I've Been Working...

But not on the railroad! 

I've been working on the wonky charm quilt.  Made lots of progress, but then had to wait for some fabric to arrive.  I am making two sizes...the larger blocks measure 6.5" and the little ones measure 3.5"...aren't they dang cute?  

I also started working on something for the brown dog.  Here's a peek...

I think it's a bit too girly for him, but Tag is fine with that. 

So.  That's what I've been doing.

I am 3 for 3 for my picks on my fave shows this season!  Caleb Johnson won American Idol, Meryl and Maks won Dancing with the Stars and Josh Kaufman won The Voice...congratulations to all!

 
 
"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

Well, Of Course It Didn't...

Best laid plans and all of that...today was not the day to spring clean my bedroom.  No summer bed.  Yet.  ~sigh~  My fault.  It will come.  Soon.  

So, what did I do with my day?  I started a quilt, of course!  Remember I said I was wanting to make one?  Well, I gave in.

But first. Those of you who have been reading my blog for awhile may remember this quilt...

front

back

It's the wonky charm quilt I made back in 2011...from a design by Erin of Why Not Sew?.  I loved making this quilt!  I used Sherbet Pips fabrics by Aneela Hoey and Kona cotton solid in white.   I don't usually make more than one quilt of the same design (with the exception of postage stamp and patchwork quilts), but when my last box from Cathy contained a lot of A Walk in the Woods fabrics by Aneela Hoey, I knew that I would be using them to make another wonky charm quilt.  (You remember Cathy, don't you?  The blogging friend who sends me her 'scraps'.)   This will be bigger than a baby quilt, but not quite as big as a lap quilt.  And, I may make a doll quilt to match.  Perhaps.  ~grin~ 

I got a lot done, too.  It's so fun and easy to put it together...

 So far, so good! 

On another note...when buying fabric, I tend to buy fabric collections.  So much easier for me that way.  But, in the last few weeks, I started putting some fabrics together that are not all from the same fabric collection.  I know!  Shut the front door!!!  In the 5 years that I have been making quilts, I have only done one quilt with an assortment of fabrics (scraps, if you will)...and that was the first postage stamp quilt that I made.  See it here.  Otherwise, they have all been of a collection.

Here is what I have thus far...I'd like to add at least this many other fabrics to the pile.  I definitely need to add in some blue and perhaps a bit of pink.  We'll see.  Not sure what my plan is for them.  I'd like to do something different.  I am liking these a lot...

 
Today was a beautiful spring day...a bit cool and sunny!

Hope you had 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

A Few More Small Projects...

Remember, back in April, when I was busy working on a bunch of small projects?  Well, I finally sent off a package to my sister with the items I made for her grandchildren.  I previously showed you the flannel pajama bottoms for Riley here and the skirt I made for Ashley here.  

Alyssa recently had her 11th birthday and loves the band, One Direction.  So, I made a few things for sister Joyce to give her.  A vinyl front zippered pouch, made with a pattern by Terry Atkinson.

A Pretty Little Tote, made using the tutorial found here (I resized it)... 

 

And, a kleenex cozy...

 

I heard that Alyssa is thrilled with her One Direction items, that  Riley wore his pajama bottoms to bed last night, and that Ashley is wearing her skirt to school today.  ~grin~

I also sent along some kleenex cozies for Joyce (I think that everyone in the state of Maryland will soon have one of these! ~grin~)...

 

 
In the meantime, I finished this pillow that I started the other day...

I need to organize my dresser and then I will be totally ready to spring clean and redo my bedroom!  That will happen this weekend.  I went through my closet yesterday...sorted through and removed 3 boxes, so that gives me a bit more room in there.  whew.  I had to order some fabric to make a new blanket for my bed for the brown dog to lay on.  He presently lays on the little quilt I made back here...but it won't match my summer bed.  So...a new one is in the works!

I am itching to start a new quilt...and to quilt another quilt out at The Electric Needle, where I am able to rent the longarm machine.  But, first things first.  Course, that doesn't mean that I cannot plan the quilt.  Right?  And, I need to make more skirts for Kaylynn and Ashley.  And, quilt more quilts.  And, I have an embroidery project to figure out colors for.  Never ends, does it?  That's a happy thought.

I hope your day is a good one for you. 






"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

More on Scraps...

I finished playing with my scraps.  I was surprised at how many pieces I cut from the scraps in one 16 quart enamel pot. 

Here it all is in 3 plastic containers that measure 6x12x3.5...

I cut 2.5, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7 inch squares as well as 1.5, 2.5 and 3+ inch strips.  I wasn't going to cut that many sizes of squares, but that's just how it worked out.  I sat for no more than an hour at a time and got it done in a few days.  I am happy!  

I found some Lotta Jansdotter scraps, so I had to put them together today...

It will eventually be a pillow cover (18") to go with this quilt...

  
This quilt being just one of several that I need to get quilted. 

I have a few boxes to go through - none sewing/quilting stuff - and then my bedroom will be ready for spring cleaning and makeover!  (yeah, it was supposed to happen today, but my helper forgot.  ~sigh~)

Major car repair happening on Monday and then all will be right with my little world.

