Finished Tote Bag

This bag will be perfect for my upcoming trip and the next quilting retreat. The pattern is from "The Creative Thimble" and their instructions were easy to follow and understand. The zippered inside pocket is big enough to hold my laptop and the other five inside pockets will make it easier to find things. There are two pockets on the front and a full width pocket on the back along with a luggage strap. The side pockets can hold a good sized water bottle or whatever. I didn't take a picture of the top of the bag, but it has a full zipper so nothing will fall out! I'm really happy with the way it turned out and can't wait to put it to use.

"ADA"

Yea! I finished "angel doll" last evening! She was designed by Debra of Wattlebee Designs. Debra had a giveaway on her blog and I won! That seldom happens. I had been visiting her website trying to decide which pattern I wanted to order (they are all so-o-o cute) when I got the e-mail that I was a winner. Now I have to order another one to make, don't you think? Ada measures 19.5" and is designed to hang on a wall, so she will keep me company in my sewing room (studio?).

If you want to visit her site it is: http://wattlebeedesigns.com.au

Time to get back to finishing some ufo's.......... so I can start some more?

Thimbles and Threads

Thimbles and Threads in Draper has a new owner! Cathie is a quilter and already had a long-arm quilting business, so she really knows what quilters want. She has a lot of plans for her new shop, so if your travels take you to the SLC area, stop by to see the shop. There will be an open house in April and I made this top as a shop sample. The pattern is from the Moda Bake Shop called "I'm Blushing" and uses a Blush jelly roll. The designer of this quilt is Natalia Bonner and I think she lives here in Utah, too. 

 Cathie is going to put this little quilt in the bathroom in her new shop.  It was so much fun to make. I used the wrong side of the white fabric for part of the rolls to make it look like the unprinted side of the rolls.  This was made using some of the Blush fabric line....can you tell I really like this fabric!

Blooming Christmas Cactus

Here we go again! This plant had so many blossoms the first time it bloomed that I thought it was done for the year. Well, it has continued to produce a few flowers since last fall, and now has about a dozen more buds. Yes, it still blooms with red and white tinged with a bit of pink. Someone told me not to move or turn the plant while it is blooming because that will cause the buds to fall. I haven't touched it and I think she's right! Just had to share because we all love flowers.....especially with two inches of snow outside! I'm so-o-o ready for spring. We've been teased with some really nice sunny days, but I want more!!

2010 or 2011 Valentine Quilt?

I started this little quilt a few days before Valentine's Day, and finished it a few days after Valentine's Day. The question becomes.....was I late finishing it for 2010, or am I really early for 2011?!? Since I usually decide to make something just before the event and race like mad to make the deadline, this time I just went with the flow. So....I'm going to say I'm ready for next year! Doing the free motion quilting for this quilt taught me that by just relaxing a bit, without a deadline, gave me the rhythm needed to make it a fun thing to do.

The whole point of this comes down to one of two things: give yourself plenty of time to enjoy and finish a project, or accept the fact that you won't get it finished in time, but it will be ready in plenty of time for next year. Will I follow my own advice? Probably not.

Quilts For Kids

This little crib quilt came as a free kit from Quilts for Kids. The kit had a pattern, strips cut to size, backing fabric and a label. The fabric is wonderful, current, and bright. All you have to provide is the batting, a little time, and the return postage! The finished quilts are distributed all around the US to various hospitals and groups. I was very happy when I opened the package and saw that the fabric was really good quality and the pre-cut strips were straight and the right size! Now I just have to wash it and send it back to the organization. How easy is that? I know, I know.....a lot of folks will say that the quilts we make for charity should stay in our own area, but this is a national organization that distributes quilts where they are needed. The makers of "Downy Fabric Softener" has partnered with "Quilts For Kids" to provide 10,000 quilts to children in hospitals.

If you'd like more info, visit Downy.com/HelpingKids or to request a kit, go to Quiltsforkids.org

BOM Placemat

One of the guilds I belong to is doing a block of the month, but after so many years of doing these, it becomes a question of what to do with these blocks. So, this year I have decided to make placemats. Thanks to 3 Creative Studios for the idea. Check out their blog for some really good ideas and freebies. Anyway, the first block is "paper pinwheels". It had a plain 6" center so I decided to replace it with a pinwheel, added borders to the sides and this is the result. I won three, one yard pieces, from the same line in 2003! It's wonderful fabric but really didn't go with anything I had or any project on my to do list. Sad that it had to wait so long to become part of something but I'm happy with the way it turned out. If you look close there is some of the salmon-y color in the little flowers.

Finger Painting?!

I'm almost (notice I said "almost") embarrassed to post these pictures, but we had too much fun not to share. The first picture shows the gelatin "plate" with a few squirts of paint on it, paint bottles, and Brandy's hands. You can make the plates in any shape....we had rectangle, round, domed, and large square ones. It's really amazing just how tough and firm these things are! We were able to pick them up, wipe or rinse them off with water, plus you can re-use them for several weeks if you store them in the fridge. Just make sure they are well labeled....can you just imagine what would happen if someone tried to eat some?

