Hot Stuff!

It's been quite slow around here.  I'm not moving very fast...or getting much done.  Though I would prefer to stay indoors in the air conditioning, there are times when I must go outside...to drive to/from work...to potty Tag...important times like that.  I tell ya...the heat and humidity seem to sap whatever energy I have right out of me. 

I know there are places much hotter and people much worse off than me, so I am not really complaining.  Just saying that not much has been getting done during this heat wave.

I did have a finish, though!  Here it is...  

It's a runner for my dresser...one of the panels I had made for curtains (see this post) and didn't use.  I used the same linen/cotton blend for the back that I used on the front.  (looks different color because I took the photos in different rooms at different times of day...top photo is more accurate.)

 

Details...

Kashmir III by Sentimental Studios for Moda

Essex Linen by Robert Kaufman in Natural

Pattern by Erin of Why Not Sew? fame.

22 x 48 after laundering.

The runner matches this yet-to-be-finished quilt top first shown here.  

This is the first time that I've used linen (55% linen/45% cotton blend) and I must say, I am very happy with it.  

I've been doing some knitting, too.  I also have an embroidery project in the beginning stages.

I'm very happy that it is Friday night...going to stitch and sew all weekend!  

Hope you have a good weekend, too.  Stay cool! 


"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

Not so much...

I've been trying to take care of a problem with Google...seems I have conflicting accounts.  Yeah, I have no idea.  Well, I sort of do, but would really rather not have to deal with it.  {sigh}  

In the meantime, I was not able to sign in to my blog for almost a week!  Not good at all. 

But, as  you can see, I found the way.  For now, anyway.

I have been a bit productive.  Just a bit, though.  I took those filmstrip panels I showed a few posts ago, and added sashing and borders to make this quilt top.  I am in love.  (yes, again.)  I am hoping to get the backing done soon. 

 

I made full-length curtains for the big 3-pane window in the kitchen.  Not so much in love with them...but that's okay.  They are serving a purpose.  There is no photo.

Kaylynn was here 2 weekends ago.  I took her to see the movie, "Madagascar 3"...we had a great time!  I'm hoping to take her with me on a mini-vacation in a few weeks.

I was almost in a panic when I couldn't write a post to my blog.  Apparently, there was no need to get all hysterical about it...seems that not so much is going on around here these days.  

Oh!  But, hey!  Here's something to look forward to...Sharon and I are about to begin piecing the fabric blocks for our Snow Days quilts.  She'll probably get started this week...I may need to finish up a few things before I start in on that part of the project. 

Hot, hot, hot weather this week.  Central air is on. 

"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 Found It!!

Yup, I did!

I found it!

My motivation.

My inspiration.

My desire to create.

My joy of sewing.

YAY!

It's been a few weeks since I felt like doing much of anything.  Having company, dealing with extra stresses at work, having a few serious issues on my mind, the inability to relax when I get home...and, of course, the finales of DWTS and American Idol!...all of those have played a part in my not getting much of anything done.  Ya know?   

But, first!  And, I won't bore you with the long story.  The short version is this...I am in need of curtains and was really pushing myself to make them using the fabric I had purchased 4 years ago, which isn't nearly as fun as I thought it was back then...and so I had a fabulous idea to use my Kashmir III fabric...started putting panels together...decided that they were much too pretty to use as curtains.  I know!  It didn't take long for me to think that they would make better table/dresser runners and...a quilt!  For me!  Like I need another quilt.  Yet, I have always planned to make a quilt for myself with this fabric.  

Kashmir III is the fabric I used to make this quilt.    

So.  Here are the panels for my quilt.  If you were to rotate the photo 90 degrees, you could easily see how these would make fabulous curtain panels!  Yes?

I am at the point of deciding what to use for the sashing and borders.  Perhaps a trip to my lqs is in order.  And, I have 3 more panels with the reds/golds/blacks of the Kashmir III collection that I'll make the runners with.  

I still have the project waiting that I mentioned a few weeks ago.  With the Curio fabric collection.  Everything is together and waiting on my cutting table.  And, you know, Snow Days is still waiting!  Pure bliss, I tell ya.  To think about working on those 2 projects. 

  

So.  That's it.  I am off and running on this Saturday morning!   I hope to have more to show you by the end of the weekend.

Have a great day!

"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

First Things First...

There are times when one must

do what really must come first.

Stop.

Change direction.

To me, this really did come first.

Before everything else on my list.  

I needed a cover for my Kindle Touch.

