Little Things

I've been working on lots of little things lately, so let's get caught up~

First up is the new HGTV BOM. I'm not hosting it this year, just playing along. :-)

The first block the new hostesses chose was 

'The House that Jack Built' from Quilter'sCache.

I decided to make my blocks in black, white, & grey with a touch of a solid red.

I don't think I have ever used a solid in a quilt before~ I like the texture that tone on tones give quilts; but I needed to stretch~ so we will see how the year goes. ;-)

Next up is the second installment for the 'I Believe in Snowmen' quilt along.

The pattern is from Bunny Hill.

I have a friend who traces all of her patterns using Crayola Washable markers. I have to admit, I was skeptical about the marker washing out, so when she sent me some of her blocks, I tried one. I purposely didn't use red thread, so I could really see how the marker worked. ;-) 

And guess what?!!

It worked great!! :-)

I had to rinse the block quite a bit, but every last trace of the red came out.

I love it!

Here is my bluework block next to another traced block~

Pretty amazing, right?

I think you can click the photo for a larger view.

I am also doing a 'Mystery Sister' block exchange this year. I send a block once a month to my Mystery Sister, and someone in the group sends me a block. We did get a little say in color preferences. I chose  Autumn-type fabrics/colors.  In December, we picked the fabrics for our 'Mystery Sister' and all the block need to be made from the 5 fabrics we chose; but not all 5 fabrics need to be used in every block.  Of course, I can't show you the blocks I am sending~ my 'Mystery Sister' may be lurking. :-)

But I can show you the first block I received. Whoever my 'Mystery Sister' is~ she obviously has been checking up on me because she chose a star block~ and I love stars!!  I also love the colors

she chose. This is going to be a fun year! :-)

Here is my first block~

She had to remove one of the fabrics because she had 6 on her sample card~ I wouldn't have 

minded at all; but someone noticed and pointed it out. :-/

I guess that's all the news from here~

I need to go dust off my sewing machine and get it humming! :-o

Until next time~

Happy Stitchin'!

A Little Fun~

Brooke at Silly Mama Quilts did a post last week about Valentine's fabrics. I just love Valentine's fabrics too, and when I told her that, she offered to share a few squares of Chemistry by Cosmo Cricket from her stash. :-)

At the same time I saw the new U-tube tutorial by Jenny of Missouri Star Quilts~ a pinwheel in a Churn Dash block.

So, do you know where this is going? :-)

Yup!! I had to try the block using the charm squares. LOL Now I will warn you right up front~ Jenny uses layer cake squares, which are 10 inches. And this technique produces a lot of bias edges! :-o BUT~ I still had to give it a whirl... three times!! :-)  I ended up with three cute little blocks~

~and I haven't decided yet if I will put them into a larger mug rug, a little bag or what. They measure about 4 x 11 3/4th's now.  I'm not sure why the stripes look so wonky, I must've shifted something. When you are sewing this small~ every little error is quite glaring. :-o  Oops.

I also got my first segment for the 'I Believe in Snowmen' sew along that we are doing on the HGTV message boards finished.. This is an Anne Sutton of Bunny Hill Designs pattern; and I must say I am loving the reds. Some of the ladies are doing theirs in blues, and there is even a rich gold set being done. Lots of variety!

Sorry for the tiny photo~ I think if you click it, it will get bigger. ;-)

That's all for now.
Until next time~
Happy Stitchin'!!

Christmas Gifts~

My hubby is a gadget guy, I know this, but he still managed to surprise me! :-)

He had asked me a long while back if I had ever heard anything about these rippers. Just casual like, and I had told him no.  Apparently, he did some research. LOL

And I have got to say~ this is the best invention since..

well, since....

hmmm...

rotary cutters?

 

I was unconvinced until I had to rip a row off of a current quilt proect.

Oh my gosh! It went so fast! And did not leave a ton of

little threads like I thought it would~ the back thread was one long piece! :-)

For big jobs, or small stitches, this is the way to go!

And I need some help~

I was also gifted these two wonderful jelly rolls.

What is your favorite jelly roll pattern? I have already made a 1600 quilt, so I'm looking for something a little different.  I have some tea dyed-looking  Kona that would go with the

either bundle~ I just have no ideas!

Help? Please?

Until next time~

Happy stitchin'!

Embroidery...

I love doing hand embroidery!

In the evening, with my feet in the air (recliner) LOL,

sipping on a hot choc and watching a little TV~ there is nothing that I like to do more.

I need to keep my hands busy. ;-)

Between smaller projects, I have been working on the panels for Crabapple Hill's

'Over the River and Through the Woods' pattern.

I have the two largest panels completed and now need to trace the words~

Sorry for the dark photo~ it is a gray day here. :-/

I am using Perle 8 for this project and have really been enjoying the part where I don't need to separate threads. ;-)

I have also started on 'I Believe in Snowmen' from Bunny Hill Designs.  I am doing this one

as part of sew-along with my HGTV quilting friends. 

Remember last year we did the 'Merry, Merry Snowman' quilt? I think this year will

be just as much fun as the ladies have all been choosing their colors and planning

their quilts. As for me~ I am sticking to red/white, and embroidering with perle 12. I love it!

I will show you the blocks as I finish them.

Until next time~

Happy Stitchin'!

