Keeping You in Stitches

{Post #891} GFG Repaired and Enlarged

2012-01-26T18:54:00.000-08:00

One thing I've come to realize when I'm making a craft: As soon as I realize I don't like something, take the time to undo it, and then go on.

For example, it really bothered me that I ignored my color plan and ended up with the two cream flowers side by side. Some people would say, "Oh well--who's going to notice?" *I* am going to notice...it's MY quilt! So, yeah, I ripped out the cream flower and put the one that was supposed to be there. Not sure I like the periwinkle flower because it stands out so much. I hope once the garden is complete it will look like it fits there.

This piece measures 28" from top to bottom.

Here is the before and the now (after)...

So, all in all, I'm back where I started, and even a little ahead. I have the cream blossom pieced to just stick in where it belongs when I get there.

~Joan

{Post #890} GFG

2012-01-26T12:07:00.000-08:00

So here is my Grandmother's Flower Garden progress. I cannot take the mistake I made of ignoring my color layout and placing two cream flowers next to each other (I mean--what in the world?), so I will be removing the bottom one and replacing it with the flower that I originally planned to be there.

We are replanting the flower bed areas outside the front edge of our house...hopefully this year! I am eager to plant lots of lovely blossoms out there. White and orange and red and purple...just like my GFG...but I am not a grandmother...YET! I am not dropping any hints or news--just making an observation.

~Joan

{Post #889} You Won't Believe It

2012-01-24T12:19:00.000-08:00

An unprecedented event took place here at Parker Ranchero this AM. I cleaned off my cutting table. Yes, it's true. I remembered right before I jumped in that I should take a "before" picture. Here it is...

Whew--it looked overwhelming. The reason I started this arduous process is that I lost the instructions for my secret project AGAIN!! I figured it could not hurt to clean up this mess. I couldn't even cut any more fabric. It was time for intervention. I hope to finish the blocks today and needed to know how to cut the pieced border!! Hop on over to my secret projects blog to see the progress on my latest endeavor.

After about 30 minutes this was the result:

The second picture is to prove that I didn't just dump everything on the floor.

I found the instructions. They weren't on the cutting table, but that's OK. I found them. I also found my magnetic wrist pincushion that I use when I pin a quilt to my machine quilting frame. It's been missing for a really long time. Having it makes pinning so much easier. Um, it wasn't on the cutting table either.

Both of the items were found when I was putting away things from the cutting table. It pays to be thorough.

But I am still glad I cleaned it off!!

~Joan

{Post #888} New Flag Sign

2012-01-23T16:09:00.000-08:00

Had a good, but very travel-filled day. I found a new "used" piano at a Habitat for Humanity ReStore for my girls. After I bargained down the price, I see a sign behind the register that said something like, "We begged for it, hauled it, cleaned it, stored it...now tell us again why we should take a lower price. Don't even ask." Well, in all honesty, if I'd seen the sign before I asked for a lower price...

While I was waiting for the piano to be rung up, I did a quick run through the store. I had just been there a couple days before. I saw this sign (which had not been there before), and it had potential. I found it amusing that they had hung it with the wrong side against the wall--probably because it was so faded. It was nearly the same style as one I saw and had planned to make myself one from "scratch". I did not like the white stars painted on the blue. One was obscured by a fleck of paint that chipped off on the top left one anyway.

When I got home, I pulled out these (the blue M & M cup was just there to give moral support)...

And started doing this (two reds stripes and blue painted)...

Then I did this (all but one white stripe painted)...

Finished except for one more tiny thing...speckling:

This is an easy way to "antique" a newly-painted item. Just thin down white, brown, or black paint with water. Protect the surrounding area with paper (I just tape a plastic garbage bag to the back of the backsplash and go at it in the kitchen. After the paint dries, you can use the bag as intended.). Use a very stiff brush (an old toothbrush works great). Do some test speckles on a piece of paper, then go at it!

Finally, the finished FINISHED product:

Just to show how human and mistake-laden I am, here was my first speckling attempt:

See how the brown speckles on the cream are bloppy and fat? I panicked momentarily, then tried in a nanosecond to convince myself that it was OK, then I grabbed a damp counter-wiping towel and wiped them off. They all came off. Then I (not) patiently waited for it to dry. I added another drop of brown paint to my mix and did it again. I am glad I did.

I toyed with the idea of painting "God Bless America" or "In God We Trust" on it, but I am leaving it as is now.

Why was I going to make something like this in the first place? I want to make one of these for this summer to keep outside during the spring/summer months, and this is the perfect accent:

In time, little grasshopper. The funny thing is that I have the EXACT same ceramic flower pot. Meant to be, eh?

So, to sum up, I went from this to this:

I want you to know that you can do this, too. It only took about 30 minutes of painting and a 25 cent sign!

~Joan

{Post #887} Emily and Steve's New Quilt

2012-01-23T05:53:00.000-08:00

Here is a picture Emily posted on her blog that I stole. It is the quilt I made Steve 'n Emily for Christmas. It matches their room so well!

This is the one that was on my secret projects blog while in the making. Glad they like it! On that blog I called it the B & B quilt. That stands for blue and brown or bread and breakfast, depending on whether I'm at their house or not :)

~Joan

{Post #886} Help Find Pattern

2012-01-23T05:12:00.000-08:00

I need help finding a pattern for this quilt I saw on someone's blog. It is called Irish Stars. I cannot find a pattern for it. I even looked at the company's site where supposedly the kit was purchased. Alas--it's not there. Can anyone help me find the written pattern?

It is from this blog.

I made up one block to see if I could come up with measurements. This is going on my list of quilts to make, but it sure would be easier if I had a pattern!!

If and when I make this into a quilt, I'll use one blue and one gold for the stars. This is a busy, busy pattern.

I am putting all my piecing time towards finishing a big bed quilt that is a gift. If you have access to my secret blog, you know which one I am talking about.

In other news...Dad--your shower curtain is finished except for the buttonholes, which I will try to do today! Hope you are enjoying your time in Florida.

~Joan

{Post #885} Lunch Box

2012-01-21T17:53:00.000-08:00

I don't think this is really a lunch box. It was given to my daughter, Elisabeth, about 8-9 years ago as a secret sister gift. She has since given it to me. I am using it as a portable project holder for the Grandmother's Flower Garden pieces.

I have my paper hexagons, a cone of thread, small Gingher scissors, a needle nest (right front), my paper layout of colors, a thimble, and all the fabric pieces I'll need to complete this.

Right now all the scraps cut out from the back of my hexagons after I baste them around the paper are in the lid. I use it as a "trash can" until I get home or get close to a trash can. This system works quite well for me.

~Joan

{Post #884} Added More Flowers

2012-01-20T17:50:00.000-08:00

I had two completed blossoms in my "lunch box" (which I'll show later) for this quilt, so I watched another movie and stitched some more. The orangish red one and the white one were already put together, so that made the addition very quick.

You can see a little more of how the finished quilt is laid out now. I am going to cut across the outer edges and add a border or two once the piecing is finished.

This is the full length of the quilt. The top row will be 5 blossoms across to give you an idea of the finished size.

Oy--I feel awful.

~Joan

{Post #883} Hexie Update

2012-01-20T14:12:00.000-08:00

Saving these pictures was an eye-opener. These are only the 2nd and 3rd quilt pictures I have saved this entire year. I knew I hadn't been sewing much, but I didn't realize it had been this little.

Anywho...I went to the flea market with Rachel this AM and got to do a little hand sewing. This is the progress on my hexagon project, from the front and from the back.

I have not felt well all day, so I sat and stitched a little here and there.

You can see in the bottom picture that the paper is left on the outermost hexagon, only removed when the next one is placed beside it.

~Joan

{Post #882} Surprise for Elisabeth!

2012-01-19T10:21:00.000-08:00

There are so many projects floating around inside my head. I'm glad this one finally came to completion. I had trouble finding the "E", but I persisted. I wanted to make my dear Elisabeth a little something for her room that was really "her". Here it is. Maybe it will let you know what she's like:

The picture was taken outside against our house wall. Imagine it against a lovely lavender wall (that's the color of her room). She was so happy with it! Me, too.

It's about 20" across. I was stumped about how to paint the polka dots on, but then I remembered a trick I learned in a tole painting class. All is well!

Love you, Lizzy!!

~Mom

{Post #881} New Bulletin Board

2012-01-13T19:43:00.000-08:00

This will be a very short post. I hot glued buttons to my thumb tacks and this is the resulting new look for my picture bulletin board. Better? Suggestions for the empty spaces that don't involve more pictures??

Before, for comparison:

~Joan

{Post #880} New Sign

2012-01-12T16:05:00.000-08:00

I mentioned that we took down our Christmas decorations a few days ago. I left up a new Christmas sign that was in our living room. I wanted the incentive to finish a new sign to put up in its place. Here is the new sign from afar, closer up, then at the table where I had just finished painting it.

If you've been reading my blog for a while, you know I have been painting monogram signs for wedding gifts. This is another option for that idea. I needed this to be a bit larger than one of my monogram signs that have just one initial.

One of the girls at my church saw me painting this:

She asked me to paint her one as she is getting married this summer. Her "new" name is very long, so I thought about turning the sign to "landscape" setting. I played around with it to make one for my family. I think this works!!

Yes, Julie, that is my Emily in the picture above. Don't even think about it.

~Joan

{Post #879} Four Ornaments

2012-01-11T14:09:00.000-08:00

So, which of these is your favorite and why?

The bottom right one is the first I made. the top left was the second. I like each one I make more than the last. I have asked my kids which ones they like. So far I have two votes for top right, one for bottom right, and one for bottom left. Four more kids to ask.

These don't all have their outside strip on yet. Just sayin'...

Oddly enough (or not), my husband and I both like the same one the most.

~Joan

{Post #878} New Foyer Table Runner

2012-01-10T19:56:00.000-08:00

Today we took down all our Christmas decorations and got them in the attic in about an hour. We had already taken down the tree a few days ago. I put a table runner on my foyer table and put up my apple quilt. The runner did not look good. It also had apples on it and together the quilt and the runner...they just looked...looked...stupid!!

I was downstairs doing laundry, so I whipped up a runner I had in mind. I had seen this style a long time ago, and it just seemed like it would match the table and quilt better.

Here is my sad little tree. This is a new little sign I just got a few days ago. I like it. The tree might have to go.

This was a quilt-as-you-go, so it worked up very quickly. I sewed the binding down while Isaac and I finished watching a movie we started last night. This seems to work and look better.