So, I made one.

I used some fabric squares
and a neutral fabric (that I wish I had yards more of!).

Kashmir III is an older fabric...

one of my absolute faves!

Kashmir is also the name of a
Led Zeppelin song that I absolutely love!

Now that the cover is done,
I will move on.

Hope you're enjoying the day.

"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

Blogger's Quilt Festival::Spring 2011

Amy, of Amy's Creative Side, is once again hosting the Blogger's Quilt Festival!  This is a fun time for all blogging quilters to share a quilt that is special to them.  Click on the button to check out and be inspired by all of the special quilts.

The quilt I'm sharing will forever be one of my faves.  For a couple of reasons...the fabric and the purpose.  

The moment I saw this fabric, I was in love.  It is Kashmir III by Sentimental Studios for Moda.  It's an older line and  difficult to find anymore.  I was fortunate to find a fat quarter bundle and yardage.  Yet, it sat unused for a very long while because I wasn't sure what to do with it.

When I heard that a coworker's sister had pancreatic cancer, I knew that this was the intention of this fabric...to become a quilt for Carole.  I went with a simple look...a lap quilt made up of nine-patch blocks with sashing and a floating squares border.  

Carole loved it.

 

I feel very blessed that I was able to make this quilt for Carole...to help provide her with some comfort.  

Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with all thy might. - Ecclesiastes 9:10

FNSI...What I Did

Last night was a successful FNSI!

I made 2 cell phone cozies for a friend.

Just simple sleeves that measure ~2.5 x 4.5.

Made of 3 layers...lining, batting and outside fabric.

And, I made a tote for a different friend.

Used my fave fabric of all time...Kashmir III.

Just a simple tote with one shoulder strap.

This one measures ~9 x 12 x 3 inches.

I didn't quilt this one,

but I did use a heavy interfacing to give it body.

There are 3 pockets across one side inside of the tote.

If, perchance, she doesn't like it,

I will be more than happy to keep it for myself.

{grin}

Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with all thy might. - Ecclesiastes 9:10

A Small Project Finished

Not so long ago, I blogged about this here.

And, now it is finished.

I really love it...

but then, I love all the quilty things I make.

It measures about 30 x 34 inches. 

The backing is premium muslin.

Nothing exciting.

Purely functional.

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

You know, when I first started quilting,

I finished each project before I started another.

Not so, anymore!

I have 4 completed quilt tops waiting to

be sandwiched/basted/bound.

Why is that?

I have no clue.

Perhaps because my creative juices

are flowing somewhere close to warp speed
and I am having fun trying to keep up.
Don't know.

But, it's an interesting thought. 

Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with all thy might. - Ecclesiastes 9:10

A Small Project Started

As I said in yesterday's post, 

I haven't done much sewing at all lately.

I was kind of restless this 
evening & really wanted to sew.

I have a ton of projects...but what to work on?

I started a small one. 
One that wasn't really on my list.

Needed that feeling of accomplishment, I guess.

I pulled out my Kashmir III charm pack, 

cut the charms in half and,

in about 2 hours, had this done.

Measures about 30 x 37 inches.

It won't take long to baste/quilt/bind.

hmmmm...it looks vaguely familiar to me.

ohyeah!  It resembles this one...

Here's the story.

In early summer of 2009,

Brenis and I each bought a charm pack

of Kashmir III (the same fabric I later bought

a fat quarter bundle of, which I

recently used for Carole's quilt).

Brenis and I were going to make

each other a small quilt.

She made that one up there for me.

I surprised her by not using the Kashmir III charms.

Instead, and because she had been raving about

red & white wonky log cabin quilts, 

I made this one for her.

Yup, that is quilted with red thread.

Pretty daring of me only 7 months into quilting,

don't you think?

I feel better, now.

Ya know, for having used my sewing machine.

And, Naomi Janome is happy.  {grin}

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

Oh.  I found some more rug hooking books.

Well, I didn't actually find them.

They were sitting right there on the shelf.

Not sure why I didn't see them last weekend.

I'll be listing them on my selling blog tomorrow.

I need to work on organizing my woolens, too.

Hope you have a great weekend!

Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with all thy might. - Ecclesiastes 9:10

Kashmir Quilt...

It's done!

So, I'll take it to work today.

Geri hasn't asked, and I haven't

volunteered any information

on how this quilt for her sister

was coming along.
She might be surprised.

I had originally planned to have

it done last week, but running

out of thread while quilting 

really threw me off schedule.