...And the Terrible Blogger Award Goes To....

Gulp! Me. :-o

I am so sorry I have neglected to blog for so long!

I guess the holiday rush, making cookies, mailing, sewing

etc just caught up with me!

And the worst part is that I didn't take photo's of the things I mailed!!

:-o I know~ terrible blogger. Sorry.

~BUT~

Its a new year! A new chance to wipe the slate and start over. And I plan to. :-)

I did a BOM for HGTV quilters last year and I showed you many of the blocks I did.

Well, sad to say, that quilt is not together yet, but I am working on it!

Everyone was asked to choose a 'secret' block and make 13 of them. They ended up being the chain between the monthly blocks.

This is my secret block~

 

And this was my December block~

  Now I am in the process of sewing them together and I really like how they are looking!

The ladies all did such a great job with their monthly blocks and secret blocks. It was a fun year.

I've decided not to lead another BOM there this year, and two sisters have taken over.

I do hope to follow along and make the blocks they choose for us each month. :-)

I am hoping for a more 'laid back' year. Working on the BOM's I started last year, and just doing lots of finishing.  We will see how that goes! LOL

My very best wishes for each of you for 2014!

I'll be back soon with my embroidery projects for the year~

Until then,

Happy Stitchin'!

One of Those Secret Projects...

I know I told you a few months ago that I was working on some secrets. :-)

This was one of them. I gathered a group of my HGTV friends

to send me blocks for a comfort quilt for one of our mutual friends, who has

been dealing with some health issues.

I talk to said friend almost weekly~ so this secret was 

really hard for me to keep! But I did it!  :-)  I asked for Friendship Star

blocks and we had quite a discussion on which way they should spin. LOL

I like that they spin in both directions~ kind of like the wind.

As the blocks started arriving, I started laying out the quilt.

I pieced it together, quilted it, and bound it.

Another friend sent the backing fabric, and almost everyone involved contributed a little

bit to the batting.

After I had it all together I realized this friend needed a foot-warming pocket. :-)

She lives where the snow blows and it gets cold!

So I made one and added it to the back.

The backing fabric photographed much lighter than it is in real life. 

I am happy to report that the quilt was received

and it is doing just the job it was intended to do!

Wrap our friend in warm hugs from all of us! :-)

I am continuing to work on a few Christmas gifts and other things.

I hope you are finding some stitching time too.

Until next time~

Happy Stitchin'!!

Caity ▫ Did tote

When Stephanie at Loft Creations was looking for someone to do a pattern review

 for her~ I leaped! LOL Really! A leap! :-)

Ok, maybe only my heart leaped, but still~ that's a leap!! I was really

excited when she emailed me!!

I have followed Stephanie's blog for quite some time, and I love

her style!

She was looking for reviewers for her newest pattern~

Caity ▫ Did.

Isn't that a fun name? I, um, borrowed this image from Stephanie's blog because

my printer would not print out the cover in color nicely for me. First I ran out of blue ink. Got that, and then the red ran out! :-o Argh! Some days are just like that.

Ok, I know you want to hear my review~ so here we go~~~

I loved that this pdf pattern was only 5 pages = the cover plus

4 printed pages. Easy right?  

You also get a few choices in the Materials List.  I like that because

if you don't have ribbon for the weaving, you can use fabric~ and she tells you how! 

If you don't have one kind of stabilizer, she gives an option there too. It makes

it really easy to gather your supplies and get to work!

The cutting directions were very clear and concise.

I didn't really like that I had to flip through the pages to find the diagrams,

 but they were clearly labeled. And if that is what was needed so I didn't have to print out umpteen pages, then I am fine flipping pages. :-) One of the diagrams didn't really look like 

what we were told to do in the instructions~ the weaving was missing.  Since

I don't know how diagrams are made, I'm not sure if that could be changed to match the over/under weaving or not. Otherwise, the directions were spot on!

Here is my bag~

 

 

The only thing that made me cringe a little was the step that said 

'machine quilt as desired'.  Do those words strike terror in your heart?

They used to paralyze me!  :-o  But not so anymore, I guess I've been a quilter long enough to 

just take them in stride. :-) 

I followed some of the woven lines out to the edges and then mimicked them on the back~ 

quick and easy.  :-)

 

Inside, I made my pocket a little bigger. (I hadn't intended to, but DH was talking and I was 

cutting and I cut it too big- I could've cut it down, but decided to just go with it and sew a seam down the center). :-)

I know most people wouldn't offer to review a pattern when they are in the midst of 

gift making~ BUT, this is going under the tree for my DD.

The Australian postage stamp fabric has been living in my stash for some time, and I 

know she will love it!  Now I just need to make a bag for me! LOL

This is one pattern you could make lots of times and not get bored. :-)

And I do think it is easy enough for a beginner with basic sewing knowledge.

One last thing that was pretty cool?~ Stephanie has a lot of tutorials on her blog,

even ones very specific to making bags. Like how she does handles, and how she squares the

bottoms of her bags. She gives the links in her pattern, so if these things are new to you~

you just need to hop online and its like having someone

hold your hand through those steps. Pretty cool, right?

Thanks Stephanie for taking a chance on me! I loved making Caity ▫ Did!

And my DD is going to love it too! ;-) ;-)

Until next time~

Happy Stitchin'!!