Okay, next picture is Kaye's large square plate with various colors on it. See the big comb? That really created some interesting patterns. Once the paint is on, a piece of pfd fabric is carefully laid on top and pressed into the paint. We used a brayer, rolling pin, combs, and a baker's bench knife, not forgetting to mention our hands, to spread all that paint around. The gelatin plate "gave" just enough to allow us to push and skoosh and smush all we wanted. It really was like being in kindergarten or even pre-school.

Yep, those are Brandy's hands again. We gave up on the plastic gloves! Acrylic paint washes off!

It took us awhile to figure out that we were probably using way too much paint........some of the pieces are stiff as a board! Think a sewing machine needle will go through 1/4" of paint? We tied a clothes line across the kitchen to hang some pieces and the rest are on the floor. Now the big challenge is what on earth will we do with these? Some are "very interesting", our polite way of saying yuk, but you just have to imagine some neat stitching and embellishing on them.

Yo-yo's and Applique

Yo-yo's....I need many, many more of these cute little things! This project was put away for awhile (not telling how long!), and almost forgotten. It seems that January is the month to dig out our ufo's or phd's and make a list of those projects begging to be finished and this one was yelling pretty loud. Anyhow, the pattern calls for 384 yo-yo's. Yes, 384!! Not to mention all the applique and bias stems! Each hexagon block has 6 yo-yo's.......that comes out to a lot of blocks, 64 to be exact. Time to re-think this project even though I love, love the finished quilt, it needs to be quite a bit smaller. The design comes from Barb Adams and Alma Allen of Blackbird Designs and is in their book "Lovina's Pressed Flowers".

There are just too many new and exciting patterns, fabric, and techniques that I want to try, to ever get everything finished. Example in point: tomorrow three of my friends are coming over to play with jello! I just put my gelatin "plate" in the fridge to harden. Phil just rolls his eyes and shakes his head when strange things happen around here. Anyway, what does fabric, gelatin, and paint equal? Check back in a few days to find out. If you subscribe to Quilting Arts magazine, check out the cover of the Aug/Sept issue for a hint.

Surprise Package!!

This package came in the mail Saturday morning from Marina who lives in Australia! I couldn't wait to open it, especially since it really did come as a total surprise! Marina was my swap partner last fall as part of the Stitchers Angel Swap hosted by Helen Stubbings. We've become cyber-friends and e-mail back and forth about once a week. It has been so much fun and very interesting to exchange information and ideas with someone on the other side of the world. Marina is sweltering in the heat of summer while I'm trying to stay warm 'cause it's the middle of winter here. What's even more interesting is the fact that we both have been working on an on-line bom from Bunny Hill Designs!! Of course, I'm way behind on mine....but that's nothing new for  me! 

There is a calendar called "Wild Australians" (animals indigenous to AU), three big pieces of fabric, which I have a plan for already), and a copy of Patchwork.  Now, what Marina doesn't know, is that there is an article in the magazine that references my other Stitchers Angel, Deb Gardiner, who is a designer of dolls and other things!!  Is all of this a coincidence or what?  I thinks it is pretty neat and so...Thank You, Marina, you are a keeper.

Patchwork Posies and UFO's

Happy New Year everyone! One of my "resolutions" should be to post more often! I've been reading all of your blogs and forgot about mine.

Well, I've been working on this little quilt from a workshop with the gals from Blackbird Designs, Barb and Alma. Yes, it was a couple of Januarys ago and I've been trying to hand quilt it for the past year (or so). My hand quilting goes ver-r-ry slowly, but I am determined to finish this one. All of those little round buds were supposed to be appliqued circles which were replaced by yo-yo's because they are more fun to make plus they add a little character. The background fabric is creamy tan like the full photo, not off white like the close-up.

I've spent the past week trying to re-organize my sewing room along with a lot of other bloggers. lol My DH tells me that it seems like I'm alway putting things away or just moving stuff from one spot to another....he's right. Time to weed out things I know I'll never use - craft & quilting stuff - and find homes for those ufo's I'm never going to finish. Why do so many of us, crafters and quilters, seem to always have multiple projects going on at one time? Is it because we are creative and the creative mind never stops? Or do we just become bored without multiple projects to work on?

All Things Christmas Sampler

"HAPPY HOLIDAYS" everyone!  It's Christmas Eve, is your shopping done? baking? quilting/sewing projects?

It's not quite finished and it's Christmas Eve!!!! This was supposed to be ready for last Christmas! Where did the year go??!! At least it is bound and ready to hang, but still needs lots of embellishments, especially the bottom row. Nothing like naked ornaments.

The tree has red beads and still need something to sparkle up the star, and the Christmas Pudding Cake has sequins and beads on the holly berries. This little quilt might be one that has something added each year until it says "enough, no more, you are done"!!