No matter.

It's done now.

It's just a simple 9-patch,

but I am in love.

And, very happy that

I have enough of this fabric

to make myself a quilt.

{grin}

Here it is...all crinkly soft 

(not the best colors...the sun was really bright)

 I'll try to remember to take

photos at work with Geri.

Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with all thy might. - Ecclesiastes 9:10

Kaylynn at the Fair...and Progress.

Kaylynn starts kindergarten this year.

I cannot believe it!

I haven't seen her for awhile.

Her last visit was scheduled 
when I had pneumonia,

so we canceled it.

With school starting and all,

it'll be a few more weeks until I see her. 

I called her on Friday
and I'll talk with her again on Tuesday,
to find out about her first day of school.

Kaylynn's Mom sent these photos today.
They went to a fair...
looks like Kaylynn had a good time.

 

 

 She makes my heart sing.

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

I have a dilemma.

I ran out of thread.
I'm 1/2 done with the Kashmir quilt.

Cannot believe I didn't check

to make sure I had enough!

(and remember, I was at the quilt shop yesterday!)

I'm on a (self-imposed) schedule, here.

With tomorrow being Labor Day,

I won't be able to get more until Tuesday.

Bummer.

I wonder if I could trim the quilt 

and put the binding on the half that's done?

So I could start the hand-sewing.

There wouldn't be any wasted time that way.

What do you think?

I cannot think of a good reason not to do that.

Here's how the quilt looks thus far...

Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with all thy might. - Ecclesiastes 9:10

Kashmir...

I just now finished the quilt top.

And, I am in love with it.

Totally.

I'll have to make one for me.

For sure.

Someday.

This is the quilt I am making

for my coworker's sister, Carole,

who has pancreatic cancer.
Right now, it measures 66 inches square.

(it'll shrink some each way with washing/drying)
 

I am right on schedule.

Though, changing my mind about

the borders almost did me in.

I love these floating squares borders,

but there's a lot more to making them than

just adding widths of fabric for borders.

You know?

I think they add so much more to the quilt, though.

I did the same type of border 

on me Mum's Iced Mocha quilt.

See it here.

Now, all I need to do is sew two
pieces of fabric together to make the backing

and I'll be ready to sandwich/baste/quilt!

I'll have that done by the end of the weekend.

Oops, almost forgot...here's a closeup

of the sashing.  Isn't it pretty?

I need to give this a good pressing

before I do anything else with it.

That's all for tonight, though.

Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with all thy might. - Ecclesiastes 9:10

YAY! I met my goal...

I am so happy!

I finished the quilt top!
It measures about 58" square right now.

Will add a 4" border all around.

(okay, so technically, it's not done...the border will be the
same fabric as the backing/binding, which I don't have, yet.)

The fabric should arrive Tuesday.

So, will add the border,
and start to baste/quilt/bind it.

My plan is to take it to Geri on September 8th or 9th.

Luckily, I have a 3-day weekend between now & then,

so I am not feeling any pressure.

The fabric I used for the sashing is not
a solid as it looks in this photo.

I'll show a closer-up with the next photos I post.

These fabrics are so similar in value,
which means that there isn't a lot of contrast.

So, I thought that the best way to show them off
was to go with large/small prints in each block.

 Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with all thy might. - Ecclesiastes 9:10

It's All About Listening.

I am so excited to finally be home so that I can write this post!

Good things happening here with me.

So.  Ready?  Here's what happened.

I was thinking about my coworker, Geri,

and her sister, who was recently

diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.

An incidental finding.

Otherwise in excellent health.

She retired last year.

Expecting a grandbaby in December.

She has started chemotherapy,

her prognosis is not good.

It never is with pancreatic cancer.

(Go here if you're interested in knowing more.)

I was thinking about Geri because she was able

to rearrange her work schedule in order to go

to the chemotherapy appointments with her sister.

All of a sudden, I was overcome...

and I mean really overcome

with the desire to make a quilt for Geri's sister.

To take with her to the chemotherapy appointments.

But.  Since I have no idea if anyone in Geri's family

knits or crochets or quilts, I didn't want to make

something that wasn't needed.

So.  I asked Geri.

She was delighted and so happy!

We talked about colors.

I know that pink is breast cancer,

and that there are several colors designated

for all types of cancer and diseases.

Geri said it didn't really matter,

as long as the colors were not bright.

(you'll be relieved at that, hey Kelley?)

Well, I immediately thought of my Kashmir III fabric.

