CGCQ September Projects

This month, I am going to continue working on the wedding quilt. My over-ambitious undertaking last month did not take into account three factors:

1) That I would change my mind mid-stream and decide to make a pieced back too, with applique no less, so it will be reversible. Yikes!

2) Unexpected out of town company twice during the month would interupt sewing time.

and

3) Wedding festivities take up a WHOLE lot of time!

So, this month, I will be working on finishing all the projects I have started for July, and August. I will post some pictures as soon as this rain quits and I can get some decent ones. Note to self, I really need more lighting in this house.

Lee's having a giveaway

Lee at Quilts By Lee is having a giveaway. She has some lovely fat quarters up for grabs.

Saturday, August 29th

The day began with overcast skies, humidity and about 85 degrees . The bride and bridesmaids arrived about 10 a.m. and did some last minute decorating, had their hair styled, and were, for the most part, ready when the groom and groomsmen showed up around 2:00 p.m. By that time, the sky was looking pretty grey. Please don't rain! The photographer took quite a few pictures of the wedding party for the next 2 1/2 hours. At about 4:30, we were told to take our seats and get ready to begin..... OH NO, rain drops, just a few, thank goodness. At 5:00, the wedding began with blue skies around us.

The first one down the aisle was this handsome fella.

He surprised his grandmother and I with the two flowers he was carrying. He laid one in the empty seat beside her, (in memory of his grandfather who passed away earlier this year) and one in the empty seat beside me (in memory of his father who passed away when he was three). Such a sweet, thoughtful jesture, totally unexpected and even as I type this I am doing so through tears.

They wrote their own vows, and neither one of them could get through them without having to stop to compose themselves a couple times. It was very touching to witness, you could see the love and total commitment to each other on their faces.

The newly wedded couple as they walked back down the aisle.

The whole bridal party.

Believe it or not, this is the first picture I have of my three children and I together. I'm usually the one behind the camera. (I'm the old lady with grey hair shining, in case you didn't recognize me. I didn't realize my hair was that grey...YIKES.)

It was so hot in those tuxes and long dresses that they told the bridal party to bring clothes to change into for the reception. Here is the bride and groom's first dance. Don't they make a cute couple?

I thought this was the first time I had danced with my son, until he reminded me I showed him how to dance when he was in the 6th or 7th grade and had a sock hop to go to. He really doesn't like to dance much and accused the bride and I of conspiring to find the longest songs for these two dances.

Here is a shot of my new daughter-in-law, her mother and her best friend line dancing during the reception.

So, now, the bride and groom are in Florida, on their honeymoon, and I am officially an "empty nester." It was a beautiful ceremony and a lovely day. I do believe everyone had a good time.

Hmmmmm, now I have to decide how to turn the extra bedroom into a craft/sewing room. Any suggestions?

Well, the top is finished, FINALLY

Good grief, where is this month going? It's already half over, the wedding is in just under two weeks, son is moving out this coming week, and mom is beginning to think she's going to be committed before it's all over with.

I finally got the top of the wedding quilt finished. It is looking like it will not be quilted before the wedding. There just will not be enough time with all of the family coming in for the wedding. My sister offered to quilt it for me on her long arm, but that would involve sending it to Kansas and I just don't know if I want to trust the mail system with this top.

Anyhow, here is a picture of the finished top, and a closer view of some of the blocks. And as usual, blogger is not cooperating and the pictures ended up at the top of the post in the reverse order. I do wish they would fix that little quirk in the system.

The top does still need a good over all pressing.

August Tag from CGQC

Kelly has tagged all of the Charming Girls again this month. I love reading the responses from the girls to these tags. It helps me to get to know them better. This time there are only three questions that need to be answered. Here they are, with my response to each.

1. Share your favorite quilting or sewing tip.

There are so many tips and tricks I have picked up over the years, but I think my favorite is one that came from my Grandma. Her advice was "quarter-inch seam, or scant quarter-inch seam, it really doesn't matter, as long as all seams are consistantly the same width in a project." She always used the edge of her pressure foot for a guide in her quilt making.

2. Share your best tip for managing time more effectively (what works best for you)!

I find I get more accomplished if I don't have to worry about stopping to prepare a meal from scratch. There are several ways to accomplish this goal. You can prepare the ingredients for a salad first thing in the morning and toss them together right before a meal. You can put ingredients for your main course in the crock pot, set on low and let it cook while you sew. Or you can do like I do and prepare meals ahead and freeze them. This method is known as OAMC (Once a Month Cooking). This past Monday and Tuesday, I did the cooking for this month. Monday was shopping and prep day (local grocer has a truck load meat sale once a month). Tuesday was a cooking day. The results? A freezer full of scrumptous meals for a whole month which will require very little time to prepare. Simply reheating, or in some cases, tossing in the crockpot to cook while I sew. If you are interested, there are a lot of good sites out there on the internet with recipes and instructions. The one site I use the most is 30 day Gourmet .

3. If you could go anywhere in the world, where would you go?

Kansas. I know that's not a very exciting destination for most of you. My sister lives there and I would really love to spend some time with her. She makes beautiful quilts. One day, I will have to show you a couple projects she has made for me. Oh, the mischief we two could get into if we lived closer to each other.

I'm looking forward to reading the rest of the responses to this tag. So, what are you waiting for? Start blogging your answers, girls. ;^)

Another lovely giveaway for the quilters out there

I stumbled across a new blog today. And boy am I glad I did! It's called I Have To Say . Not only is it a lovely blog full of beautiful colors and projects, there is a giveaway involved! YAY! I love giveaways, and have been the fortunate person to have won several. The giveaway this time is bolt ends from the lines she offers in her Etsy Shop, as much as she can stuff into a flat rate envelope. (She says she has put as much as 8 - 10 yards in an envelope previously!) Head on over and get your entry in.