~Joan

{Post #877} New Wall Art

2012-01-09T13:33:00.000-08:00

I am not a good decorator. If you have been to my house, you already know that. But I do buy what I like. I might not like it where it is, but I like it! The bulletin board two pictures down is the result of several things. Realizing I did not need a bulletin board in the kitchen where it was. Wanting a way to display lots of pictures with the ease of changing them out at will w/o major headaches and time involved. Wanting to hang a sign I bought sort of on impulse.

I saw this sign and liked it better in that same spot...above Rachel's school desk in the corner of our kitchen. I had seen similar signs for lots of money. This one is about 16" x 22" and was $10. Sold!! I also love the way it stands out on our red walls.

I am not a huge Pinterest addict, but I have seen some things that I'd like to make for my house. The inspiration for my board was an empty picture frame that had picture-hanging wire strung along the back and photos hung from tiny snap clothespins. My very thoughtful daughter pointed out that if I wanted a pic of each person in my family, I'd either need a huge frame or very tiny pictures. I do have eight children and now a son-in-law!!

She was SO right. As usual. :) She knows who she is.

When I took down the bulletin board, I realized I could spray paint it to match another item in our bedroom and end up with THIS:

It was very difficult to get a picture without glare somewhere. The paint is a puzzle to me. It is milk chocolate brown and has tiny terra-cotta-colored sparkles in it. How do the sparkles stay uncovered by paint enough to show up? Here is a close-up of my favorite part, a picture of my dear husband and I, and a picture of our hands forming a heart.

My husband pushed flat-headed thumb tacks through the tops of the snap clothespins, and I painted them brown to match the frame. Our walls are sort of a Wendy's Frosty brown color, so this looks great. I plan to add little embellishments such as putting a piece of paper behind the pictures, buttons, etc. This is just the basis for the rest.

~Joan

{Post #876} Under Sink Project

2012-01-06T16:32:00.000-08:00

Even our cabinet floor is happy we are having a makeover...see the stain/smily face??

When I was finishing up the painting of the interior walls last night, my husband came home from a l-o-n-g day of work. He had just driven over 90 minutes as well. I pointed out how bad the condition of the side walls was...he changed clothes and went right down to the garage to cut some scraps of wood to recover the walls. No wonder he is my hero! He's always thinking of others.

So I painted the walls white last night. While I was out today, he installed them. He had to cut them in half to get them in there. All the pipes, disposal, etc. have made this a cranky job. As in...I was cranky when working on it! But somehow I persevered (I'm sure it was only by God's grace).

In the above pic, I'm cutting out a rectangle to fit around one of the above-mentioned pipes. I just used a paring knife to cut. These are the cheap 12" self-adhesive floor tiles. I don't actually adhere them to the base of the cabinet. That way they are easy to remove and wipe off. I just trim the paper away from the edges to make it look nice.

Above is the finished product from that little step.

Here is a close-up of the two-pipes-into-the-floor area. I don't shoot for perfection here. Just trying to use as few tile pieces as possible.

Here's the whole floor before putting things away.

Finally, with all our former stuff replaced...

Here is the before in case you forgot:

It sure is a lot of work to empty, declutter, clean, and reorganize, but the rewards are worth it!!

~Joan

{Post #875} Bread is Finished...Granola, Too!

2012-01-06T09:35:00.000-08:00

The braid is beautiful. Now we are impatiently waiting for it to cool so we can eat some!

Fortunately, the granola cools much more quickly. Here are my two youngest girls polishing off one of the two pans. Have I mentioned that I make 14 cups of this stuff at one time? I am happy if some of it goes into the pantry for another day.

The caption for this is their response to my saying "Don't eat it all!" They are thinking, "Isn't that why you made it??"

~Joan

{Post #874} Risen Braid

2012-01-06T09:11:00.000-08:00

Yea...the granola is back in the oven for a few minutes. Here is the risen bread braid. Notice how big it is on the pan.

Here it was before.

It is reversed in direction. Susie just put it in the oven, so baked pictures next.

~Joan

{Post #873} Braided Bread and Project for Today (and Possibly Tomorrow)

2012-01-06T08:46:00.000-08:00

OK--so upon further inspection (coming to you via pictures in a minute), this is a bigger job than I had thought. I am going to paint the inside of the cabinet white (which I did on my upper cabinets and what a world of difference it made). The first picture looks innocent enough, eh? I did wipe the doors off AFTER taking the picture when I noticed the stuck-on food and drips.

This next picture is not for the faint-hearted, newly-married, or new homeowner. Brace yourself. This is the result of ten people jamming things into a large space. It's not pretty. Ready??

Yes...hideous. I will need to check to see what paints I have available. This past summer I completely repainted the face of the upper cabinets. I did not start out intending to. I used a 1" wide brush to touch up a few areas, and before I knew it, I had painted all the face with said 1" brush. I can see from the above picture that I need to touch up the cabinet face after I paint the inside walls a nice bright white. Then I'll put in the floor tiles and replace what will go back in there. I'm nearly out of dishwasher detergent, so I'll have to mix up another batch of that as well. 'Twould be a shame to actually run out and have to face dishwasher detergent crisis.

Here IS something pretty. I goofed a couple times, but I finally mastered the 6-strand bread braid. Doesn't that look wonderful? It's rising in the oven now, so I'll just stir my baking granola again and head down to see what supplies I need for this little project.

Off again! BTW, I'm piddling around doing these little things mainly because I already cleaned up the kitchen, have the dishwasher going, mixed bread dough (and braided it!), and have granola baking. The granola takes at least 90 minutes, sometimes more, so I am here for the long haul.

~Joan

{Post #872} Ornament #2...Liking More!

2012-01-06T08:12:00.000-08:00

I have a problem. OK--I have LOTS of problems. One recurring one is that I can barely endure just sitting. I must be doing something all the time. That leads to trouble sleeping because my brain will not shut off. I keep scrolling through all the things I want to do the next day. {Sigh}...it's tough.

Here is my second 2012 ornament. I like it better than the first. For those of you who have asked how they're made and are truly interested, I am including details on how this differs from the first. For those who don't care for the details, look at the pictures and move on!

Here was my first:

The second:

Now for the changes. After watching the video, I was shocked that the pieces were not pressed ahead of time. So I decided to give that a try since I hate pressing. I like the non-pressing method better. I also used a pin on every point and one in each side of the center folded piece. Much flatter and round-shaped. I am going to undo my first one and repin. I will have to discard a few of the outer pieces because they are mushed with hot glue.

The layers on #1 are 1/2" apart each. The second one has the red 1/2" from the center, then the next creams 1/4" out from there. Since I used a 2-1/2" ball instead of a 3" ball, that worked fine for me. The edges of the last cream later actually are perfectly flat next to each other, making it easier to wrap a strip of fabric around them (that will NOT be glued).

That brings me to the final change. For #1, I put wrong sides together of a strip of cream and pressed it flat with the seam on the back side so it would not show after gluing. The glue oozed out from under the strip, looking bad. Once cool, it was impossible to remove w/o significant damage to the pieces it touched. I am going to dissemble that one and use the outermost pieces for the innermost on other ornaments so the damage will be covered by subsequent layers. For the strip for the new one, I'm just going to iron a strip in thirds, making sure the outermost raw edge is in far enough not to be seen.

I made the executive decision this AM to make red balls for the girls and green balls for the boys. I will have 4 leftover balls since I started with 12, so I'll make a few others to give as gifts. These will be a great project for our Sit & Knit group that meets on Tuesday nights. All I'll have to do to prepare is cut 2-1/2" squares and tote a bazillion pins.

Big projects for today are learning how to make a 6-strand braided bread (and the bread machine just beeped, meaning it's show time), baking granola (it's in the oven), and a little project for under my kitchen sink. That involves emptying, purging, cleaning, painting, tiling (with adhesive 12" floor tiles that I won't remove the paper from the backs of), then replacing the things we actually use under there.

Here I go. I'm tired already...

~Joan

{Post #871} A Good Lunch

2012-01-05T09:34:00.000-08:00

A good lunch is a treat. And a rarity. But today is an exception.

I made my whole wheat French rolls, but shaped them into Kaiser rolls. I watched this video ages ago and have made dinner rolls this way several times, but never with this dough recipe. Here is the URL for the video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tU9I1nYS60E&feature=related. The video is evidently done by a very young man and is shaky, so take your Dramamine and watch it.

Here are my rolls before and after rising...

They're in the oven now, so I'll take a picture when they come out. Here it is...

Yes, I would love to slather these with butter. But regularly hearing of folks who are suffering from heart problems, diabetes, etc., makes butter a rare treat. Even if Jesus ate it (Isaiah 7:15).

Let's just say I've gotten a whole lot more enthusiasm for lunch today than we usually have. Who can resist healthy homemade bread?

~Joan

{Post #870} 2012 Ornament

2012-01-03T18:55:00.000-08:00

As many of you know, I have eight children. I have purchased or made them an ornament every year. They all have at least one "baby's first Christmas" ornament.

Every year I have added one ornament to their personal collections. The 2011 ones were sleds with greenery and working parts on the sleds.

I am revealing the 2012 ones here. Made the first one tonight. The red fabric will not be the same on every one. This was a sample to see how easy they were to make.

As with every new craft, I learned a little along the way. The balls are 2-1/2" across (in diameter). I am going to attach a button with a thin ribbon through it for hanging later. The cream fabric looks like it's sponge painted with taupe and glittery gold. Very pretty in person!

Here is my pattern source. http://crafterwithoutacat.blogspot.com/2009/08/ornament-tutorial.html. I made a few changes since the styrofoam balls I used were 2-1/2" in diameter instead of the 3" they recommend. To make it a tiny bit smaller, I put my red fabrics 3/8" from the center and the next cream ones 1/2" from the reds. It all matched up nicely on the sides. I could not find 1/2" long sequin pins, so I used the smallest pins I could find, which were 1-1/16" long. There was no problem using the longer ones.

~Joan

{Post #869} Supper Tonight

2012-01-02T16:16:00.000-08:00

If you would ask "how was supper tonight"? I'd have to answer GRATE!

Here are some pictures from preparation and my husband's plate at the end.

First I scrubbed some small Russet potatoes for a new recipe, Hasselback Potatoes. I dried them and set them in the bowl of a large spoon, then made parallel cuts down to the spoon about 1/8" apart. I spritzed them with canola oil spray and sprinkled a little kosher salt on each of them. Put them on parchment paper on a baking sheet and baked them for 40 minutes.

In the meantime...

Take a butternut squash and cut the ends off, then cut it in half down the middle. Cut off the skin (the skin is tough to get off, BTW). Remove the seeds and the little bit of soft skin around them. Grate it into a bowl.

