In the Mail...

You've heard me say before that I love receiving packages in the mail.  That excitement has not diminished one iota.

In today's mail, I received a package from my sister, Julie.  She asked me to make a few things for her using these fat quarters from Joann Fabrics (and no, the florals will not be mixed with the puppy prints). 

And, on Saturday, I received my April Gathering of Anna Maria Horner fabrics.  12 fat quarters... 9 cotton prints, 2 cotton solids & 1 cotton voile print.  Love them all!

I will never complete my list of things to sew, will I.  But, hey!  No complaints about that! 

Hope you are having a great Monday!


"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

Tis the Season...

Apparently, it is the season.  The season for new patio chair cushions!  Donna did it...click here, and Nicole did it...click here.  

And, now...I am in the process of doing it.  My friend, Kim, commissioned me to make patio chair cushions for 4 chairs.  She wants them to be removable so she is able to launder them.  She purchased eight 36" zippers, and 7 yards of outdoor canvas fabric and sent me on my way!  I have the first set (seat and back) completed.

Before...

After...

I knew how I wanted to put them together, and knew it wouldn't be difficult.  But, I was working it all out as I went along, which is much more time-consuming than working with a pattern.  I placed zippers on the back edge of the seat cushion (on the back cushion, that would be the bottom edge) and extended them down the sides for easy on/off. 

The main piece of fabric covers the cushion from the back (or bottom) edge, wraps around the front edge, and covers the other side of the cushion to the other side of the back (or bottom) edge.  The corners all turned out nicely...

All seams were double-stitched and all raw edges were overcast.  Working my way through the first cover took a good amount of time.  Although the measurements were different (the back is thinner and not square), the second piece was easier and I got it done much more quickly.  Now that I know it all worked out...they fit like a glove!...and the numbers are all written down, it should be a snap to complete the other 6 pieces.  I imagine by the time I get to the 8th cover, it should take but a few minutes to complete!  ~grin~

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And, for today's dog fix, here's a photo of Kim's dog, pretty girl Tahoe...

 Have a great rest of today!


"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

Best Ever!

 Bonne Maman Strawberry Preserves...the best!  Ever.

And, when empty, the jar makes a darn cute container for your fabric strawberries (or sewing bobbins, basting pins, etc.)...

 Happy Friday!  Have a great 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

What's a Girl to Do?

In my last post, I wrote about having several big projects ahead of me.  I was planning on getting a  good start yesterday.  However.  I didn't get much sleep the night before, so I decided to take the day off.

Late in the afternoon, though, I found myself at loose ends...a bit of time with nothing at all to do.  So, what's a girl to do?  I pulled a few fabrics and made this basket...

It is called the One Hour Basket...and was so easy and fun to make.  You will find the tutorial here.  I didn't have quite as much fabric as the pattern called for, so my fabric basket is a bit smaller than the pattern makes.  It measures 8"L x 6"W x 5"H.

And, know what?  It was the perfect way to spend an hour.

"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 Mini-Vacation and a Long Break Ahead...

Tag and I went on a mini-vacation...we house sat for my friend, Claire (former landlady, current friend and Tag's vet).  We stayed at their house from Friday late afternoon through this morning.  It's always fun to have a bit of time out in the country. 

This is Tag's friend, Blue.  He is a Portuguese Water Dog...and quite the goofy boy.  Tag was not quite in the mood for Blue's exuberance; though, for the most part, he calmly put up with his antics. 

What really fascinated Tag was the fish tank.  He kept going into the room where the tank was and would stand there looking...and looking.  Sometimes, he would bark at the fish...just a quiet 'woof'.  ~grin~  I am disappointed that I did not get a good photo to show you...but sometimes the orange fish came down to the bottom of the tank to look back at Tag...as if to say, "hello, there!".   But, here is one that did turn out...the brown boy watching the fish.

We had a good time while there and I thoroughly enjoyed the quietness of being outside of the city/apartment environment.  

