What I've Been Up To..

I'm guessing you all are wondering what I've been up to?

My village quilt is finished!  I will be sending it off to my longarmer very soon.  For those of you who know I have issues with 'random', you will be happy to hear (read) that the placement of the 132 little houses was completely random.  I threw all of them into a box, drew them out one by one and sewed them together in rows...and I think I switched out only once!  I love it!

This next quilt top was made in a week.  I had been inspired by the pattern of a backsplash shown on the Nate and Jeremiah show.  Just a simple layout, but it motivated me to use more of my scraps to make a nice lap quilt.  I will more than likely quilt this one, myself.

I also finished this scrappy crossroads quilt!

Whenever I get the urge to do some mindless sewing, cloth napkins appear...

And, I have been working on a quilt for sister Julie...putting together a bazillion components to begin with.  I will soon have something to show.

Lots going on, lots to write, but not now.  Soon.

Have a good week!


"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.". Jeremiah 29:11

Houses and (Cross) Roads...

No matter what we do or think, life moves along.  And, unfortunately, it usually moves at a faster pace than we would like, hey?  Life here in Canon City seems to move slowly...yet, here we are almost at the end of March!  

As usual, I have been busy sewing.

I am still building houses for the #sewingavillage party on Instagram.  It's so much fun to make them...and to see what everyone else is doing...different fabrics and individual touches.  There are 16 weeks to this sewing party and we are halfway through.  Here are the last 3 weeks.  

Week 6

Week 7

Week 8

I've completed a few small projects...

Trying out a napkin with fringes.  

Ya know...cloth napkins.

Julie did the embroidery and I finished this pillow cover.
Purple grunge for the backing.

Jill knitted a scarf and asked me to do the fringes.

I have a few more things completed, but am not able to show them, yet.  

And, of course, I started a new quilt.  Another scrap-busting one.  Here are 4 of the blocks laid out together...

Scrappy CrossRoads

I am following a tutorial by Lori of Bee In My Bonnet fame.  The blocks finish at 16" and, once you get a bazillion 4-patches put together, the blocks go together very quickly and easily.  

I have a list of several projects coming up.  You know that I am never at a loss for something to do.  

That's it for today.  Hope you're having a good one.


"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.". Jeremiah 29:11

Post Birthday...

Thank you one and all for the birthday wishes that I received via snail mail/email/Facebook/blog, etc.  You helped make my special day even more special!  I had a nice birthday.  No partying...no whooping it up.  Just spent time with family.  

Late in the afternoon, I received a call from the nursing home...letting me know that me Mum was on the way to the ED because she had fallen and hit her head on the bathroom sink.  She had quite a gash.  So, I spent 3 hours there with her.  She is doing okay and the staples (10 of them!) come out next week.  

On Saturday, I took my homemade angel food cake over to the nursing home and spent more time with my sisters and Mum.  (The cake was so good!)

I have been working on my 4th charity quilt for SBB Heart Builders.  The blocks are done...I just need to sew them together and then get the quilt top into the mail.

The #sewingavillage party over on Instagram is in its 3rd week...so to be on track, 24 houses have been made.  I am trying to keep ahead of the game by making a few every day or so.  The total number of houses for this village quilt is 132.  That makes for a lot of planning and cutting and sewing.  Mine will be mostly scrappy, but scrappy AND random is sometimes difficult for me to do.  I have so many scraps...and I am trying to decide what other scrappy project I can have in the works as long as I have scraps everywhere I look in my sewing room!!  Here are more of my houses...  

Week 2 houses

Week 3 houses

Remember the polka-dot quilt I showed a few posts ago?  Well, I was calling it the Dot quilt.  Funny story...Jill (recipient of the quilt) decided that, since Dot is an oft-used nickname for Dorothy, she would call her polka-dotted quilt, Dorothy.  But, then...where was Toto?  So, I made a Toto pillow cover for her!!!

Toto pillow cover

I also made a few more cloth napkins for my niece, Michelle (Jill's daughter), whose birthday was the 21st.

So, that's what is going on here...how about where you are?



"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.". Jeremiah 29:11

The One with No Excuses...

I have no excuse.  I have only good intentions.  Well, you know what they say about those, don't you?  Road to hell and all of that...

So.  I appear to have a problem with keeping my blog updated.  Unsure why this is, being retired and all.  Not like I leave the house for several hours a day or anything like that.  Ya know? 

Here's the solution I came up with.  I will stop in and update you all when I do and I guess that is the way it will be.  No excuses.  No apologies.  No pressure.  

Okay with you?

Thanks...I appreciate you.

Well, here it is another January.  (Happy New Year!)  This month is already almost gone, though.  Time sure has a way of moving way too fast lately.  There is nothing much new to tell you about.  I sew.  I visit me Mum in the nursing home.  I spend time with my sisters.  I go to the gym.  OH!  When I was in Madison last fall, I attended a chair yoga class taught by my friend, Kim.  I rather enjoyed it and am happy to report that there are a few similar classes here for me to attend.  YAY!  So, those are on my weekly schedule.  

