My Last Quilt for 2008...

I took the final stitches in the binding last night. :-) I swapped the red/white Monkey Wrench blocks in 2007, and figured out the lay-out in my EQ program. It was a lot of fun putting this one together and it waited a year before I could get it quilted. My DD loves it, but I'm not sure where it will go yet. ;-) Maybe I'll keep it and use it in February.... :-)

Yikes~ I guess blogger likes my photo tipped. :-/

I wish I would've kept a notebook of quilts I finished this year~ I will next year! Off the top of my head, I can think of 13 that I quilted and finished up, from queen size to baby quilts. That isn't too bad! ;-) And I made a number of bags and small items that were quilted too. I have lots of plans for 09~ why can't I sew as fast as I can think up things??! LOL :-))

Have a safe and happy night and a wonderful 2009!

See ya next year... ;-) And until then~

Happy Stitchin'!

Back to Sewing~

I tried the blocks again~ :-) And determination finally paid off! LOL :-) Instead of cutting the small triangles with the bias along the edge, I quarter cut squares, putting the bias next to the HST's. Now I wasn't sewing bias edge to bias edge and with a good spray of sizing~ it worked! :-) Whoohoo!! I have a few more blocks all cut out and once I get them together, I need to put this up and work on something else for a bit. ;-)

Until Next Time~~

Happy Stitchin'!!

A One Block Wonder~

..finished! :-) I put the last stitches in the binding last night. I am thinking of saving it for next Christmas giving. :-) Wouldn't that be nice? To have one gift already finished? Of course DS may have other ideas~ he likes the tigers. ;-) Here are photo's of the front, back and a close up of the tiger fabric that the blocks were made from. I don't think I have any more of this fabric in my stash~ that is why the back was pieced so much. ;-) I think you can click the photo's for a larger view...

And for a close-up of the quilting, go back to this post~ yes, I've been putting off the binding for a while now! LOL :-)

Until Next time~

Happy Stitchin'!!

and Merry Christmas!! :-)

12 Days of Christmas...

My secret sister on the hgtv message board signed me up for a 12 Days of Christmas swap this year. I have been having a blast opening up a little gift every morning! :-) We aren't supposed to show photo's on the message board until all 12 days are finished, but I don't think anyone from the message board follows my blog except Bingo~Bonnie and I know she won't tell. (LOL, Hi Bonnie!) ;-) If there are any hgtv lurkers out there~ now would be a good time to say 'hi'. ;-) LOL

So here are my first 9 days of gifts~ a scissors holster, a little reindeer necklace, a couple of porcelain pieces with that gripper stuff (I think I am supposed to make pincushions~?), a starfish ornament and a yo-yo ornament, a basket, a small notebook and a pin, a crocheted thread pouch with a little extra rick-rack, and a lacey fridge magnet~ which I think I can use as a needle holder too~~it is too pretty for my refigerator. :-) Three more little gifts to go~~ :-)

Now I am off to sew!

Hope you find time for a few stitches today too!

Until next time~

Happy Stitchin'!

Snowy Days~

~should be 'sewing days'!~ but they are not. :-( Can't seem to get near my machine! Maybe once the cookies are made~? ;-)

Until next time~

I hope you are stitching!! :-))

Less Play, More Sewing?

LOL if I did that, I might actually get more blocks sewn! :-) I made another pair of blocks this morning, and then had to arrange them out again to "see"~~ at this rate, they may never get done! My friend and I are each making these blocks, and then we are going to trade our 'duplicates' so we each end up with all different blocks in our quilts. I thought the 9 inch block would be pretty easy to do, I was wrong! :-o I am having lots of trouble keeping points and getting the block to measure the right size. I haven't quite figured out where my problem is~ the stretchy bias maybe? I've resorted to starching. I am using my quarter inch foot, but something is still off just enough to make my blocks end up a little on the small side~ ??? Ah well, my own quilt may end up huge because I am not trading the wrong size blocks! ;-) Back to the sewing machine~~

On another note~ thank you for posting and welcoming me to the blog ring! This is fun! ;-)

Until next time~

Happy Stitchin'!

No Sewing Here...

...at least, not today. ;-) My friend sent me this panel for my birthday. All I had to do was cut it out and hem it and viola!~ a Santa tablecloth! :-)) I love it! It is beginning to look a lot like Christmas at my house, how about yours?

Until next time~

Happy Stitchin'!

Things To Do...