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I am about to go on a long break.  Not from this blog and not from sewing in general.  But, from the business that I have been wanting to get started for a long while...that of developing a line of doll clothes.  What will I be doing instead?  I have several commission-type projects that I need to work on.  Some that I have been putting off and some that are fairly new.  Plus, at least two quilt tops that really need to be sandwiched/basted/quilted in the near future!  Too much going on in the next several months to tackle everything.  So, I think this is the best way to do this.

And, I need to finish my Snow Days quilt.  I am at a good place with it...all the embroidery stitching is done and the center blocks need to be pieced.  Sharon, who did the Snow Days BOM with me, chose to purchase the fabrics along with the pattern.  Which, of course, means that each month she received fabrics along with specific block patterns.  I purchased my own fabrics, so I need to do some serious color planning...to decide which fabrics will be used for what sections of the center blocks.  

So.  That being said, here is a little commission-type project I finished the other day.  Three earbud cases (first shown here) for Cyndi...

and I have more to make.

I am happy that my sewing business is busy right now...it's the perfect time of the year for me to be busy.  The gray and gloomy days of winter are gone and the warmer weather is here...I am full of excitement and energy for getting these projects worked up and checked off my list.

Have a great 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

Scrappy?

                          

Scrappy...being defined as a variety of fabrics of different colors and prints.   

I do so admire scrappy quilts.  But, in my opinion, one has to have something more than whatever it is that I don't have to put one together.

When I buy fabric, I prefer to buy collections.  I try to buy the entire collection.  I guess I don't quite trust my sense of color/style or whatever you want to call it.  For me, it is far easier to purchase a collection, knowing that all the fabrics were made to go with each other.

Of course, there are always exceptions to that rule.  My absolute most favorite quilt that I made back in 2011 was a scrappy one...the Postage Stamp Quilt.  I used several different unrelated fabrics, sewing them into strips with a muslin square between each print square...

I truly loved making this quilt...all 1296 pieces of it.  Baby sister Jill is the proud owner of this one.

I have put together a few other quilts using several prints from different designers/collections, but they each had a color theme, so were fairly simple to put together.  To me, that doesn't necessarily count as scrappy.  Shown here are my two favorites.

One was for my good friend, Doreen, who succumbed to lung cancer almost 3 years ago...

 

The other one was the black/white quilt I made in 2009 for sister Joyce...

                       
Several collections that I have used have made some very awesome quilts.  I rarely buy from the same designer twice, though...but only because there are so many fabrics out there to choose from.  

I have used two collections by Aneela Hoey to make two separate quilts...and even made the same pattern both times!

Sherbet Pips

A Walk In The Woods 

                                    
And, I have combined two of Lotta Jansdotter's collections to make one quilt...

Bella and Echo

      
My taste has changed somewhat over the past 5 years.  One person I have kept my eye on, though, is Anna Maria Horner.  I have been hearing about her - and all that she does - for a very long time.  See her blog here and do follow the link to visit her shop. She is a very talented woman...her fabrics and designs and just everything she does is fabulous and absolutely gorgeous!  I guess you could say that I am a bit late coming to her party.  I bought my first Anna Maria Horner fabric collection last fall.  

I have been following the Blue Elephant Stitches blog for quite some time...and have long been fascinated by the colors/fabrics she puts together.  Her quilts look so vibrant and ultra-rich.  Anna Maria Horner's fabrics are like that...in fact, there are a few quilts on the Blue Elephant Stitches blog made with her fabrics.  

So.  I invested in a bundle of Anna Maria's Pretty Potent line and ended up with this large patchwork quilt (it is not yet quilted)...

Pretty Potent

I love it!  Then, as you may remember from a month ago, I used some birthday money to buy a bundle of Anna Maria's Folk Song line..

Folk Song

Then, one day whilst I was minding my own business, just browsing the web, I found out that Anna Maria offers a monthly gathering of fabrics.  What?  Of course, I ordered the March Gathering...

It  consists of 12 fat quarters...8 cotton prints, 2 cotton solids and 2 cotton/linen blends!  The April offering is available now, so I will be ordering that soon.  I think I am totally addicted!  But, that's not a bad thing, is it?