Wash and grate 3 unpeeled sweet potatoes into the same bowl. Heat a cup of water in a large non-stick skillet over medium heat, then dump in the squash and sweet potatoes. Saute for about 10 minutes, stirring frequently and adding water as necessary to keep from sticking.

Susie trying a potato right out of the oven. Hasselback bliss...

My husband added some turnip greens and black-eyed peas to his plate. Here it is...

My husband just told me that he is at his all-time low weight since starting our new way of eating back on September 17 at 6:22 PM (not that I've been keeping track of when this whole thing started or anything!). So happy for him.

~Joan

{Post #868} Belated Christmas Quilt

2011-12-31T09:11:00.001-08:00

Pop on over to my secret blog to see progress on a belated Christmas gift quilt.

{Post #867} Feels Like Fall

2011-12-28T14:18:00.000-08:00

That is the name of the new block I'm working on as a leader/ender with the goslings. Here is the first block...

I am going to start on one of the alternate blocks. The blocks are 10-1/2" square. The alternate blocks are one big pumpkin. I'll probably have a picture up by tomorrow some time.

In other progress, I finished another complete row of an I Spy quilt I'm starting for way down the road, so I got that off the design wall. I also took down my Red Zinger selvage blocks and stacked them in a drawer. The design wall is practically empty.

~Joan

{Post #866} Sewing Room Happenings

2011-12-27T18:02:00.000-08:00

Once Susie twisted my arm and dragged me into the sewing room (ahem), I started on some pillow shams to match this quilt that is currently on my bed. I had this boxful of leftover pieces...

So I started sewing and sewing. I had 4 strips going, two of each direction. I sewed from the time Maria arrived at the mansion until they escaped from the Germans (wasn't the wedding beautiful). The hills are alive, with the sound of sewing.

But I digress. I also was moving forward on another quilt I'm piecing via leaders/enders. Here is a picture of many of them, grouped by tens and held together with safety pins. They finish at 1" x 2". Project picture to come later.

I was just a rollin' along on my Texas Braid strips. Here is one finished on the cutting table, ready to be trimmed down.

Then a few chops later, I haphazardly put these on the already overburdened design wall.

Do you even SEE them? I have the well-developed ability to tune things out, but it takes regular upkeep and plenty of practice, Practice, PRACTICE! After I cut up the 4 strips, I needed two more pieces, one of each direction! Ack!! That does mean more tiny flying geese (I might call them goslings, they are so small) to come! I had to dig these out of the trash can (one for each direction) to have a starter for my next sewing session.

I don't have a pattern for the shams. But I always have a plan. I am making shams for standard sized pillow forms. I am going to make them with 5 Texas Braid strips across, which = 30". Then I'm adding the red of the center squares in a 4" border and quilting those. Then I'm going to make backings that are two pieces that over lap and are Velcroed in the middle (that way they can be easily removed for washing). I will run a seam along the edge of the red so the pillow doesn't slip around, but will have a nice edge. That's my plan and I'm stickin' with it (unless I need to change it!).

The not-so-surprising part is that my box is still so full of pieces for this quilt! I may have to crank out a baby quilt to use them up. I can't stand having a project just hang around like a piece of gum on the bottom of a shoe!

Going to read a while then hit the hay!

~Joan

{Post #865} My Other Girl

2011-12-27T17:49:00.000-08:00

Susie asked me if I would sew with her this afternoon and evening. I said, "No. I hate to sew. I don't have anything to sew. We won't be watching a movie will we? Will you force me to eat chocolate?" Ha ha--then I snapped out of it and said, "Of course! What will YOU be working on?" She said she had a lot of alterations to do. We all know how boring and monotonous that can be...but not when one sews with a friend. Did you think I meant ME? That *I* was her friend? That is too normal for my Susie-Q. She was sewing with her duct tape double. Here they are...

Do NOT be alarmed. That is not Susie's usual facial expression. She was hamming it up for the camera. If you look closely at the neckline of the double, you see it is made out of duct tape. Basically, one dons an old shirt and has someone (in this case a sister) completely cover their torso with duct tape...tightly wrapped. Steve made her a sword out of duct tape to complete the outfit. I don't think they cut the form with the sword, however deceiving the picture may be.

You cut up the back of the tape and shirt underneath, then tape it back up after removing and stuff it. Voila! You have a duct tape double. Here is Emily (who appears legless, as does the Susie form) stuffing the form with wrapping paper that we had just emptied moments before. So it's a green and gray craft!

Susie says it really comes in handy when doing fitted alterations. I can only imagine how difficult it would be to pin pleats on my own back while wearing a garment. I'll tell you, that girl is one creative genius!

~Joan

{Post #864} My Girl

2011-12-27T17:40:00.000-08:00

Meet Elisabeth. Poor girl. I have NEVER put a picture of her on my blog. So she says anyway! Here she is with her hair straightened. I almost don't recognize her myself.

Well, that's done. Two more posts to come.

~Joan

{Post #863} Earbud Holder

2011-12-26T18:43:00.000-08:00

Saw this on Pinterest and made one tonight. I had all the materials on hand. It seriously took about 15 minutes total. If I had to make another, it would be even faster because I would not have to read the directions. I am going to make a few to keep on hand for gifts.

Fabric choice? A reminder to "just keep swimmin', just keep swimmin'..."

~Joan

{Post #862} Look Who's Smilin'...

2011-12-26T16:48:00.000-08:00

Finally got a smile on this guy's face. I used an old tole painting technique that I highly recommend if you are painting an item you aren't going to be washing much. Do a practice piece first. Dip the back of a small paintbrush handle into the paint, then dot it on the fabric. Makes a perfectly round dot if you hold it perpendicular to the fabric. I like it.

Look Who else is lookin' at you...

Now for a plea (I've become more bold since the Seeds of Kindness quilt). I want to make this one (ahead even!) for February. I can swing all the fabrics except the blues. My non-Thimbleberries stash is not very varied. Is there someone who could send me 2 light blue pieces and 2 dark blue pieces that all coordinate for the birds? I will send YOU something in return. Email me for sizes. Something in the light to medium blue range would be good. The picture is fuzzy, but there are 4 different blues here.

UPDATE: This request has been fulfilled! Thanks to my e-friends who responded!

TTFN,
Joan

{Post #861} New Ornaments and Angels

2011-12-25T17:49:00.000-08:00

Above are some applesauce/cinnamon star ornaments I made this year. This was easy and quick to do. Makes me wonder why I never made them when my children were small. I plan on painting a white outline and some dots on them before we put them away for the year. They smell fabulous. I cut them with an antique cookie cutter from my Grandma Varshine. Good memories. Google cinnamon applesauce ornaments for the recipe. I baked them for an hour at 250 then turned them on a cooling rack for the rest of the day.

The above picture is four clothespin angels I am mailing my sister tomorrow. I have made them for all of my children and my husband and I. Finally, this year, I have caught up with my sister's ten children!! At last. These are so cute on a Christmas tree. You just slide the clothespin "legs" on a branch. Mine are all red with white trim. Her children all have different colors...there might be a repeat or two.

Hope you are enjoying a great holiday.

~Joan

{Post #860} R-E-L-A-X

2011-12-24T18:51:00.000-08:00

We had our "Christmas celebrations" this past week...ALL week. My two college-aged sons are home for winter break, and my daughter and favorite son-in-law were also with us. My father-in-law and his wife came up two days ago. My eldest daughter and I were ill yesterday, but the rest of the family was gone all day to visit with my grandfather-, mother-, and brother-in-laws. I disliked missing the visit, but would not have been much of a companion.

I hardly had any energy all day yesterday, but when I woke up feeling some better today, I made a list of long-put-off things to do. I do mean long-delayed. I cleaned my bathroom cabinets and drawers, deep cleaned the bathroom, folded 4 baskets of laundry (and put them away!) and decluttered and reorganized a hall closet. Those are big things in my cleaning life. I heard cleaning can kill you. I'm not sure that's true, but I'm taking as few chances as possible! My house is clean today...sorry you missed it!

Last month when Susie, Rachel, and I went to Florida, Susie and I planned to visit the newborn son of some friends at the hospital. I have so many good memories with Susie!! Anywho...we got to the hospital and called the parents. They asked us to come back in an hour. We were like, "Um...we're in the parking garage." On the way to the hospital, about a block before it actually, I spotted a Steinmart store. I got a gift card for their store about 4 years ago. I mentioned to Susie that I had the ancient gift card and had never seen a Steinmart before.  I didn't know the balance on the card. Would it--could it--be in my purse right that very second? YES!! I called the gift card balance number and found out we had $50 to spend. One thing many of you might not know about me is that I. hate. to. shop. Especially for little-needed items. I detest window shopping. But we had an hour to kill, right? We headed back and found ourselves trying to find $50 worth of stuff to buy. I would have been happy to spend it all on Susie if she found something she liked. You would think this would be an easy task, but no.

We started wandering around. She tried on some absolutely goofy looking dress hats. Then we split up because we weren't finding anything worth blowing the wad on. My mechanic has one of these "Relax" signs at their service counter. I have always admired it. When I saw one of these at the Steinmart store, I knew that would be my first purchase. One of my kids saw it in my room later, on my treadle sewing machine table and asked sarcastically if that was my new motto. "No", I said, "Just a necessary reminder." It is so hard for me to relax and enjoy...well, ANYthing!! Seriously!

When I was cleaning out our hall closet (you might have been wondering why that came up earlier?), I found the nativity night light. Isn't that where you store yours...behind the bathroom cleaning caddy? I appreciate the reminder that I can "relax" because Jesus came to pay for my sins. I have a home in heaven when I die...do you? Everything does not depend on me.

Last night three of my children were shopping at a mall. Within just a few feet of them there was a shooting. A woman pulled a gun out of her purse and shot a man who was evidently abusing or trying to kidnap a small child.  The man was shot three times. My daughter ended up being locked in a store adjacent to the hallway with the shooter, victim, etc. A few moments later, several shoplifting attempts were thwarted nearby.  They are guessing that the thieves were taking advantage of the confusion because of the shooting. We live in unsettling times. A security guard knocked a thief attempting to flee into the storefront window a few feet away from my locked-in daughter. When I heard about it over the phone but didn't have the details yet (remember, I was lying about at home), I was so glad God's grace was sufficient for me. He was protecting my children, I was not. Thank God they were unharmed.

Here's hoping you can relax and enjoy the moments that make this very special holiday special indeed.

God bless us, every one.

~Joan

{Post #859} Replacing The Bun Picture

2011-12-23T20:28:00.000-08:00

Can it be that January's Count On It quilt is nearly finished? All it lacks is button or paint eyes and mouth.

Yes, yes it is true. You who are very observant will notice I skipped right over December. The month kind of sneaked up on me. I will make that one (December) eventually.