Muted colors.  Gorgeous colors.

Since buying the fat quarter bundle,

I have not decided what to make with it.

Now I know.

I tell you, had I not been at work,

there is no way that I would have been able

to hold back the tears.

I was so totally overwhelmed by the entire thing!

So moved by the Holy Spirit working inside of me.

Okay.  So, I am working away, trying to decide what pattern,

what block, all the details of the quilt.

I remembered that Leah, over at Burgundy Buttons,

has yardage of a Kashmir III fabric (on sale, even!)

that I could buy for the backing.

I would need to spend about $25.00.  

No biggie, I will just tighten my belt a bit more.

In the meantime, people who are going through

the medical record department are oohing and

ahhing over my little quilts.

Oh.  Did I forget to mention that?

I took my two doll quilt swap quilts

and my little 1800's quilt to work today.

Just to show everyone.

 

Chatting with one of the doctors about my quilts.

She asked if she could buy the little 1800's one.

Heck, yeah!

The sale of that gave me more than enough

money to cover what I need for the backing

for this special project I now have.

PRAISE GOD!

Thank you, God.

I am so blessed.

 

Faith.

It's all about faith.

And, trust.

In God.

 

I wish I knew a scripture that covered this.

Anyone?

Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with all thy might. - Ecclesiastes 9:10

Heaven...absolute Heaven!

Been saving pennies for a long time...and it's now mine!

Kashmir III fat quarter bundle.

I love this fabric collection!


Be sure to click on this photo to get a
good look at all 29 of the fabrics.
They are so yummy!

Block Party!

Nothing but blocks today...so far, anyway.

Here is my first block for the Bee Addicted 3 group. A wonky house in a forest clearing.

This quilting bee is so much fun already and we're just in the first month. Here's how it works: There are 12 members in this bee...it started this month and goes for 12 months. Each of us chose a month. At the beginning of each month, everyone (whose month it is not) gets a package (from the one whose month it is) with fabric and instructions on what that person wants. For example, September is Becca's month. She sent many different fabric scraps and stated that she wanted wonky houses and/or trees. We are to make one or more blocks. By the end of this month, we'll all send our completed block(s) to her and she'll have several blocks, including whatever she made herself. It's going to be a great experience!!!

Did you catch the lady bug in the window...the window with gingham curtains? I thought it was a great idea!!! Makes me smile!!

April 2010 is my month...I'm going to use either the Authentic or Kashmir III collections of fabric. Love them both! Thinking blocks with stars or whirlygigs, but there is lots of time to change my mind.

Also completed my next BOM...this is block 8. I had 2 to do this month and completely messed up the first one. Since I'll only be using 9 of the blocks for a lap size quilt, I will still have 11 to choose from. This block is much prettier in person...and that paisley? It's also a border fabric.

Time for lunch and then back to more sewing. More to show later.

Kashmir...

I walked into the credit union the other day and that song was playing...ya know...'Kashmir' by Led Zeppelin. Made me smile. I don't listen much to classic rock, anymore...mostly listen to my fave Christian music station. It was a nice surprise to hear it. Told the teller I couldn't leave until the song was over...and it's an eight plus minute song! ~grin~


As it happens, there is a fabric collection called Kashmir...can you believe that? Wonder if the designer was inspired by the LZ song? My fave is Kashmir III (I and II are nice, but III is to die for!!!) I totally and absolutely love it! So, hey...if you run across some and want to send it my way, well...I'll gladly accept!


I got a package in the mail today. I was in a 2-person mini quilt swap with Bren...and showed photos of the red/white wonky log cabin mini quilt I made for her here. Well, my mini arrived today. YAY!!


Ya know when you are so surprised at something that your mouth opens and you suck in your breath...gasp? Well, I about choked myself, I sucked in so much air!!! That's when I saw the front of this baby. ohmy. Bren had given me a peek at the quilted back and I was delighted with that. I knew she used Kashmir, but OH. MY. GOSH!!!! I had no idea how she used the Kashmir. This pattern is called stacked coins...or stacked chinese coins...or chinese coins. This mini quilt (measures ~29" square) is sooooo soft feeling and looking and...ohmygosh, I love it to death!!! (Kelley, ya don't need shades for this one!)
Check out the quilting...all swirly swirls!

Bren also sent along a 12" square cutting mat, a 12" wooden ruler, a pair of Fiskars scissors and 4 pieces of fabric...She is so fun!

Thank you so very much, Bren!