 Happy Mother's Day to you!



"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

Fun Friday...

Weather permitting, Tag and I take an early morning walk almost every day.  Here he was today at 5:21, leading the way.  (The shadow is from a parking lot light, not the sun.)

After spending so much time this week working on de-cluttering and reorganizing my bedroom (and I'm not yet finished!) and on cutting my scraps into usable pieces, I was more than ready to sew.  I didn't care what it was...I just needed to create!  And, the more instant the gratification was, the better.  Know what I mean?

Here it is...the skinny pincushion.  It fits right there in front of my Naomi Janome...so very handy.

I saw it this morning right here and decided to use some small scraps of Hope Valley by Denyse Schmidt that I ran across while working with my scraps.  I didn't exactly follow the original...just did what I wanted with it.  Measuring ~2 x 6 inches, it's perfect and I love it.

 
I hope you all have a great weekend! 

Happy Mother's 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

Scraps and Stash and Organization of Such...

Over the past few years, I have thought about doing something useful with my scraps.  I have a large enamel pot (that I used to use for dyeing wool) that they get thrown into when I clean off my cutting table.  At least twice, I've emptied the contents into a bag and given them to my neighbor.  Not sure what she does with them, but she is always delighted to get them.  Mind you, I usually  go through them and keep those that I think I may use at some time in the future...near or far.


So, while I am in the process of readying my bedroom for its makeover/spring cleaning, I decided that I should do something with my scraps.  In the way of organizing them, that is.  I'm not going nuts and spending hours and hours on it...when I have a few minutes, I cut some into pieces.  It is rather a tedious job, so a few minutes at a time is about all I can manage most days.  But, the pot is not as full as it was!

How am I organizing them?  In strips and squares.  The strips are sized 1.5 & 2.5 inches.  I also have strips that are 3" and wider...am keeping those intact so that they can later be cut down into whatever size blocks I need them to be.  I am cutting squares 2.5, 3, 4, 5, and 7 inches.  I figure those sizes are the ones most popular with me, so I am cutting the largest size I am able to from each fabric piece.

Here are two of the containers I am filling up...

My stash...now that's something different.  Basically, it is organized first by fabric collection, then second by  color (all of the pieces of fabric that don't belong to the fabric collections).

Ohyeah.  The bedroom makeover.  Well, since my workspace is in my bedroom (hard to go anywhere else when I live in a one bedroom apartment, ya know?) I need to organize it better.  It doesn't keep me awake at night, but I am tired of looking at the mess all of the time.  Granted, it would help a lot if,  #1- I had somewhere for everything to go and #2 - I put things away when I am finished with them.  I am trying to get myself clutter-free.  That will never happen, but I can work toward it.  Right?  

And, my bed is going to get a new look.  Nothing spectacular, but different.  Summer bed.  Sounds fancy, yeah?  ~grin~  Not meant to, but I do love the way it sounds!  One of my favorites quilts is finally going to get used...no longer content for it to just look pretty on my cedar chest.  Why do I make quilts if not to use them, hey?

I knew I would love being retired!  I so enjoy having the time to take care of things like this.  Though, the time does go by faster than I thought it would! 

I have a few small projects to work on...those that I didn't complete in the month of April.  And, I am itching to get a few more quilts quilted out at The Electric Needle.  I am trying to hold off on starting another quilt until I get a few of those done.   

What are you keeping busy with?


"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

What I Did Today...

Just a few thoughts and photos to share with you today.

This first one is of a setting at Hobby Lobby...I was there to pick up some muslin and Kona solid in Bone...always fun to see what is new.  The shelf and table are shabby chic and those chairs!  Well, they don't have a place in my living space, but they are fun, aren't they? 

This afternoon, I made this 12" pillow cover that will reside on my summer bed.  Which, of course, isn't ready to be shown.  Rearrangement of my bedroom and spring cleaning need to be finished before I have it all set to show anyone.  I am working on it, so it shouldn't be long.  If you recognize this fabric, you'll have an idea of what I plan to do with my summer bed.

 

 

Nothing random about the placement of those squares, either.  Intentionally arranged the way they are.  ~grin~

The envelope back is almost as attractive as the front, don't you think?  I gave some thought to using this fabric/layout to make another pillow cover and would have then used a solid color for the backing, but I decided to use up all of my creativity (and scraps) on one cover instead.

 

I was ever so tired of looking at this sofa cover...and, I gotta say,  straightening and re-tucking it every day was a huge pain in the you-know-what!   

before

after

So, I changed things up a bit.  And, now I can use two of the pillows I made awhile back (talked about here and here).  Course, there is the ever-present sleeping brown dog in the photos.  ~grin~  This isn't exactly what I want, but it's a small step in the right direction. 

That's about all I did!  Course, I made sure to watch the Kentucky Derby...always an exciting few minutes!  Congratulations to California Chrome!  

Have a great rest of the weekend!!!



"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