Good night!

~Joan

{Post #858} Bun Fun

2011-12-21T05:03:00.000-08:00

That's an odd title, huh? I came across an idea yesterday that I wanted to try. Making a sock into a hair bun base, then sleeping on it. The next AM should yield beautiful curls. I'll let you be the judge. The following pics are the night before, the morning after, and the bun unfurled.

The REAL neat thing? Sleeping with a bun in my hair that didn't pull. As I spun around on my pillow all night, the bun kept me from inhaling my hair!!

Google "sock bun" and unleash your own curls!

~Joan

{Post #857} Catch Up Post

2011-12-13T14:16:00.000-08:00

Here are some pictures from the past week. I left out any from the accident in which I totalled someone else's car.

I machine quilted two tops for a customer. No pictures of those either.

Had our Christmas cantata at church. Two of my kids were in it. No pictures.

Made 5 crocheted angels...pic from year ago...

My sixth child got his braces off. Before (being angelic)

After:

A couple decorating pics. New front door look with little forest trees with lights and small balls.

My new (antique) foyer table, where we put our lit-up village houses. Our sideboard now is our fruit station. I found that altering the height of some of the items in a collection like this gives it more pizzazz...probably the oldest trick in the book, but I'm a slow learner! I just tucked some paperback books under some of the houses.

Praying for a special friend, Julie, today. My thoughts and prayers are with you, my friend.

~Joan

{Post #856} eBay

2011-12-07T07:01:00.000-08:00

Just a note to let you know I have some finished quilts and some quilt tops on eBay right now. There is a button on the left sidebar that you can click. It says "whistlersmother10 auctions". Check them out.

The non-I-Spy quilts and tops are made with all Thimbleberries fabrics.

See ya!

~Joan

{Post #855} Past and Present ~ Piecing Finished

2011-12-02T11:00:00.000-08:00

This is 58" x 70". It might get quilted this year...it might not! Pattern is called Past and Present.

My heart goes out to my e-friend, Marcie, in the loss of her son. May God's grace be sufficient, my friend!

~Joan

{Post #854} Catching Up

2011-12-01T06:20:00.000-08:00

Susie, Rachel, and I have been in Florida since Friday. Whew--trying to see 58 people in 4 days (slight exaggeration, but only slight!). I will save you from the boredom of logging each day. Since this is a mostly quilty blog, here's the news...I am only 9 quilting motifs away from finishing the hand quilting on my Hearts and Gizzards/A Mother's Heart/Highway Hearts quilt! I must decide on a final name. Most of this quilt was made while traveling, hence the Highway Hearts name.

Here is the shape I am hand quilting (I have quilted around and between each heart half on these parts)...

Here is an example of one quilted into my quilt--not easy to see it on a picture...

I copied the heart shape and quilted around it and between all 8 sections for a little extra quiltiness. Love it!

Here is the whole quilt, just 9 shy of the above motifs from being finished!!

Went to a fantastic antique emporium in FL. Saw 3 quilt racks that I wanted to get...the most expensive one was $12.50!! Two problems...1. no room in the vehicle 2. no room in the house! Have plenty of quilts to display!!

~Joan

{Post #853} Photo Shoot of Seeds of Kindness

2011-11-23T12:52:00.000-08:00

Well, here it is. The final pictures of my Seeds of Kindness quilt. The sun/shadows made it difficult to get a fantastic picture, but these are acceptable. The second one shows the quiltiness after washing and drying. It's a keeper!! There are 525 apple core shapes with only a few repeats.

Have a fantastic Thanksgiving holiday. Remember to Whom one owes gratitude. So thankful for my heavenly Father and the many blessings He has bestowed on me.

~Joan

{Post #852} Homemade Tic Tac Toe Bag

2011-11-22T17:19:00.000-08:00

I love to make gifts, especially for children to use. I don't know why I don't do it more. This is the second set of Tic Tac Toe bags and storage bag I've made out of three $1 pairs of jeans and a remnant of red ticking. I have at least enough fabric for two more sets. Oh, and brown rice. How could I forget the brown rice?

Here is how it's done. Cut out nine 4-1/2" square pieces of denim. I used 5 dark and 4 light for this one. Sew them wrong sides together, press the seams open. Layer with batting and backing. I used some decorative stitches to hold the inner seams open and for the outermost seam.

Here are the bags in process. Four inch squares, applique a circle on 5 and an X on 5. Sew a bag front to a ticking back, leaving an opening to put in the rice later.

A close-up of the board corner, before de-stringing. You can see some of the stitches.

Board and bags finished (but empty), ready for a run thru the washer and dryer.

Each bag is de-stringed after drying, filled with 1/4 cup rice, sewn closed by machine, then tossed into my finished bag.

Ready for a game or a hundred.

~Joan

{Post #851} Potholder Top

2011-11-21T18:01:00.000-08:00

I wanted to bind this little potholder for my daughter, Emily. Some of us are driving down to see her on Friday. This is my only selvage project that has "Superman" fabric in it. See the emblem just above the center of the potholder? Her husband was nicknamed Superman when a little kid saw him on a cherry-picker truck or up on scaffolding or something like that. I used the insulated fabric shown (made for potholders/oven mitts, etc.) to make it heat-proof and backed it with fabric that will match her kitchen. Won't show it all because it's supposed to be a surprise. I doubt she reads this.

Finished hand-quilting my Seeds of Kindness quilt today. What I thought would be a "Big Deal" moment is more of a "Big Whoop" moment. Very anticlimatic. It's in the washer now. It is a special quilt, but probably only to me.

~Joan

{Post #850} More Selvage Loveliness

2011-11-18T14:40:00.000-08:00

I really AM clearing off my cutting table. But I'm sewing up the scraps and goodies as I go! I found these cute potholders online, so I made up 6, 4 on the diagonal...

From the online source:

Mine (not quilted or bound yet, obviously):

I cut a "base fabric" (this is read yucky stuff I had a chunk of on my cutting table) into 6" squares and just made sure they were covered, then trimmed them down after sewing the selvages on. This time I did not take the time to switch thread out every time...I just kept a dark wheat color in and let the stitches fall where they may.

Here is my next cutting-table-clearing project. I used 10-1/2" square base fabric (the red). Then I marked a dot 1-1/2" from the same corner and 5" from each side of the opposite corner. I used a gray pencil to connect the dots from each 1-1/2" mark to a 5" mark on an adjacent side. Then I drew a line 1/2" in from where the 5" mark side was to create sort of a triangle. Then I just took a piece big enough to go from one side to the other and started adding selvages.

I'm sure this is like any other sewing project...everyone has their own way of doing it. I line up the selvage side of the fabric with a pencil line and sew as close to the edge as I can. I do two blocks at a time so I can have a leader/ender thing going. The next fabric is placed facing the same way so that the selvage is on the same side as the first one. I overlap the previous raw edge only as much as I have to and then stitch closely to the selvage edge again.

Here is one block that is 10-1/2" square. Same sewing as the potholders...make sure some is hanging over and then trim to original size when finished.

Even though what I make is nearly always scrappy, I usually have some unwritten rules. They are written in this case! I didn't use a red strip for my first one since the center of the block is a red print. I broke my own rule by using some very small pieces for the last print that don't have words on the selvages. I repeated a fabric in a block a couple times, but once they are sewn to each other, it will be so busy that it won't matter.

After I got to where I didn't have enough selvages to start another 2 blocks, I moved something on my table and found 3 very long selvages. After I do some baking for Rachel this evening (and clean up), I am going to do a couple more if I have the energy. Wish me luck!

Here are all 8 I did this afternoon...each block finishes at 10" square.

Here is where I sort of got my inspiration (from an online picture):

I used a Thimbleberries red, so of course I am not in danger of burning my retinas out. Isn't that cool? Instructions for the Red Zinger are here along with lots of other patterns.

~Joan

{Post #849} Sew-y Tote Bag Gift

2011-11-17T18:30:00.000-08:00

OK, so this should be on my secret projects blog, but I don't think the recipient will know it is for her. I am not even sure she reads my blog any more. A-n-y-w-a-y-s...I am uncharacteristically thinking ahead for some gifts for Christmas, birthdays, Christmas, babies being born soon, Christmas, etc. I really wanted to sew tonight. It's been a while since I've spent quality time with my Janome.

I got the bright idea to make this certain person a tote bag. I was looking at patterns the other day. I liked different things about different patterns, so I combined all of them into this bag. It does not look that impressive in the pictures, but you know how sometimes pics just don't do an item justice? My husband and dear-soon-to-be-17-year-old daughter both really liked it.

For the past few months I've been collecting selvages. I had seen some cute ideas out there and thought I'd wish I had some if I ever saw a pattern I just had to make. Being a scrappy quilter just overflows into other scrappiness. I decided to make a band of selvages to fit at the top of my tote. Here is a section close up...

I added a few non-Thimbleberries just to see who was paying attention!

For the handles, I took a 4" side piece of fabric x 25" long and ironed it in half lengthwise, wrong sides together. I then ironed in a piece of (are you ready for this) IRON-ON interfacing 1" x 25" along the fold on the inside (I'm a little loopy tonight...don't know why). Then I folded both sides in and ironed them. I ended up with a 4-layer piece with no exposed seams with a piece of interfacing in there somewhere. I topstitched it with 5 rows of stitching. Cute. Durable. Not extremely stiff. Matches the bag.

One other "Joan" feature...I cut a strip from a leg from a pair of jeans from which I made another gift (pics to come) that was laying on my cutting table (are you following this?). I used that to make the bottom of the tote bag so it would be more durable. Genius, right?? Hee hee...

The whole shebang (except for the selvages) was meander quilted with a variegated heavy thread in primary colors. It matches the spool fabric very well.

Here is a picture of the whole thing...

An hour and a half well spent. Hope she likes it!!

~Joan

{Post #848} New Group and SOK Progress

2011-11-15T18:17:00.000-08:00

Rachel met a woman at the craft show last week that invited her to a "sit and knit" group that meets at a local church on Tuesday nights. Since R doesn't drive (not many 13-year-olds do), I drove her over and took my Apple Core/Seeds of Kindness quilt to hand quilt while we were there. We enjoyed lots of conversation and got some handwork done, too. It was a really fun time. I am about halfway finished. I was going to edit a picture, but it won't upload for some reason.

Rachel is knitting a scarf with a snowflake motif in it that she designed herself. She is a knifty knitter...so fast and accurate.

My log cabin quilt center is complete. It is 43" square. I am considering adding a very small border as a frame, possibly 1-1/2" finished. I will need to measure the wall where it will be hung tomorrow and see if that will make it too large. Here it is...I love it!