I have a few things to show you.  May as well sit back and relax.  Prepare to be awed!  ~grin~

31 different dotted fabrics.  A quilt for my sister, Jill.  67.5 x 72.5 inches.

Back of dotted quilt.  Dots!

Cloth dinner napkins.

 

 

I made 60 (only 47 are shown) Kleenex cozies to give to staff and friends at Mom's nursing home.
I simplified them a bit...not as fancy but certainly as useful.

Counted Cross Stitch for my friend, Kim. ~5 x 7 inches.

Dish cloths and face cloths made with yarn that Brenis gifted me with in October.

Counted cross stitch by sister Julie.  Finished into a 5 x 5.5 inch pillow by me.

I have finished a few quilt tops...will show you once they are completed.

That's all the time I have today.  

It's almost the weekend...have a great one!!



"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.". Jeremiah 29:11

I Like Cloth Napkins and I Cannot Lie...

Actually, I love cloth napkins.  For two reasons.

1.)  In days long past, Christmas with my Gram was always special.  A wonderful day for many reasons...church, gifts, relatives, food...and because Gram brought out her good china, along with the linen tablecloths and napkins to dress the tables.  She made everything look so special.  I now have - and use - those tablecloths and napkins.  

2.)  When my sons were very young (well over 35 years ago), I decided that they needed to know there was more to the world than boys and men and rough and tough.  So, every Saturday, we had candlelight dinner...what we ate - spaghetti or steaks on the grill - wasn't the issue.  The issue was to learn how to sit at the table with grace and manners.  I made some cloth napkins to go with my fall-themed Corelle dinnerware.  It was time for the boys to learn to use something other than their shirt sleeves.  Okay, they never actually did that.  I just wanted them to know there was more than...well, whatever they thought there was.
   
Since that time, I've always had cloth napkins.  Didn't know I was being 'green' back then.  Just knew that it made sense to me to use something reusable.  

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The above was taken from a blog post 

I wrote back in November of 2013.

It made sense to repeat it here so that

you all know what the heck I'm talking

about as I go on about cloth napkins. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Back when I wrote that post, I didn't have much money to spend on Christmas gifts, so I decided to concentrate on making gifts.  I ended up making mostly napkins, with a few aprons tossed in the mix.  I believe I made 9 dozen napkins that year...and only had to buy for 2 sets.  That's a lot of fabric, hey?  

So, here we are 4 years later, and I have continued to make - and give away - cloth napkins.  After much experimentation, I have finally settled on the best sizes and the best way to finish the edges.  Which means, of course, that making them is an almost mindless task.  Something we all need to have in our sewing repertoire.  

I usually do not buy fabric specifically for napkin-making.  Rather, whenever I run across a piece of fabric in my stash that I decide I will not be using for anything, it goes into the 'for napkins or kleenex cozies' bin.  You've had that happen, right?  Look at a piece of fabric and wonder why you bought it?  And, you know.  Those pieces of fabric that you may consider ugly sometimes do actually make darn cute napkins.    

I use napkins every day.  Every meal.  I have not bought paper napkins for many, many years.  Here is most of my current collection...

my personal collection of snack and dinner napkins...
some florals, some dog-themed, some linen, and some fun ones

I must admit, though...these red and green napkins are used more than any of the other ones.  Just because.  

I usually have a few napkins on stand-by.  It is nice to have something on hand in the event a small gift is needed...sometimes a few napkins makes for the perfect choice.  This is my current stash of napkins (and I have several more ready to work on)...

this batch appears to be running in the flowery and bright theme!

Most of the napkins I make finish at 16"...not quite as large as a dinner napkin you will find in a nice restaurant, but certainly large enough to do the job.  These all have 3/4" hems and mitered corners.  

So, there you have it.  Do you use cloth napkins?  Do you make your own?

Napkins and kleenex cozies are my go-to for something to sew when I don't feel like expending much energy (i.e. brain power).

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.". Jeremiah 29:11

A Look Back...and Looking Ahead

First of all, I want to wish each and every one of you a very Happy New Year.  I trust that your holiday season was happy and bright...and that the year ahead is, as well.

Second of all, I feel the need to show off you what I made since my last post...or that I wasn't able to show you before because they were Christmas gifts.  

Okay, I did not make these spoons, but I ordered them custom-made!  I love them and will definitely order more in the future.  To see others, click HERE.

12 x 16 pillow cover for me Mum...notice the pintucks?  So cute.

A sweet tote/library book bag.  Measures about 13 x 12 x 3 inches.

