was thinking maybe a coin quilt. I have never made one of those. I did finish the top of a pinwheel quilt, but i am not that crazy about it. Maybe I will take a picture of it tomorrow with something other than my iPhone.

Here's the best dog

2009-08-27T05:41:00.000-07:00

Backyard

2009-08-27T05:39:00.001-07:00

My potting shed.

Coneflowers

2009-08-27T05:37:00.001-07:00

I love my cone flowers. Hubby found these hiding so he replanted them here.

In the Yard

2009-08-27T05:34:00.000-07:00

One of the best things about living in the northwest is having berries grow all over the place!! I went to get the mail and found blackberries. Now I have to make a pie, or a cobbler.

my bernina baby

2009-08-21T06:03:00.000-07:00

Have i ever said how much i love my new machine....sometimes i just like to look at it .....tomorrow is saturday, i hope husband goes golfing, because then i have hours and hours to spend sitting in front of this fancy thang......maybe one day i will actually finish a quilt......

Backside

2009-08-16T18:33:00.000-07:00

Here is the other side of the silly pincushion....

2009-08-16T18:31:00.001-07:00

Today I found something to put all my ribbons in. One of these days, I might get a real sewing room instead of using the dining room table....

2009-08-16T18:29:00.001-07:00

I got a new charm pack from Moda. It is Authentic which I have been anxiously awaiting it's arrival. So far I have only been able to get the charm pack but once available I will be ordering lots more of this stuff, I LOVE IT!!

I don't know why I have been making so many pincushions, but here is another one....

2009-08-07T15:50:00.001-07:00

I am still in Montana, the husband is golfing. I went to a quilt store and bought some fabric. I have been looking for cherry fabric to make a pin cushion, but having a hard time finding cherry fabric where I live. This store in Polson was full of cherries, apparently they have a cherry festival so cherries are quite popular. Not much to do sitting in this motel but wish I had my new machine to play with. Good thing I brought my laptop.

2009-08-06T06:12:00.000-07:00

Here's a picture of my real new machine.

2009-08-06T06:08:00.000-07:00

It's a family reunion and I was told they want items for an auction that will benefit the next reunion. My mother suggests I bring the pincushion I made a few weeks ago.

Look, it's reversible

2009-08-06T06:03:00.000-07:00

it's off to Montana for me. I hate to think of leaving the new machine. Here are a couple of blocks for my next quilt.

2009-08-03T05:21:00.000-07:00

The machine is in the house! I have been very busy playing with it. Last night, I finally embroidered. I have just a few days before we take off for a road trip to Montana. I hope to get the binding on the quilt so I can hand stitch it in the car. I hope to drive by a quilt store or two on our way to Polson. Does anyone know of any cute stores from Seattle to Polson, Montana?

2009-07-28T11:39:00.000-07:00

So I really don't have that machine yet, but I just might have it in a few hours. After using the Bernina's BSR, I just couldn't believe it. I needed to have it. I have a good machine, but it doesn't seem to be anything like the way the Bernina stitches, isn't that what they say. 'nothing sews like a bernina. nothing'. I think that just might be true....

2009-07-28T02:11:00.000-07:00

It's mine.

2009-07-27T20:58:00.001-07:00

I want that machine so bad!!!!!

2009-07-27T20:46:00.000-07:00

I am so excited!!! I left work a little early today, then I drove to Bellevue, WA. to check out a quilt store. I haven't lived here long enough to know the quilt stores around here, but now i have found MY FAV!!! It's in BELLEVUE. It is called QuiltsWorks Northwest!!! OMG!!! I didn't have alot of time, and before I knew it, someone named Jean? was asking me if I was interested in seeing any machines. Well, yes, as a matter of fact, I am interested in the Bernina 730E. I was shown this machine 2 weeks ago, but this lady showed me stuff that I couldn't believe. Bernina has introduced 830 machine which is the top of the line. I don't think I am ready to spend the $10,000 or $12,000 that the stores want for that machine, but the good part is that there seem to be plenty of women who are trading their 730's for the 820's!!! So, today I am offered this 730E for $4999.00. It has 18 hours of sew time. I put $100 down to hold it for me. Now I have to figure out a way to tell the husband, who I know would rather spend money on elsewhere. I need to figure this out. What should I do??? Tell me please!!

2009-07-23T05:54:00.000-07:00

Almost done with that quilt, can't wait to start something else. I just saw 2 new Moda fabric lines coming out in August that look fun. They are Panache and Santorini!! Check them out.

2009-06-28T22:14:00.000-07:00

there are so many quilts I want to make, if only I had the time, it makes me dizzy to think of all the quilts floating around in my head.....

2009-06-28T17:08:00.000-07:00

This is the book that my quilt came from. The one in the book is done in mostly pinks and purple. The forward is from Kaffe Fassett. The colors are very bright! I am working hard appliqueing all the flowers. I am almost finished doing that. Now I am off to the store to get some food for dinner.....

2009-06-28T14:20:00.000-07:00

I am looking into a new sewing machine. I own the Husqvarna/Viking 1+. It is perfectly fine, but I often dream of owning a Bernina. I don't know why. My Viking has the embroidery features that I only play with. I have never made anything with embroidery in it, so I don't think an embroidery machine is necessary although I still love to look at a machine that can embroider. I am looking at the Bernina 440QE. The Viking store tried to sell me the Sapphire 870. It would be around $2000, special sale. The Bernina I think is around $3500 regular price. The one thing I like about the Viking is that is has an automatic cutter. If you want that on a Bernina, you have to get the the Artista 640E. I think that goes for around $8000!!!! Do I need a cutter? Any comments?

Black and White Flower Applique Quilt

2009-06-27T07:32:00.000-07:00

Starting a new quilt!! This pattern is from the book, Material Obsession. I just love that name! The authors are from Australia. They have written a new book called Material Obsession 2, not available yet on Amazon, but I will get it as soon as I can. The book is a total stretch for me, stepping way out of my box. The colors are bright and colorful, I love them but at the last minute I decided to stay in my box and use black and whites.