Also finished my I Spy quilt center for now. This will make it easy to see if I already have a particular fabric in it. I only have a limited amount of the blues (which is unusual since I'm usually not threatened with running out of a fabric because my quilts are scrappy and I'm cutting off bolts). I had what I thought was a great idea for adding the sashing and cornerstones to the 4-1/2" blocks, but I now think that the old-fashioned way is best. Here is one block. I added a plain blue strip to the right of every block. Those were ironed out. Then I added a light blue strip with a dark blue square on the end. Every block had strips on two sides. It went fine, but I wouldn't do it that way again.

Here is one block...

A close-up of two of my favorite sections...

The whole thing...so far. This is 32" x 43". Once I get my cutting table cleaned off, I will cut up a bunch more of my I Spy fabric collection.

Hello to my new friend, Barbara, from Sit & Knit! She said she'd look at my blog soon. Hope she does!

~Joan

{Post #847} The Tale of Two Quilts

2011-11-15T11:47:00.000-08:00

This pile is the beginning of a new I Spy quilt. I'm making it for someone who is not pregnant yet. It's going to be a big one (quilt, not baby), so I wanted to work on it gradually. I will show some progress on it later (today or tomorrow). After that, it will only be available on my secret blog.

This is my log cabin quilt wall hanging for my very own house...most likely the living room. I am sewing the rows to each other in between assembling the I Spy quilt from above. I am going to hand quilt it. Any design ideas besides Baptist Fans? That is the way I'm leaning, but I'm open to other suggestions.

Off to sew a little more. Rachel and I are meeting a group of local ladies for a sit and knit time tonight. I will be hand quilting. Think they'll notice? At the craft show last week a man stopped at my table to make conversation. He looked at all my quilts and said, "Someone's been doing a lot of crocheting!" Yes--he was talking to me.

~Joan

{Post #846] Quilt Show

2011-11-11T13:35:00.000-08:00

The workmanship on all of these was tremendous. The first two have an amazing use of color.

The Baltimore Album was hand appliqued with needle turn method. Whew--don't even want to know how many hours that took! Plus, it was a mini!

I like scalloped borders. Gonna make me something with one some time.

The last one is a mini. I forget how small, but small enough to be admired!!

~Joan

{Post #845} More Quilt Show Pics

2011-11-09T04:44:00.000-08:00

I have not done a lot of sewing this week. My dear husband and two of my girls are gone to Wisconsin to check out a college. I am preparing some gifts for this weekend that involve precise painting. I aim to make my December "Count On It" quilt soon. I did get background fabric and buttons for "baby Jesus" yesterday. To give you something to look at, here are some more quilts from the Asheville quilt show.

This first one was paper pieced diamonds. I have done some paper piecing. Not a big fan (one word: waste!).

Not one I'd have in my home, but cool techniques...

Wonky logs, houses and angels...cute!

Neat playing around with circle template...

My husband's stepfather made ceramic beads. This quilt has beads made from strips of fabric on each little rectangle block. A bonus? A plethora of various textures of ribbon/stuff hanging from the right side. Had an African feel to it.

~Joan

{Post #844} November Count On It Quilt Finished!

2011-11-07T19:07:00.000-08:00

That means I better get a jump on December's before it's 11/30!! Has anyone "blushed" cheeks on fabric? Did you use something other than paint? I am going to experiment with a nativity pattern and "blush" baby Jesus's cheeks before I sew the fabric onto the quilt.

Here is my November quilt. I like it twice as much as my October one. Here are some things I did differently that make it more likeable to me.

I am probably spoiled because I am usually piecing quilt blocks and just use whatever thread without worrying about it matching. I used clear monofilament thread and zigzagged around all of the applique shapes. On my first one, I used matching thread and a machine blanket stitch. I don't like the stitching to show that much! I only had to change out to coordinating thread for the veins of the leaves.

For this one, I fused the pieces on, then sewed the outside edges to finish the quilt, then did the above zigzagging. On the first one I did what the directions said and did my applique stitching before assembling the quilt. That meant I had to quilt it after turning it right side out and all.

I did this hanging sleeve like I do on one of my regular quilts. The way the book tells you to do it, the sleeve is sewn down before any quilting, so you have to quilt around them, which does not look good along the top of the quilt.

The book also tells one to stitch the opening at the bottom closed by machine. I did this one by hand, and I think the result is much nicer.

So, overall, I am much more pleased with this one than the last.

On to Baby Jesus!!

~Joan

{Post #843} Border Quilting Begun

2011-11-07T14:59:00.000-08:00

OK, so the picture is horrible. See the lines on the above picture in the top and right side border? That is where I've quilted so far. I got a lot done at Rachel's music lessons today. I had a slow start because I could not get my gray pencil sharp. The lead kept breaking and that was so frustrating.

I finished the little bit of hand sewing on my November calendar quilt. I also tied off all the starts and stops by hand. More explanation about that later.

~Joan

{Post #842} Count On It for November

2011-11-05T19:29:00.000-07:00

Oh, yes, this is late. And no--it's not quilted yet. I just did the fusible applique for tonight. I fully intended to make this before November rolled around, but I've had a lot of unexpected ~~problems~~ opportunities this past week.

Three of my family members, including my husband, are leaving in the AM for Wisconsin. cold, Cold, COLD!! I hope to get this finished and up on my little table-top frame by Monday. Time will tell.

This actually sports some non-Thimbleberries fabrics.

~Joan

{Post #841} Craft Show

2011-11-05T19:26:00.000-07:00

My daughters are all real go-getters. Rachel is 13. She is already working and saving money towards a camp she wants to attend this next summer.

Just a few days ago we found out about a craft show at a local senior center. Miraculously, someone cancelled and we were able to take their table. We had 2 eight-foot banquet tables, so there was a lot of space.

Rachel sold freshly-baked muffins, water, soft drinks, bookmarks, and scarves. She ended up making about $40. A good day's work!

I rounded up things I had made as gifts to display. I was thinking that if I sold them, I would just remake what I had sold. Well, bummer. I only sold one crocheted trivet and a tiny runner. The runner was something I made at least 15 years ago, right after I first started quilting.

But the good news is that I finished hand quilting the center of my Seeds of Kindness quilt (pictures with me above). On to the border!!

~Joan

{Post #840} More Quilt Show Pics

2011-10-31T05:16:00.000-07:00

I photographed this one just because it was so eye-catching and graphic. I would like to make a circle of flying geese one day just to say I could. And did.

This next one used salvaged denim for the blue part. I like it!

I love this pineapple-centered, wavy-flying-geese-bordered one. I like how the inside border fabric is different from the outside, drawing attention to the flying geese themselves. A little bright for my house (haha), but I'd love to make one in Thimbleberries' dark country colors.

{Post #839} More Asheville Quilt Show Quilts

2011-10-28T04:24:00.000-07:00

I have felt "under the weather" most of this week, so I don't have a lot of my own projects to show. Some day I will figure out how to do a slide show instead of uploading pictures individually. Here are a few quilts from the Asheville show my husband and I attended recently...

This first one was appliqued and quilted by hand. I really enjoy doing and seeing hand work.

I have made several "kaleidoscope" type quilts. The on-point squares of this quilt are that type application of the paisley print in the border.

Not really crazy about bowtie quilts, but the hand quilting on this was neat. Does anyone know what type and size of needle is recommended for this "big stitch" quilting? I will share another one done in this fashion later that was so cool.

~Joan

{Post #838} First "Count On It" Quilt Finished

2011-10-25T16:54:00.000-07:00

I am not completely satisfied with this project, but it was a learning experience. I will do better on the next one and likely remake this one in the future.

I will give details later...

{Post #837} Muffin Mania

2011-10-24T06:35:00.000-07:00

We are still plugging along the plant-based diet way. I have not been very ambitious about finding new AND tasty recipes. This AM, I think we have another winner though...Spiced Honey Muffins (recipe here). I just made the usual changes...rice milk for the milk and 1 T soy flour and 2 T water for each egg. Scrumptious. Not as sweet as we used to eat, but after 5+ weeks w/o sugar...just right. They use honey instead of sugar as a sweetener. I will use a little more pastry flour next time. Shhh...don't tell!

Love Dr. Seuss..."going in"...

Do you notice the five little dots of light in front of the muffin pan? They are coming from these babies...love this light (it's a GED 5-strip mounted under my microwave shelf)...

Coming out...

Everyone who has tried them so far has liked them a lot. That's very encouraging when one has had failed recipes recently. Well, not failures, but the "we wouldn't mind never having this again" response.

~Joan

{Post #836} More Quilts Listed on eBay

2011-10-22T12:17:00.000-07:00

My AM was spent sewing. Very relaxing. I was mostly alone for several hours, and what better way to spend them? My daughter, Rachel, pieced the inside of both of these quilts.

I added the borders and quilted and bound the top one. They are both for sale on eBay. I just love I Spy quilts. Playing with them is so fun, and of course, they can be used as "covers". They are great as well hangings, too. So much punch and color for a wall!!

I ordered a table top quilt rack to make some little calendar quilts. I was inspired by Michelle. I tried to resist, but I just had to get the book and stand. (sigh)...I'm blaming it on Michelle's too-cute-to-resist quilts.

Baking bread and home made (vegan) herb-seasoned French fries. Might have time to make a little October quilt. What do you think? I'll give it my best.

~Joan

{Post #835} I Spy for Sale

2011-10-20T17:44:00.000-07:00

I recently (I think it was yesterday) sent my friend, Sam, an envelope of I Spy prints. I love pawing thru my I Spy stash. I had just finished the zigzag layout for a surprise quilt and wanted to make an I Spy using that pattern. Here is the result.

I am listing this on eBay in a few. These are fantastic for quiet play at home, at grandma's, in the car. I always used one with the older children while I was nursing the baby. That way they were close enough to keep an eye on and I could bond with them.

How do you play with this quilt? Easy peasy...one person finds something and says "I spy an orange" or "I spy the Cat in the Hat" and the other person finds it.

~Joan

{Post #834} For Debbie S

2011-10-20T08:27:00.000-07:00

This is a quilt I machine quilted for Debbie S. Her family is in Peru. They are missionaries. I met DS a couple years back. We realized we also shared an interest in quilting. Debbie pieced this lovely quilt top for her daughter but would not be able to quilt it before they left the states. Her MIL is going to be visiting during the end of the year, so I volunteered to quilt it for her.

Debbie has a lot of things occupying her time these days, and this was something I could do to help her. Aren't the colors in this quilt marvelous? She did an amazing job.