These are grocery/tote bags (folded in half).  They are so useful to have (and to have more than one is even better!) Get the pattern HERE.  They are loved by all!!

                 

 A 16" pillow cover for sister Julie to go with the one in the last post.

Here's the back...all I had left of these fabrics (that match the pillow cover made previously and shown in the last post).  I messed up the measurements of the buttonholes...:(

Another small tote/library book bag.

A small pillow...it's an odd size (10 x 14, I think), so I also made the pillow insert.

Another 12 x 16 pillow cover...again with the pintucks.

I did not make this, either.  My friend, Claire (from Stoughton, WI...friend, vet, former landlady) made this for me.  It is absolutely beautiful...especially in person.  With the frame, it measures 12" square.

You didn't think you were going to make it through this post without seeing that I made more cloth napkins, did you?

These cloth napkins are for a 6 year old boy...must have smaller ones for little hands.

So.  That's the last of what I did in 2016.  One of these days I will have all of the links in the 'finished in 2016' page.

It was a good year...mostly.  The best thing that happened was that me Mum and sister moved here. More family is always a good thing, yes?  

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

As usual, I have a mile-long list of things I would like to accomplish this year.  I think that 2017 is going to be a good year for me, though...especially craft-wise.  And, I am still trying to purchase only fabrics that I need to finish what is already started. Instead of buying just because I like the collection and want to use it for something someday.  Ya know?    

Well, that's all I have for now.  I really would like to blog more often...we shall see how that goes.

Wishing for you a happy and healthy year.  Thank you for reading.




"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.". Jeremiah 29:11

Hello There!!

Well, hello there!  I have been absent for way too long!  Gosh, I just didn't realize how long it had been, and once I did...well, it became longer because I knew it would take a bit of time to sit down and catch you all up on what's going on around here.

Not that there is much that is exciting...if anything, at all.  Just busy.  And, more busy.

Things are going well with Mum being here...and looking more positive.  Back in late October, she had abdominal surgery.  Went to the ER with a distended abdomen...found air in her abdomen, which was leaking through a very thin wall in a small portion of her colon.  Removed and resected.  Good deal.  She did well...very little pain afterwards.  At this time, she is experiencing a bit of progression with her Parkinson's Disease, but she is stronger than she has been since she moved here and we're determined to build on that.

Jill and I had lunch with Brenis in November.  We met about halfway between here and Aurora...ate at 3 Margaritas restaurant and spent a few hours chatting and laughing and exchanging gifts. Brenis' birthday was in June...you wonder why she was getting her birthday gifts in November?  Well, the thing is, we had been trying to get together (as in, trying for her to come and stay a few days) since before her birthday.  Not sure why she brought gifts for me, but who am I to say no to gifts of fabric and a 24" Omnigard ruler??  LOVE it!!!

Brenis

Brenis did some quilting for me.  Fabulous quilting!  You may have noticed that the list of flimsies (on my sidebar) has gotten shorter. That's because I have gotten 5 quilts finished this fall.  YAY!!!  I showed you both the HST String and the Anna Maria Horner patchwork quilts here.   Bren quilted the Kashmir Filmstrip quilt, the Lotta Jansdotter patchwork quilt, and a baby girl granny square quilt. I need to launder them and will get some good photos, so you should be seeing them very soon.

I have been working on Christmas gifts.  Cannot show you much of anything...except for some extra things I made.

This Patchwork Christmas Tree Pillow was so fun and easy to do. Sherri, over at A Quilting Life blog, shared it here.  I did not do the patchwork border, so my pillow cover measures 12".

I was planning on turning this next piece into a pillow cover, but left it as a mini mat, instead.  Jennie, over at the Clover and Violet blog, offered this free Pixelated Present quilt block pattern...find it here.   I didn't do the pixelated part, but I think it is dang cute as is. I made it to measure 12", I think.  

Also, I made this mini quilted zipper pouch.  I found the tutorial here.  I plan to make more.  Cuz how could I not?  And, besides, this one is mine...you may have recognized that it is made with Kashmir III fabric.  (it's okay if you did not know that.)  It measures 4" wide by 2.75" high by 2" deep.  Love that big metal zipper on the little pouch, don't you?  This has got to be one of the most adorable little zipper pouches ever.  EVER.

I made a 16" pillow cover and fabric basket for sister Julie's birthday.  Fabric is from the Purebred collection by Erin Michael.  Love it!!

Then, just because I could, I made some cloth napkins.

2 odd remnants of fabric.  Playing around with decorative stitches on the blue one.

These are from the Blossom fabric collection by Urban Chiks.  2009?

2 different pairs.

Lots more sewing for Christmas going on, but nothing else I can show you.


And, here are a few random photos...

Me Mum on Thanksgiving Day.

Pumpkin French Toast.  YUMMY!!

Ran across this...it is exactly how I feel about Tag.

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.". Jeremiah 29:11