...when you don't want to clean up. :-)) I should be cleaning up my 'disaster area', otherwise known as my sewing area, but... what fun is that?! I was doing pretty well until I went to put the extra purple/yellow mini's with all the others I have collected this year. If I would've been thinking, I would've used something besides my old cutting mat behind them! But I wasn't; I was playing and procrastinating! :-)) Aren't they going to make a fun quilt? It'll be one of my 09 projects to make them into a quilt, but for now I am still thinking, dreaming... playing!!! :-))

Until next time~

Happy Stitchin' (or playing)! ;-)

Another kitchen towel..

Still busy sewing up little things here! This is another fun kitchen hand towel to make. I made loads of them last year. A potholder and a cute towel and a little stitching time. Easy but fun to hang across the bar on the oven door. These and a few postcards and I am finished with holiday gift sewing. Yay!

Now back to my committments and bindings. LOL :-) I have 3 quilts that need binding! ...Does that tell you something about me and hand stitching?? I might be just a bit 'allergic' to it yet... ;-)) LOL

Here's hoping you are getting your little projects finished up too~

Happy Stitchin'!!

I'm back~

Ok 3 posts in one day!
I think it is going to snow! LOL :-)

Go check out Oh Sew Busy's blog for a fun giveaway~~

I'm off!~ Bye!

Happy Stitchin'!

Monday eve~

Hey 2 posts in one day! Don't expect it to continue. ;-) LOL I just came back to post a photo of my mini 9-patches for Bingo~Bonnie's next swap. This group will mark the end of a year of swapping mini-9-p's and it has been a lot of fun! Thank you Bonnie! I do have a few ideas of ways to use these little guys, but first I'll have to play with them, pet them, dream etc etc. :-))

Also I'd like to mention that I have been accepted into the Stash Quilts webring. I'm really excited about this because my 2009 goal is to dive into my stash whole-heartedly and sew-sew-sew! I've followed the member-blogs on this ring for a long time~ even before I took the plunge to start my own blog! If you have a chance and some free time, click the 'list' on the StashQuilts logo in my sidebar and prepare to be awed. There are so many photo's, idea's, and very talented member's blogs, you won't be disappointed. ;-) I haven't quite figured out how to get the photo to show instead of the red 'x', but I am researching it. ;-) If anyone has any hints, I would appreciate it.

Until next time~ (which probably won't be tomorrow as I will be wrapping and boxing up gifts so I can join in the lines at the PO! ;-))

Happy stitchin'!

Monday~

My Quiltathon weekend went pretty well. I worked on mini 9 patches and I'm about half finished with them. I'll try to get a photo later today. ;-)

Thanks for all your comments! :-)
I found an internet page that has a similar dress.. here I made up my pattern from a photo a friend in Australia sent me. I sewed the neck right sides together, and pressed under the edges where the lace is inserted. I just really liked the look of a finished neck and trying to press a circle under wasn't for me. :-) I have seen these made with square necks, v-necks, scoop necks... there doesn't seem to be a 'right way'. Let your imagination take over! :-)) If you click my photo in the post below, you can get a closer look at the dresses...

Have a good day and
Happy Stitchin'!

Sewing, sewing, sewing...

Yay! :-) I didn't have to send my machine off so I have been giving it a work-out this week! Thank you for all your good thoughts and wishes! :-)

Let me back-track. I took it in and the first gal to look at it had me filling out forms to send it in. She thought it was 'frozen real good'. She went in the back to find a loaner for me, but came back out with the shop manager. She tested the wheel and said, it sure does seem frozen, then with a quick flick of her wrist she turned the wheel backwards and out of the bobbin area flew a big piece of what looked like black batting! :-o She said you can turn the wheel back when it is frozen and it won't hurt anything, but might dislodge whatever is in there. It sure did! Now I wondered where that batting came from because I don't own black batting and hadn't sewn anything black lately. The other gal thought maybe it got in there when they serviced it last. ~? She said they have had a lot of machines come in lately that were frozen like mine and when the manager wasn't there to look at them, they sent them back in to the repairman. She didn't know you could fix a machine like that either! So I learned a new trick. But hopefully I will never have to use it! I have never had a machine freeze up on me like it did Monday and hope it never does again! The best news was that it got to come right back home with me! :-)







And I have been sewing! I finished my Christmas gift pillowcases~





And made a few oven door dresses. ;-) And a big pincushion for a friend. Anything else I have made~ I can't show you!! :-)) (hi Mom!)


LOL :-)



Next up on the 'Q' are my mini 9-patch blocks! Colors for the next (and last) round are yellow and purple. Quiltathon is this weekend and I hope to get 'em done! ;-)

Until next time~

Happy Stitchin'!! :-)

Tea?