My point in all of this is...I prefer buying fabric collections.  And, I will buy as much of Anna Maria's fabrics as I possibly can.  I think I will never tire of how those colors make me feel.  

On another, but definitely related, note...in today's mail, I received a late birthday gift from sister Joyce.  Late only because I could not decide how to use the gift card she had given me.  Besides some doll clothes hangers (too cute!), I ordered this book...

From inside front cover, "Get a peek inside Anna Maria's creative process - and stitch more than 24 stunning original embroidery pieces."

It is a beautiful book...put together with much thought and effort.  I am so looking forward to spending a lot of time with it. 

Have a great 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

He is Risen, Indeed!

 Have a very Blessed Easter!

"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 Have I Been Doing?

WOW...it has been 25 days since I last posted.  That amazes me!  Time just keeps on moving along, I guess. There is a lot of stuff going on around here that has kept me from concentrating on much of anything.   

What have I been doing in these 25 days?  Not much at all.  For sure nothing much from my long list of projects.  Poor Naomi Janome has been feeling neglected.  

However, last night I was itching to sew - anything! - so sat down and made a few of these...

 

My soon-to-be daughter-in-law, Tiffany, had seen these little earbuds cases on Pinterest, so sent me the link to the photo tutorial.  They are super easy and quick to make.  Click here to see the tutorial. 

And, yes.  I am working on the Snow Days quilt blocks...am slowly getting those extending lines stitched.  

And, that's all I have.  Really.

I'm hoping to get back into the swing of things very soon.



"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

Finishes...

I made a few things last week but wasn't able to show them before now.  They were received today...gifts to my sisters. 

First up...I made a double-zipper bag (it's actually the LOVE Zipper Bag by Sweetwater) for my sister, Joyce.  Gave it to her as a thank you gift.  She flew to Colorado (from Maryland) to play nurse to Jill, my baby sister, who had a total knee replacement.  Nurse Joyce will be there for two weeks.  Purple is Joyce's favorite color, so I made it in purple...though I think it shows here as more blue.  The little patch is also from Sweetwater and reads, 'Life is good'... 

Next...more kleenex cozies!  I thought they might make nice little gifts for Jill's PT gal and the visiting nurse.  And, anyone else Joyce and Jill might want to give one to.

It looks like we are going to have some sunshine and warmer temps here this next week.  Hallelujah!  I am so tired of cold and gray days...am so looking forward to Spring.

It is Daylight Saving Time tonight (technically, tomorrow a.m. at 2:00...like I'm gonna get up then and change my clocks?)! 

I hope to work on doll clothes this next week...need to fill up my Etsy shop.  With Spring right around the corner, visions of spring/summer dresses and outfits are running around in my head.  Poor Cassidy Jane...she has been whining about having only one outfit.  Not like the ones I sew will be for her , but at least she'll be able to try them on and model them for me.  ~grin~

Enjoy 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

Stitching On Snow Days...

I am actually following my plan and getting some stitching done in the evenings whilst sitting in front of the tv! 

I told you that there were mostly tree branches that needed to be drawn/extended onto the pieced blocks.  And, that's exactly what I've been drawing...tree branches!  It's much more difficult, though not impossible, to trace these lines through colored fabric than it was to trace through Kona Solid in Bone.  I am getting it done...though stitching lines that I cannot see is definitely a first!  Good thing no one else will know exactly where those stitched lines should be, hey?  ~grin~

It does make a huge difference in the look of this project.

Here is the 'before' photo of block 14...

And, here is the 'after' photo...

I am in love.  Course, I have been since I started this project 4 years ago.  I guess I forgot how much. 

Tomorrow is Friday...according to the weather people, we're in for some warmer (30's+) temps!  woohoo!!



"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

Giveaway WINNER!!!

Oops...I completely forgot to post the winner of my birthday giveaway!

Noreen, of Life Blessing, is the winner!  

Noreen, please email me here with your address.

Thank you to all for visiting my blog...I wish I had a pouch for all of you...it means so much to me.




"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