~Joan

{Post #833} Hexagon Help

2011-10-15T18:05:00.000-07:00

Here is my not-so-professional tutorial on how I am sewing my hexagons to each other. I have never done a tutorial before, so bear with me. I loaded all the pictures first. Glance at all of them then read and follow along.

I start with knot which was wrapped around six times. This picture shows how I put the hexagons nearly flat next to each other and pick up a few threads.

The last picture above shows from the right side. You can see that you CANNOT see the thread on this hexagon that I just added.

If this is not clear, let me know, and I'll try it again.

~Joan

{Post #832} Hexagon Trial and Error

2011-10-14T08:31:00.000-07:00

All three of my kids in braces had orthodontist appointments this AM...that makes me :) because I get to hand sew while I'm in the waiting room. Those ladies always wonder why I'm so pleasant when I'm there ;)

I tried a new technique for sewing the hexagons together. It is a tad slower than just putting them face-to-face and whip stitching them, but the threads do not show on the outside (see the last picture above--greens are sewn the new way, blossom parts the old). I saw on the 'net recently where a woman irons her templates after she pulls them out. I'll give that a whirl when I get near the ironing board again. Instead of putting the hexagons with right sides together, I just held it flat in place and took smaller stitches. I might try to get a photo of that later, but it's working!! I have read several bloggers' explanations of how they sew their hexies together, and I have never come across one that does it "my" way. They must have more success with their stitches not showing.

I ran out of hexagons that were pre-basted. You can see in the top picture that I need to add a couple green hexies before I have a finished horizontal "row". I will add my already sewn together red and cream flowers, then try adding a row at a time. With my new method, I think that will be much faster and economical with time and sanity. Could use more of both.

The possibility of a bed-sized Grandmother's Flower Garden is still out there, but it might take forever. Seeing that Bonnie Hunter admitted to working on her hexagon project for 12 years does make forever seem a little shorter.

~Joan

{Post #831} Coaster, Take Two

2011-10-13T14:51:00.000-07:00

Here is my coaster, again. I started crocheting this one as I uncrocheted the first one, and added in a strip of black and two of light blue. I got the knack of knowing where to add increase stitches from doing the first one. These would make lovely Christmas presents. The pattern in the magazine is for an oval-shaped trivet, but round is splendid as well.

This one measures about 5-1/2" across.

New recipe for supper that does NOT appear to be a winner, but not to fear--there is bread baking in the oven, so all will be well.

~Joan

{Post #830} Large Coaster

2011-10-13T13:46:00.000-07:00

Above is a large coaster. I thought about making it larger and using it for a trivet on the table. It reminds me of old braided rugs. I decided I don't like the cream, so I am going to "uncrochet" it and add other colors. This is the product of 1/2" wide strips of cloth. I developed a new way of attaching the strips to each other besides sewing them as the pattern suggests. Very cute.

~Joan

{Post #829} Layout Complete!

2011-10-13T09:04:00.000-07:00

Here is the layout for my hexagon quilt. I printed a sheet of hexagon paper off the internet (wonderful thing, that internet) and mapped out my quilt. This allowed me to see how many more blossoms I still need to cut out, and what colors. Notice the arrows in the last row between the purple and the cream flowers? I am going to swap their placement.

It occurred to me that it might be easier to stitch a whole row of hexagons together, then attach the whole shootin' match to the completed part. I'm going to give it a whirl and will report back on if it's easier or not. I think if I were making a bed-sized quilt, I'd rather just stitch a bunch of blossoms and then decide where to put them. Since I laid out all the colors, however, and this is a small project, I am going to try it.

A future home for this has also been decided. It will go in my bathroom where my barn raising log cabin quilt hangs now. Just a little change.

I shopped for a few unique items (to me anyhow) at a grocery store I rarely shop at this AM on the way back from the Y. Mission accomplished, but I also picked up a magazine and found 3 items I want to make in it. Coasters and trivets crocheted from 1/2" wide fabric strips (I may never throw away a thread of fabric again!!), a snowman wall hanging that is so ca-yute, and a tic tac toe tote, gameboard, and pieces, all sewn from cast-off denim jeans. No wonder I am never bored with sewing/quilting/crafting!!

~Joan

{Post #828} Hexagon Flowers are a Bloomin'

2011-10-11T18:40:00.000-07:00

Here is my hexagon project so far. The white and red blossoms are not attached in the picture. This piece measures about 16" x 11". This is fun and so portable.

Zip on over to my secret blog for a great finish! At least of the center.

~Joan

Scrappy Bargello Border

2011-10-10T08:11:00.000-07:00

Above is a quilt from the Asheville show. I wasn't crazy about the actual quilt, but the border really caught my eye. I have been pondering on how to make a border for my spool quilt from many a month ago. Could this be the answer to my plea?? Anyone have instructions for such a border? I would like it to be scrappy (of course). Any assistance is welcome.

~Joan

{Post #826} Another Quilt Show Today!

2011-10-08T06:31:00.000-07:00

I am going to a quilt show in my little hometown today...in about 30 minutes, in fact! I am such a homebody that it is nearly laughable to think that I'll be at two shows in two successive weekends.

The quilt above is from the Asheville show last weekend. There were several breathtakingly beautiful black background quilts at the A show. The above one had such painstakingly lovely applique. Gorgeous!

~Joan

{Post #825} Roll, Roll, Cotton Boll

2011-10-07T04:15:00.000-07:00

While at the Asheville, NC quilt show last weekend with my husband, I saw this from afar and barely restrained myself from veering off the "path" of quilts to view to run over and see and photograph it. The pattern was a mystery quilt from my friend, Bonnie Hunter. I was so disappointed that the maker did not credit Bonnie with the pattern. That was just wrong!!

Here are seven pictures of the quilt, starting with the whole thing, then giving close up shots.

I've been piecing my latest secret project. If you are not a family member and want the URL to find it, email me at wparker3@carolina.rr.com for the location. Until then...

~Joan

PS: Bonnie emailed me and said that sometimes the quilt show forms leave off a space for the quilt design or designer, so it was most likely not left off by the maker. I'm glad to hear that!! I felt bad for her.

{Post #824} Little Log Cabins

2011-10-04T11:22:00.000-07:00

I took a picture of my little log cabin blocks before I took them down to use my design wall for a secret project. If you read my secret projects blog, check over there in a few. I am about to post my progress on a Christmas-gift quilt.

Only need a few more blocks (22) to complete this 8 x 8 setting. Here it is so far.

Also threw a border on this ancient UFO. It was going to be a 9-block quilt, but I cut the tan wool for the background incorrectly, so I was discouraged and threw the whole thing away except for this block. There is a little embroidery (hand blanket stitch around the shapes, and crewel for the other details) and tiny buttons of different shapes and colors. It has sat for years, but I decided to finish it and make a small wall hanging out of it.

I have never quilted through wool, but I am going to do a simple crosshatching pattern.

~Joan

{Post #823} My Birthday Post

2011-10-04T11:09:00.000-07:00

No, today is not my birthday. 8/23 is my birthday. Just so you can start planning for next year ;)

Here is the progress on my Grandmother's Flower Garden blocks. The original larger red one was repurposed to a candle mat. I have it pinned and ready to applique onto a backing.

I took Elisabeth to the doctor this AM. Her asthma is flaring up, which it rarely does. When we arrived at the doc's, I only had the purple blossom finished. It didn't seem like we were waiting that long, but I added the 4 green hexies and the blue blossom while we waited. These do stitch up quite quickly.

To give a size comparison, there is a picture with my hand. I also am showing the back. When Susie and I went to Franklin to see Bonnie, Bonnie sewed one hexie while she was sitting with me during show and tell. That was all the tutorial I needed. Basically, you baste the sides down and then use shallow stitches to sew the hexies to each other. I got some cardstock-thickness hexies at Mary Jo's last week to give this a whirl.

Here you go...

After a hexie is completely surrounded with others, one may remove the paper inside. That's why the outer edge of my piece still has the paper in there.

~Joan

{Post #822} Finally--A Few Wedding Pictures

2011-10-03T19:37:00.000-07:00

Here's a picture to start things off. Some very funny expressions. As I look at it, the old Heinz ketchup commercial song keeps running through my head..."Anticipation...anticipation, is making me wait"...

A more formal shot of the lovely ladies...

The second most dashing groom I've ever seen...

Emily with my wonderful husband (her father, hee hee), and her flower girl...

When Emily arrived at the altar, Steve did not seem to notice my husband. Isn't his expression priceless??

So glad to see some pictures! They turned out fantastic.

~Joan

{Post #821} SOK and Quilt Show

2011-10-02T18:25:00.000-07:00

I am only 5-1/2 rows away and 7/8 of the border from having my Seeds of Kindness quilt finished. I worked on it a little tonight, then I went down to sew on one of my surprise projects for about 30 minutes.

My husband whisked me away to attend the Asheville Quilt Show this past Friday. We had a lovely time. He is the best. True story.

I am going to share a couple quilts every time I post. I only took photos of the ones I liked something about. Thirty-nine in all. Some have more than one picture. Here are a couple of favorites.

This first one was called "Daniel's Colors". It was made by Daniel's mother's friend. Daniel's favorite colors were red, white, and blue. He never saw the quilt because he gave his life in service for our country. Yes, I cried when I read that. The workmanship and design in this are marvelous. The second shows a close-up of some of the exquisite machine quilting. It was hand appliqued.

I love feathered stars. I made one block once. The following scrappy red feathered star also has remarkable workmanship. The piecing is nearly perfect! The center of each star is a different pattern. The stars between the blocks have appliqued leaf shapes around them. I wonder how many hours this took to make?

When I made my feathered star, I was going to make a queen-sized quilt. After one block, I decided it would make a nice wall hanging (the ONE block, that is!).

{Post #820} One Blossom Made

2011-09-29T08:47:00.000-07:00

What a difference the flash makes! The top picture was taken without flash, and the bottom was taken with flash.

This is the "flower" I hand pieced this AM. After it was mostly finished, I looked up some pictures of Grandmother's Flower Garden quilts. I found a color arrangement I like a lot better, so this is going to become a candle mat. This worked up very quickly.

I am concerned that the batting would peek through on a bed quilt, so I might satisfy my desire for one of these by making a wall hanging instead of a throw or bed quilt.

The English paper piecing method ends up with the seams appearing to be pressed open, which allows tiny spaces between the stitches (even though my stitches were very close together). So a wall hanging is a better idea, IMHO. The block pictured measures 8-3/4" from one side to the other.

~Joan

{Post #819} Guess What?

2011-09-28T18:56:00.000-07:00

My husband told me a couple weeks ago that he made plans for the two of us for this coming Friday night and Saturday AM. I asked him what he had planned. He wasn't going to tell me at first, but decided the anticipation was part of the pleasure. He is up for husband of the year AGAIN for this. Are you ready? He is taking me to the Asheville quilt show. Yes, he is looking forward to following me around while I ooh and aah over quilts. Of course I'll be taking lots of pictures.