I had such high hopes to get whittling on my Christmas gifts today and my sewing machine decided it had other ideas. :-( It froze! Waaaaa! :-(

Not to be defeated, I pulled out my featherweight and made tea wallets. ;-) You can find the directions at Christy's Creations. I used 3 FQ's for these 6. Fast, easy and a great stress-reliever when you are unhappy with your sewing machine! :-)

Thank-you for your comments about my quilt and prizes! I just love the needle case too. :-)

Until next time~

Happy Stitchin'!!

Remember this?

...quilt?

I made it for the hgtv Scraps-to-Treasures challenge. And I won third place... today I received my 'prize package' in the mail. :-))) Wow! One of the hgtv board members, who is a fantastic crazy quilter, made a needle case/sewing kit and donated it for a prize. When she chose which quilt to win her donation, she had no idea she had chosen my quilt~ and I had no idea until I got the mail today! :-) And the really fun thing is that I was her secret sister last year! :-)) How cool is that?! And isn't this a gorgeous needle case??!! She also dyes the laces and did the peacock. You can click the photo's for a little closer view.





And here is a photo of all my winnings~ a very cute little tatted (I think?) shamrock pin, and an assortment of FQ's. ~

I feel so lucky!! :-))


Have a happy day y'all!~

And until next time~~ Happy Stitchin'!! :-)

Still Binding Quilts Here~

I am slow at hand sewing, so these bindings are taking me a lot longer than they should! ;-) But another one is done. I quilted the car quilt during my marathon quilting weekend. :-) Just an all over squiggle and loop, and then a little 'varoom' in the borders. I'm giving this one as a Christmas gift and I hope the little fellow uses it, loves it and wears it out! :-) The back has little race cars zooming along a road. :-)

Oh~ blogger flipped the photo, but you can see that it is quilted. :-) I took the photo before I got the binding on...

The lettering is free hand, that was fun to do with the HQ!

Until next time~ Happy Stitchin'!

Greenies! :-)

I received my green mini blocks back from Bingo~Bonnie's swap. I swapped 60 little blocks and look at all the beauties that came back to me. Neither rain, nor hurricanes or flooding could keep these little guys from their destination! :-) Bonnie had two evacuations during this swap! It is amazing all these blocks arrived at her door. Next up are the purple and yellow mini 9-patches and then I will have a rainbow of 3.5 inch unfinished 9-patches to play with. :-) Guess I'd better get sewing! ;-)

Happy Stitchin' to you too!

While You Wait~

...for me to get the binding on the next quilt. ;-) .....

I thought I'd show you my next set of swaps with the ladies on quilter's message board at HGTV. I've got 2 in the works. It is easier for me to keep track of 2 swaps at once, and when I did a poll to see which had the most interest, these rated about medium. So I thought they would be good ones for anyone who likes to sew over the holidays and doesn't have the rush and family committments that others do.

I'm reviving the red/white swap because I love red and white together! :-)) The last swap we did of red/white blocks was in 2007 and you saw the resulting quilt in one of my previous recent posts. Still don't have the binding on, but it is in the 'Q'! :-) This block is called 'Hen & Chicks'.

We are also going to do two different oriental lantern blocks~ using, of course, oriental fabrics! If you've strolled thru a quilt shop recently, I'm sure you have seen all the beautiful oriental prints! Since some of the ladies don't like to paper-piece, we picked 2 blocks. The first one is from about.com and the second one is from Marcia Hohn's Quilter'sCache website. ~~that is really an awesome place to search for free patterns! She has everything! :-) And she is really a sweet person too. I have had the pleasure of emailing her in the past.

You can click on the blocks to make them bigger. And if you'd like to join us, why not check out the message board? :-)

Until next time~

Happy stitchin'!!!

Quiltathon Weekend~

It's a quiltathon weekend~ and I haven't sewed a stitch! :-o

But... I did have a birthday and received lots of quilty-inspiration! :-) And just look at this FQ my mom sent~ isn't it funny?! I know exactly what I am going to do with it, but I can't tell you because I know my mom reads. (Hi Mom!) :-)) LOL

*You can click on it for a closer view. ;-)

And after last weekend's marathon quilting on the HQ, I am still sewing down bindings. ~oh! I guess I have sewed a stitch this weekend. ;-) Hopefully I'll have the next quilted and bound quilt to show soon.

Until next time~

Happy Stitchin'!!

...and Another One Quilted Up!