The pattern for this was a bom from Angie Padilla's website. She has a lot of really cute ideas and applique patterns. Some are free and some are for members only. It's a fun site to browse.

Maine Christmas Wreath

Each year, our niece who lives in Maine, sends us a fresh wreath with a little bag of balsam needles. Oh-h-h-h, the fragrance is so wonderful and always brings back treasured memories of when we lived there. Yes, our niece and family make and sell wreaths each year, along with some other decorative items. Aren't we lucky to have them as family!!

The bottom picture is a basket full of the little bags filled with balsam needles. Yes, I've saved almost all of them! The red one, lower right, is the fresh one. When you give it a little shake or squeeze, the scent just fills the room!

Thanks Louise and Tim. We love our wreath

Ravioli Day 2009

Yesterday was our annual "Ravioli Making" day. Every year the family gets together to make dozens of ravioli for Christmas dinner. The first picture shows part of the assembly line with Nicole, (a friend of the girls) who joined us for the first time, Alyssa and Taylor, waiting for dough strips.

Papa feeds the dough into the machine and Nicole tried her hand at cranking the dough through, while Alyssa gives her a hand with the final pass.

Kathy is in charge of popping the ravioli out of the cutting trays and keeping track of how many we make. We broke the record this year with around 26 dozen!! That's 312 ravioli, or about 156 cheese and 156 chicken/spinach!! OMG! No wonder we were tired by the end of the afternoon.

Last, but certainly not least, we have the "Ravioli Squad". Nana, Papa, Taylor, Alyssa, Stephanie, and Mom Kathy. It's a wonderful tradition, one that I hope will continue over the years to come. Our son lives in Kansas and he and his wife make ravioli, and our daughter who lives in Florida has started making them with her family as well, so we will all enjoy this tasty treat during the holidays.

Wishing everyone a very happy holiday season and a reminder to continue sharing the traditions you may have. They make wonderful memories to share with the generations.

Fun Giveaway!

Click on over to My Brown Bag Studio to enter Kimberly's delightful giveaway!  She's made some really cute holiday items.....a little pinwheel quilt, a very cute wooden sign, a wreath, plus more.  Leave a comment to be entered into the drawing on Dec. 13th.  Hm-m-m, the more that enter, the less my chances are of winning! 

Sam's New Stuffie

Yesterday, when I looked in the "doggie toy" basket, it dawned on me that everything left in it was missing half its stuffing, chewed up, stiff from slobber, or just worn out. And....only one still had a squeeker that squeeked!! Poor dog, no wonder he hasn't been playing much. He's been going over to the basket, looks in it and walks away. So, this morning I decided to make him one with some left over fleece, plus, I had some squeekers that I bought quite awhile ago (found 'em last night!). As soon as he saw the fleece and heard the squeek, he knew that whatever was on the table was HIS! When that last stitch went in, it was throw it now or be attacked! The whole thing only took 10-15 min. from start to finish, so off to dig out more scraps of fleece to make a few more. I used some odd strips of batting for some of the stuffing which makes it just a bit firmer for chewing.

Seasons Greetings

This little mini stitched up fast and adorable. The pattern is from Cheryl Goss of "Willowberry Designs" and measures 8 1/2" x 13 1/2" . The details really don't show up well on this photo, but you can click right on it to see the stitching and beads. The hanger loops are ribbon with small jingle bells. I used "tiger tape big stitch" as my quilting guide. It's 1/4" wide tape with markings for the up - down stitch length and makes it easy to sew even stitches.

Click on the title "Seasons Greetings" to go to Willowberry Designs blog.

Knitted-Beaded Necklace

One of my friends asked me if I had posted anything new since Taylor's big birthday. Now, I know she checks almost daily, so either my life has been extremely boring, or I've just been a bit lazy with my postings! Hm-m-m, might be a bit of both, lol. Anyway, here is a picture of one of my latest endeavors. Once I understood the sequence of where and how many beads to knit in, it only took a couple of hours (I'm a very slow knitter). One of my teen grandgirls oh-h-h-ed and ah-h-h-ed so much that I agreed to make her a purple one, which means the other two girls will want one. Sure wish I knew how to knit faster, 'cause I really want to make socks, but using 4-5 needles at one time really intimidates me.

Big day for Taylor!!

Happy 18th birthday, Taylor! She had to show us (grandparents) what her Mom and Sisters did to her car! All four sides have something written on it, but my camera was out of memory so only two sides are shown. Taylor reminds me of Mighty Mouse.....she's all of 4'10", a strong gust of wind could blow her away, but she makes her presence known. We always know when she's around because there's constant chatter and motion. She just makes you smile (when she's not tired...then it's grumpy, don't talk to me). I'm not sure just how she drives this big Yukon but she doesn't seem to have any problem. So, another milestone for Taylor!!