No hand sewing or quilting today. We had a busy AM, then Elisabeth drove me an hour one way to pick up our new car. New to us...old to others. My son, Ben, upon seeing it, said, "That's an old man's car." I calmly replied, "It is NOW". It is a 2002 Toyota Corolla...only 88,000 miles on it. Hahahaha...beats walking. We are thankful for God providing this vehicle for us and hope it lasts us many years and miles.

I had a little extra time, so I stopped at Mary Jo's to buy fabric for a shower curtain I'm making for my dad. I picked up some English paper piecing hexagons. I want to try my hand at making a Grandmother's Flower Garden quilt from Thimbleberries. Will show work when I have done some on that.

~Joan

{Post #818} One More Row Finished

2011-09-26T19:53:00.001-07:00

Now I am only SEVEN rows away from being finished with the body of my Seeds of Kindness quilt. So excited.

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{Post #817} Same Blocks, Two More Layouts

2011-09-26T13:57:00.000-07:00

Which is your favorite? I'd like some input here!!

~Joan

{Post #816} Log Cabin Wall Hanging

2011-09-26T13:25:00.000-07:00

Today is my laundry day, which means I'm downstairs a lot. Things are a-changin' around these parts. My sewing room is all rearranged and my bedroom has undergone a minor rearrangement, too. I'm still getting used to it.

I finished up several blocks for the wallhanging-to-be pictured above. I need 28 more blocks (just one row all the way around) to make it the size I want. I already have the 36 above and a couple others finished. Isn't it surprising that I need so many MORE to get one more row each way? It is to me!

~Joan

{Post #815} Wedding Gift

2011-09-26T09:07:00.000-07:00

Here's a gift I painted this AM for a soon-to-be bride that is the daughter of one of my friends. Think she'll like it? I have been wanting to make some of these for gifts for some time, and this is my first attempt. The first one is always the "roughest". They will get better as I make more.

This is about 12" tall by 5-1/2" wide. It has a hanging bar on the back and has been lightly sanded to make it look a little more rustic.

~Joan

{Post #813} Eight More Rows

2011-09-25T12:46:00.001-07:00

I am sending this from an Iconium Tablet, so it will not have a picture. Well, let me see if I can add a pic I took on the tablet. No go. The pic appeared to be loading, but then the little dots just kept spinning and spinning. Anyway, only 8 more rows to go on my Seeds of Kindness quilt, then 7/8 of the border.

{Post #812} Quilting Frame Moved

2011-09-24T13:12:00.000-07:00

This AM my quilt frame was moved down to the sewing room. Yesterday Susie and I made way for it by moving around everything in my sewing room. She helped make it short work.

See who is in the window of the sliding glass door trying to see what's happening?? Our curious Pepper. With the new room set-up, I don't have to be looking in her sad puppy eyes with her begging me to come out and play every time I sit down to sew at my sewing machine.

Moving around nearly everything in our bedroom today. We put a recliner and rocking chair where the frame used to be in our bedroom. It will be a nice place to sit and relax to hand sew, read, etc.

~Joan

{Post #811} Bell Garland

2011-09-24T07:51:00.000-07:00

This is a picture for Emily. I am going down to see her in November, and the plan is to make garlands for our Christmas trees from bells she used at her reception for her wedding. Above is a sample idea i had. The bells come with the little white bows. I was thinking a red whispy ribbon just tied at the top in a square knot (as opposed to a bow) would look nice, but I'm not sure I want to do the extra work. This is 5-1/2" section. I have always liked Christmas tree garlands but have never seen one I liked that was worth the price. Now I will use something with a happy memory as well!

~Joan

{Post #810} Washing Dishes

2011-09-22T14:25:00.000-07:00

Another BIG benefit to being vegan? The dishes are a snap to clean up. Most meal prep only involves peeling and cutting veggies or opening cans. The baked-on cheese and grease from meats and cheesy meals is no more. Scour? What is that? Grease on drinking glasses? From what?

We had a scrumptious lunch today...but the name is funny. Potato Vegetable Medley. As if a potato is not a vegetable. Anyway, I found it in one of my REGULAR cook books. I used to be a sucker for those little Taste of Home specialty recipe books at the checkout for different occasions. This one happened to be an Easter one. The dish was small red potatoes, quartered, baby carrots, and an onion cut into wedges. Bake those in a covered casserole dish with 1/2 cup of veggie broth and a tsp. of seasoned salt for 30 minutes, then add 2 diced zucchini and bake another 10-15 minutes. We had steamed broccoli as a side. Scrumptiousness!! The only substitution I had to make was that it called for chicken broth.

My son, Ben, also helped me download some apps to my Acer Iconium Tablet today. So now I have a notepad and can use my camera on there. Yay, Ben!! I made a list of all of my quilting UFOs (guess how many there are?). I am including quilt tops that are not quilted because some are large and will be given as gifts when the time is right. I make scrap quilts as I have scraps and time, and not all of them have intended homes from the get-go. I'll post the number and breakdown of the list tomorrow.

~Joan

{Post #809} Ahh...the Aroma!

2011-09-21T12:38:00.000-07:00

Who can resist the smell of a fresh loaf of bread? Not my husband. It is not uncommon to see his smiling face right after bread is taken out of the oven. Today was no exception. I don't think he even realizes he does it!

The loaf in the front of the pic is the rice bread. We mill our own wheat fresh for every baking, so the others are browner because they are our freshly-milled flour bread. Can hardly wait to eat a slice!

~Joan

{Post #808} Bread on Broadway

2011-09-21T11:51:00.000-07:00

My wheat bread is in the oven rising. Doesn't it look like it's "famous" with the lights in the back? It doesn't? How embarrassing!

The following is an experiment...using a tablespoon of soy flour to replace an egg in a bread recipe. The bread is not baked yet, but it is looking like it will be a success. I just left here for a minute to put the 4 loaves in the oven, so I'll have an after picture soon.

This is one of our adapted recipes to accommodate our vegan lifestyle. Several of my bread recipes call for an egg. In the past I read one could successfully sub a T of soy flour and a T of water in baked goods like cookies, pancakes, etc. I hope it works in breads, too. This is actually a new-to-me recipe. We had rice for lunch and had some left over. This has 1-1/4 cups cooked rice in it. I will be interested to see what it bakes up like and how it tastes.

It has been raining so hard for so long today that I have been worried it would flood again. The creek behind our house was roaring and LOUD. The opposite bank was only showing about 3 inches a short while ago. The creek normally is several feet on the other side of the bushes that you see sticking out of what appears to be the middle of the creek. I admit I was getting slightly worried. It is hard to tell in the pic, but the level was nearly to our back gate.

I am going to go sew some Churn Dash blocks together that I pieced the units for this AM...just until it's time to take the bread out of the oven!

~Joan

PS: something I noticed from the new diet is that my skin is so soft and supple on my face. I have rosacea, and there have been many times (like 99% of the time) where it is scaly, flaky, and rough.

{Post #807} Vegan and Seeds of Kindness Update

2011-09-20T17:53:00.000-07:00

Breakfast: same as usual

Lunch: soup that none of us liked much, but we all ate (that's progress). It was great northern beans, onion, celery, and vegetable broth.

Supper: very delayed because my husband and I were used-car shopping and got delayed about 90 minutes more than anticipated. I made vegan pancakes, and they were good tasting. The ingredients are flour, baking powder, salt, sugar, oil, and orange juice. Mmm-mmm. It was interesting that as we passed the supper hour, neither of us were hungry (not that we could have stopped at Vegans-R-Us anyway!).

I also hand-quilted a row on my SOK quilt.

Off to read some more about the vegan lifestyle and hopefully convert some recipes into ones we can eat now.

~Joan

{Post #806} Vegan and Seeds of Kindness

2011-09-19T17:59:00.000-07:00

Our menu for today:

Breakfast: same as yesterday...oatmeal with apples, raisins, and cinnamon. This is truly delicious. Wes peeled the apples today, which was a major improvement to ME.

Lunch: left overs from yesterday (pasta with marinara sauce, new steamed veggies or veggie stew over rice) with the addition of trying a new fruit...mango. We all liked it but would never crave it. We (with the exception of my husband) are not new-food tryers, so this was impressive.

Supper: Speedy International Stew. This was a matter of opening 4 cans and dumping them in a saucepan and heating them 5 minutes. But it. was. so. good...2 cans of Italian-flavored stewed tomatoes, 1 can of whole kernel corn, rinsed, and 1 can of black beans, rinsed. We also had sweet potato fries which were just raw sweet potatoes scrubbed and cut for fries and baked in a 450 oven for 30 minutes on parchment paper, covered with foil for the first 15 minutes. They were decadent. Soooo good. Will make more next time.

I bought 4 full grocery bags of fruits and veggies at Aldi today and only spent $26. Then I did some more shopping at Wal-mart. I was impressed with the small amount I paid for things (even buying some things out of season). Not buying meat, butter, milk, and cheese might be less expensive after all.

Of course I'm already thinking about tilling up the whole back yard for a garden next spring. Just kidding...I think!

The thing about eating this way is that because one is not ingesting tons of salt, sugar, and fat, everything has much more potent flavors. Oh, yeah...delicious.

The kids still have sterling attitudes about all we're doing, and that makes it so much more pleasant. I am striving to have some variety so we don't keep eating the same old things.

I had to take Rachel to her piano lesson today, so I got some hand quilting time in. The Seeds of Kindness quilt has only 11 more rows of hand quilting, plus the 7/8 of the border. Yippee!!

~Joan

{Post #805} Three Toppers Bound

2011-09-18T10:12:00.000-07:00

I don't have a picture, but I quilted and bound (hand-sewn down binding) these babies over the weekend.

I am spending some time today reading our new healthy-living books to procure some recipes for meals for (I was going to say next week, but I must be honest) supper tonight. This is such a drastic change for us, but we are all determined to see it through.

~Joan

{Post #804} Changes on the Horizon

2011-09-17T19:07:00.000-07:00

There are big changes going on in my family. As of this morning, we are going vegan. For those not in the know, vegan is a stricter form of vegetarianism. It means NO foods from animal products. No butter, milk, eggs, cheese; also no oils of any kind. Yes, the reality of the diet change has probably hit you by now.

Last night we watched the Forks Over Knives DVD (where, oddly enough, the knives they are referring to are surgical scalpels, not dinner knives). We were impressed by the health changes after being on a plant-based diet. So as of this morning, we are heading towards much better health.