Before we moved, I taught a One Block Wonder class from Maxine Rosenthal's book at my guild. The class was a lot of fun~ and a lot of work! :-) This was one of my samples. I am happy to finally get it quilted! I used another all over pantograph called 'Tropical Expressions' by Pattern Man Designs. Being new to machine quilting, I found it a pretty easy panto and I love how the pattern looks on the dark areas! I knew anything I quilted would get lost in the busy-ness of the OBW, and that was ok. ;-) Now it is another project that needs binding... ;-) One of these days... LOL :-)

You can click on the photo's for a little closer view~~

Until next time~

Happy Stitchin'!

More Quilting~

Myra~ I go there to quilt. It is a midarm machine set up on a frame. This photo, from my first trip to the shop might give you an idea of how it looks. ;-) You stand and hold onto the handles and move down the length of the frame, quilting as you go. Or if you are doing a pantograph, you can stand behind the machine and follow a little laser light on your panto. They have handles on the front and back. :-)

The blocks in this quilt are from a swap I did in 2007. I designed my lay-out in EQ. It was fun to play with the Monkey Wrench blocks, come up with an alternate block and then put it all together. ~Even more fun to get it quilted! LOL :-) I used an all over butterfly pantograph. The back is red on white fabric, the light makes it look a little yellow. It's not. :-)

~~Yikes!~ blogger tipped my photo again. :-/ One of these days I will remember to resize them the right way! Sorry.

Until next time~

Take happy stitches!~ :-)

My Weekend~

Well, it didn't start out so good~ a leak in the roof into my sewing room was not what I was looking for when I went to find a binding fabric. :-( But it pretty much only soaked fabric and batting~ both washable so none the worse for wear. ;-)

And I rented the HQ-16 again and got to quilt! :-) Whoohoo! This is my autumn strings quilt~ I found an all over pantograph of different leaves in the shop and it quilted up very nicely. I used a varigated thread, so in some of the plainer area's you can see leaves. :-) Now on to binding. :-)

Tomorrow I'll show another quilted project~ hey, if I keep this up, I might just post every day! :-) LOL

Happy Stitchin'!

Happy Friday!

Thank you all for your lovely comments on my tote. :-) I am already using it to store my rulers and I just love it!

Myra~ you have the right idea's about swapping. I never used to count the number of blocks I swap, but for the Christmas swap we had 402. Everyone got back the same number they sent in, an assortment of other swappers blocks, and no one got any duplicates. That's my goal when I swap. ;-) We had 2 international swappers in this swap.. it is always fun to see the fabrics from other places too. :-) Hopefully I will get my top together in a few weeks. I need to think about how I want to set the blocks. ;-)

I have made lots of quilts from swapped blocks. In fact, I am 'going quiltin' this weekend and hope to quilt up a couple tops from previous swaps. :-) If I remember to take the camera along, I'll take some photo's again. The Christmas Rail Fence I showed after my last quilting trip, and the blue/yellow string quilt both came from swap blocks. As did the 30's quilt I've got in this post. I do have a few more tops to quilt from swapped blocks... all in time. ;-)) I do enjoy my swap blocks! :-)

Until next time, have a good weekend y'all!~

Swappin' Time!~

My Christmas Block Swap that I hosted on the hgtv quilter's forum was due on Saturday and they all made it in on time! Today I set up a few tables and got down to the business of swappin'! :-) Here are some photo's for y'all. Oh yes, it is beginning to look a lot like Christmas here! LOL I have about 6 piles to re-count and get bagged up and then tomorrow I'll be off to the PO. :-)

You can click on the photo's for a little bigger view. ;-)

Happy Stitchin'!

Ta-da!

It's a ruler/matt tote for taking all your rulers and stuff to class or retreat! :-) The pattern is from Bella Nonna Design Studio . My friend B sent it to me. And it is perfect! :-) Thanks B!!! The larger photo is the front side, and the smaller one is the back. Now you know why I was making circles too. ;-) I am going to store my rulers in it at home too because it is just so handy! I have it hanging from a chair right now, but a hook may have to go into the wall. :-)

Thanks for playing along and guessing! :-)

Until next time~

Happy Stitchin'!!

Another hint....

Ok, one more hint. :-)))

Any idea's now?

I'll tell ya tomorrow. :-)

Happy stitchin'!

pockets...

Whoopsie! :-/ I forgot to snap a photo of my pocket corners before I sewed them down. But they did turn out nice and square. ;-) LOL I see I need to trim some threads, but you can kinda get the idea here... any guesses as to what this wild piece is going to be??? :-)

Stay tuned! ;-)

Happy stitchin'!

Remember my Autumn String Blocks?

The are now a quilt top. :-)

Yay! :-) The greens aren't as pale or blue as they appear in the photo, I'm not sure why they turned out that way. It is approx 60 inches square. Any ideas on how to quilt it? And remember, I can't do fancy stuff. :-)) .....yet! ;-)

Having a quiet day here. Until next time~

Happy Stitchin'!!

My Plexi Table & Other Stuff

For 'the demanding doll' (LOL are you really? :-)) ) ~ I'm not sure you will be able to see my table very well~ it is clear plexiglass. I'm sure my Dad used some kind of special saw, but I don't know what. He did sand the sides so they are nice and smooth. And he sank the screws for the dowel legs so that they are just a bit below flush with the table~ nothing catches on them! ;-) It is aprox 24 x 24 inches and he measured my sewing machine to get the cut-out to fit perfectly. Do I have the best Dad?! :-)

Bingo-Bonnie~~ I already showed my challenge quilt last Friday. :-)) And no, you probably won't see circles from me next year~ that would make it too easy to guess me! ;-))

Today I have been working on some pockets for a project and as I was sewing, I got to wondering~ when y'all make pockets, do you pivot directly at the corner, or do you take one stitch diagonally? I've always taken the diagonal stitch and it sure makes the corner turn out nice and square! These pockets are lined with fusible fleece, so the diagonal stitch will really help! I'll turn them all tonight when I'm in my chair with my feet in the air. :-)) So I will show you the square corners tomorrow. ;-) Until then~

Happy stitchin'!

Trying again~~ ;-)

Ok, Bingo~Bonnie, I'll try again~ :-) This is just an easy way to sew or quilt a circle.

♥The thumbtack is point up and stuck thru a piece of masking tape~ a piece big enough to keep the tack adhered securely to your sewing table.... if your machine isn't flush with your table, or you don't have a little plexiglass table, I'm thinking you could put the tack on your sewing machine throat. **In the photo it is stuck to my plexiglass table** But I stuck myself plenty of times with it off to the left side, so I can only imagine what it would be like having it on the inside. :-o

♥ Choose a special stitch~ this is a great way to use some of those stitches that come with your machines that you never ever use! :-)

♥Then I put my quilt sandwich on top of the tack. You do have to fiddle it a little bit so you aren't breaking threads in your fabric. I don't think this would be easy to do with a batik, but my black and whites were loosely woven enough that I could sneak it between the fibers.

♥ As you sew, the feed dogs of your machine will draw the fabric and it will pivot on the tack all by itself. Just keep a steady pace and before long you will have sewn the circle. :-)

♥The distance from the tack to the needle is half the size your circle will be~ good ol' high school geometry. ;-)

If you try it, please let me know! :-)

Happy stitchin'!!

Today's Fun~

How about this?! 2 posts in one day!! :-)) Although it does feel like its been a day since I posted! LOL that is what rising before the sun does for ya!

Today I was working on a piece for a tote and decided to try machine quilting circles with a tack. :-) Have you heard of that? I can't remember where I saw it, but it is easy! I have a nifty little pexiglass table for my sewing machine that my Dad made for me. (thanks Daddy-o! :-)) So I used a piece of masking tape to hold the tack in place, and then put my quilt sandwich down on top of it. I used a fancy stitch on my sewing machine and it just sewed the circle for me! :-) Slick as can be! My sewing is a little off because I was trying to hurry the sewing a little too much, and I did get stuck on a few of those seams, but all-in-all I don't think it looks too bad. I know I'll be playing with this technique more. ;-) You can click the photo's for a little bigger view....

Until next time~

Happy stitchin'!!

Sewing, Sewing, Sewing!

I was cleaning off my ironing board and found I had a few more Ocean Wave blocks cut out. So I sat down and finished them! :-) Today I am taking a little break from the projects and playing with a little side project and then I'll get back to the strings. ;-) Wish me luck!

Happy Stitchin'!

Quiltathon Weekend...

Do good intentions count??? :-)))

Just look what I had to deal with!~ gorgeous weather!

Aren't the trees pretty? Of course, I had to go for a few long walks! ;-)

And then I managed to settle down and sew for a bit. I got my BOM ready for next month, and I made these 2 pillowcases for my DD and her roommate. Then I pulled out my strings for string blocks and proceeded to make a mess. No I am not showing you that! :-)) But maybe I'll have a little peek of what I am working on tomorrow. Until then,

Happy Stitchin'!