I will let you know how we progress, and how I do specifically. I am too embarrassed to post my present weight, but I will be giving occasional updates in the form of X-10 (meaning my original weight minus ten pounds, etc.).

My BP has always borderlined on too high. I will also be monitoring that, but not posting updates about it.

So, what DID we eat today? I have several friends who are curious about what one can eat after being on the standard American diet of way too much animal-derived proteins and fats. Here you go...

Breakfast: pan-cooked old-fashioned oats with chopped apple, raisins, and cinnamon (so sweet w/o even adding any sugar)

Lunch: white rice topped with steamed broccoli, carrots, and cauliflower

Snack: one gala apple and about a handful of peanuts

Supper: spring mix (mixed green lettuces) salad with raisins and fresh broccoli; added a smackerel of non-fat raspberry viniagrette dressing, but did not like it (will eat it plain next time)

Lots of water throughout the day, which is my norm.

Yes--I thought of all the things I could NOT eat ALL day, but my kids were being such troopers that I didn't want to be a wet blanket.

This war will be won one meal at a time. Susanna was a huge help. She cleaned out all the off-diet foods from our pantry, Lazy Susan, and frig. She even cleaned the actual frig. One of the downsides is that I have a huge stash of frozen meats in my freezer, but it's an opportunity to be a blessing to others. I will be taking my Emily a huge box of pantry staples as well as frozen meats when I next visit her.

Here's to good health.

~Joan

{Post #803} Mailbox Re-do ~ Easy Peasy!!

2011-09-17T18:56:00.000-07:00

I was inspired by this mailbox make-over. It's from here.

Our mailbox (before below) needed sprucing up. Since we had the same type of box and post, I figured ours would look good like this, too. Instead of paining the numbers (as was my original frugal thought) I bought reflective ones. My husband cut out the wood, nailed on the letters, and attached them to the post.

I cut the dry clematis vine off at the ground (not sure what will happen come spring), removed the gray Velcro straps that used to hold the vine up, and sanded the grunge off the post. Then I wiped the wholel thing down and applied a coat of black matte finish paint. I got carried away and painted our (nearby) lamp post, too. Monday I will go out with the paint and a small brush to paint the screw heads black, but here is the finished product (taken in complete dark with a nearby streetlight for illumination...no flash to take the picture, but see how those numbers SHINE)...

{Post #802} On The Move

2011-09-15T12:41:00.000-07:00

Knocked two items off my to-do list. Earlier this week (when I was languishing in bed because I was ill) I made up a list of my current UFOs. My list was much longer than I thought it would be. I decided to finish a couple.

My girls' piano teacher's husband, when seeing me hand quilting at his kitchen table during their lessons asked, "Do you ever work on more than just one project at a time?" To make a long story short (for him), I just said yes!!

Here is an I Spy that Rachel started. I already have a recipient in mind. The alternate red squares have tiny yellow dots circled with black. It is cute. I already have the backing cut and ready to go as well as the binding.

Then I decided to quilt one of the toppers I pieced yesterday, using a gentle swirl pattern I learned of through Michelle. So easy! Here is a pic where you can really see the texture even though it's quilted with invisible thread...

I cut, pieced, and pressed the binding last night after I pieced the top, so it was ready to go. I am going to hand sew it down as soon as I have some extra time.

~Joan

{Post #801} Sewin' Again

2011-09-14T18:13:00.000-07:00

Cut these out yesterday. Two are Christmas gifts. Guess who got her sewing machine back? It took about 3 hours to piece these. They measure about 21" across.

~Joan

{Post #800} I Gone And Did It

2011-09-13T14:53:00.000-07:00

I just did something I have not done in years. But is was time. There just isn't room for everyone and everything.

I listed 3 of my quilt tops on eBay. And I'm not sorry (yet!). The first one is a top that I like soooo much. I had planned on hand quilting it. But it doesn't really match any room in my house. And I would have liked it to be bigger if I was going to paint a room to match it. And...you can see why it is on eBay. Here it is...

The other two are recently made. I like them both but have quilts I use in their places for those holidays. I thought of finishing them to give to someone else. But there are so many variables in what a person likes that I didn't want to chance giving something to someone who would never use it. Can you relate?

Check out my auctions if you want...

http://www.ebay.com/sch/whistlersmother10/m.html?_trksid=p4340.l2562

~Joan

{Post #799} Countdown on SOK

2011-09-12T18:14:00.000-07:00

I decided to keep a countdown so I can show that I am making some progress on this quilt. Many people blog for many reasons, but my reason is for posterity. I like to see the progress on projects. Sort of like a diary.

As of right this minute, I have 18-1/3 more rows to quilt plus 7/8 of the border. Stay tuned!

~Joan

{Post #798} Seeds of Kindness 3/4 Hand Quilted

2011-09-12T10:10:00.000-07:00

I read something really funny on someone else's blog today. Made me feel all organized and together. Ha ha ha...

It had to do with hand quilting, in case you're wondering about the relevance...

"This week I had a delightful addition to my morning ritual. After my typical activities (pawing through the basket of clean laundry for my clothes and running to the bus stop with wet hair), I tried a little hand quilting on my way to work."

If I quilt in my spare time this next couple of weeks instead of starting new projects, this might really happen!!

If you have just recently started reading my blog, let me introduce you to my baby, my pride and joy, my hand-cut, hand-pieced, and 3/4 hand-quilted labor of love...

My Seeds of Kindness quilt. You can read all about its history here. This picture shows it lying on top of my queen-sized bed. See the spool of gold thread and the little piece of white ribbon near the bottom in the center?

There is it...I have quilted on both sides of the core going horizontally as it lies, and from the left side all the way over to the spool. So you can see I have about half of the quilt (the right half) to quilt one direction. I also have about 1/8 of the border quilted. I plan to devote my hand quilting time to this project until it is finished. Stop laughing! I mean it.

I use the safety-pinned ribbon to mark my place when I get to the end of a thread. It used to take me 10 minutes or more to find where I left off quilting. Now I just hunt for the ribbon. Much faster!

Elisabeth has started taking piano from Rachel's piano/violin teacher. The interpretation of that is I don't need to be there since E can drive herself and R there. That means I have at least 2 more free hours on Mondays. I think I'll just hand quilt while I wait for my laundry to need processing!

My machine (Janome) is still at the shop. Just got off the phone with the repairman. Sounds like he hasn't even looked at it yet. Yikes!!

~Joan

{Post #797} New Front Door Decoration

2011-09-07T10:31:00.000-07:00

This is a decoration that I can see using every season (or until I grow tired of it). I had hoped to embellish it a little with "something", but I don't yet know what that something is. On my birthday last month, a dear friend brought me a large purple (my favorite color) chrysanthemum. I had seen this idea done in a slightly different way, so it was time to try it. I went to a local "indoor yard sale", run by a mission that benefits from the sales and got this little TV table to transform.

One of the great things about it is that the pot sits down inside the table, so it won't get blown over. A little black spray paint and light sanding, and voila!

Before:

I was going to put one of my artificial pumpkins on the floor beside it, but it kept getting blown away...time to buy a real one!

~Joan

{Post #796} Machine Woes

2011-09-06T13:55:00.000-07:00

I think my machine is in good hands. Of course, all I want to do now is sew!! I am going to machine quilt the two runners (1 and 2) I just pieced. My machine had a few issues, but it was limping along. The automatic needle threader (which I never used, but now that it's broken off, my eyes are bad enough that I need it), one of the two screws that held the throat plate down disappeared (aliens?), and the thread tension was only correct when it was set on 9 (out of 9). So it was time!!

~Joan

{Post #795} Blue I Spy and Tuscany Runner

2011-09-06T12:29:00.000-07:00

I am about to do something drastic...live without my sewing machine for about a week. I just found that there is a sewing machine repair/maintenance place about 5 minutes from my house (as opposed to over an hour away, where I used to take it). So I am going to take it in after I finish this post.

I've been a busy sewing bee. I decided to finish an old project (UFO) and start a new one. There was an I Spy quilt top languishing in my sewing room for over a year. I am giving it as a surprise, but I don't think the family even knows I have a blog. I learned a new free-motion quilting pattern and it turned out fantastic. It's hard to get a good pic of the quilting, but here it is washed and dried.

It looks odd because I took the picture at an angle to hopefully capture more of the texture after it was washed and dried. Here are a couple close-up pics before it was quilted. Don't you love the monkeys?? They are having a GOOD time!

Some of the squares are one fabric, and a handful of them are 4 different fabrics pieced together.

Here is a picture of the whole thing, before quilting. It measures about 40" square.

Then, in preparation for being w/o my machine for a while, I cleaned off all the little scraps on my cutting table. Once it was cleaned off and all the strips and squares were in their proper places, I picked one of my all-time favorite fabrics that I just have a bit of, that I never used because it was one of my favorite fabrics and I didn't have much of it, and I plunged in and cut up that fabric to make a table runner! Those of you with a hoarded stash know what I mean. You can't bear to cut it because there isn't much, but the print is big, oh, the drama.

The piecing is finished, and here is a close-up and a pic of the whole thing, which measures about 18" x 48" (I think)...

Hope to have this on my fall table this year, so I will quilt it soon. Now off to deliver my machine to be spruced up and then back home to shampoo my bedroom carpet (nothing but fun around here, my friends). After that I am going to inventory and declutter my pantry and big freezer. I know, you're all jealous. Go sew something!

~Joan

{Post #794} Red Broken Dishes Quilt Finished

2011-09-03T18:27:00.000-07:00

My red candle mat is finished. The friend I am giving it to will be here tomorrow night. Hope she likes it.

~Joan

{Post #793} Center of Past and Present Finished

2011-09-02T09:19:00.000-07:00

Here is the center of my Past and Present quilt. I am going to clean up my room today, and that could take quite a while, so no more sewing for me today until that is finished...or at least mostly finished.

I plan to add two borders to this.

~Joan

{Post #792} Back of Red Broken Dishes Quilt

2011-08-31T07:50:00.000-07:00

Kudos to the very observant reader who wondered what happened to the "other" left over broken dishes block? Well, it went on the back of this quilt, of course. Guess where the lone green one is going?

I wanted to write directly on the block, but the spaces were so tiny!!

~Joan

{Post #791} Monday Design Wall

2011-08-30T07:12:00.000-07:00

Just a quick post before I get started on my chores for today. This is my design wall from last night. You can see all 4 of my projects made from the left over Past and Present blocks.

On the top left is my little log cabin blocks set with some scrappy stars. I saw this picture and thought it would make a great living room wall quilt instead of all LC blocks. The star blocks are not identical, but it's the same idea with the layout. Do you like it?

~Joan