Quilter's Stimulus Package?

Elaine is having another of her fabulous Quilter's Stimulus Package Giveaways! Head on over to her blog to enter.

Heads up!

There is a quilt being given away here. It is gorgeous, in pinks and blues, and called Scrappy Happy. Head on over and enter. You can never have too many quilts!

Progress

Progress n. Movement, as toward a goal; advance.



This is a sneak peak at the quilt top made from the fabrics I posted yesterday. I got the main portion of the top finished. (Please excuse the lighting, it's still dark outside and I have terrible lighting in this house.) I have the borders cut, and hopefully will get them put on today. This picture does not do the fabrics justice.

The darker pink fabric is "Rock N' Roll" #2072 by Ro Gregg for Norcott Fabrics. The lighter pink is "Rock N' Roll" #2073 by Ro Gregg. The flower print is "Crystal Palace" by Exclusively Quilters. The small green print is "Daisy Vine" by Michael Miller. The green polka dot had no identifying marks on the selvedge. All of these were picked up some time ago, and I doubt they are still available, which really makes it difficult because I don't have enough of them left for a backing. Maybe a nice batik would work? What do you think?

August is here!

First, congratulations to all of the Charming Girls who finished their projects this month.

And it is time for another show and tell of the projects I will be finishing this month for the Charming Girls Quilt Club. I was unable to finish all of last months projects, so hopefully this month I will be able to finish those. In addition, these lovely fabrics will be taking a major role in the one project I definitely HAVE to finish this month.

My youngest son is getting married at the end of August. These fabrics will be the borders on a quilt top I have started for him and his bride to be. (She loves pink.) Anywho, this is taking priority this month, along with about 50 cry packs (tissue holders) for their wedding made of orange and white satin (He loves the Florida Gators and they are using blue and orange as their wedding colors.) I WILL finish this quilt this month, whether I get any house cleaning done or not (oh darn).

Good luck to the rest of the Charming Girls! Kelly, thank you again for hosting this club and helping motivate us to get the UFO's and WISP's finished.

Photo finished

Here is the one project I did manage to finish for the Charming Girls Quilt Club this month. Please don't look too closely. This is definitely not one of my favorite pieces, but I do love the pattern......the disappearing 9-patch. I will probably use this pattern again when I can sit longer. I hope to finish the rest of my projects next month. For those of you who expressed condolences on my injury, thank you. See you next month at the club.

Have you ever had an injury

that almost completely incapacitated you? One where you can't walk or sit, or even lie down comfortably? LOL, that is where I am now. A week or so ago, I was minding my own business, walking through the house and slipped. I landed flat on my back side and after all was said and done, I had a broken tail bone. "Sorry, Mrs. R. there is nothing we can do to fix a broken tailbone, you'll just have to live with it while it heals on it's own." Those were not the words I wanted to hear. But deal with it, I must. Needless to say, unless it takes less than 15 minutes to do, no task is completed in a short time. Fifteen minutes is about all the tolerance I have for sitting, walking or laying down at one time. So, please forgive me if I take a short break from blogging for another week or two. I'll try to pop in as I can.

Only two days left

on SewMeow's giveaway. Better Hurry!

I've been Tagged

By Kelly at Charming Chatter. It's part of the Charming Girls' Quilt Club activities for the month of July and we get an extra entry in the giveaway at the end of the month for playing along. I don't normally do "tags." But since I voluntarily joined this club, and all members are being tagged, I am responding.

1. My favorite fabric is:

My favorite fabric is always the last piece I purchased. Call me fickle, but I love all of them when I buy them, until another one catches my fancy and I buy it.

2. The pattern I'm most looking forward to sewing is:

The dress for my son's wedding next month. I have narrowed my choices down to two patterns. The wedding is scheduled for the end of August, and is an outdoor wedding, so it will be hot, hot, hot. I just have to figure out which of the two patterns will be the coolest temperature wise.

3. The food that is my weakness:

Is ice cream. Plain old vanilla ice cream. Yeah, that may seem boring to some of you Ben & Jerry fans, but it's plain old vanilla for me. That way, whatever my mood, I can dress it up with toppings. My favorite topping? Ever tried vanilla ice cream smothered in Rice Krispies or Corn Flakes? YUM!!!!!!!

4. If I knew I couldn't fail, I'd:

Move to Kansas to be closer to my sister, so we could start a quilt shop in the small college town where she lives. Then we could design our own fabric lines and make our own patterns.

5. The Best "Life" Advice I know is:

Watch what words come out of your mouth; you never know when you'll have to eat them. And some words are easier to swallow than others.

Thanks to Kelly at Charming Chatter for hosting this quilt club. She is making it fun for all of us.

Don't forget

to run by Sew Meow's blog and enter her birthday giveaway. So far she has 8 lovely cat fat quarters, beeswax, seam ripper, cat buttons, thread, and more already added. She has 4 more days that she will be adding things. The winner will be announced on her birthday, the 19th, so even if you don't want these lovely things for yourself, do stop by and wish her a happy birthday. This is one heck of a chance to add to your stash!

WOOOOT! Finished!

I have finished the table runner I posted over the weekend. Whew! one down 4 projects to go. I will post a picture of the finished runner as soon as it comes out of the dryer........may take a while, because I use the air-fluff setting to dry my quilts (basically no heat, only air). Nice feature to have on a dryer, and works beautifully on a wet rainy day. Off for now to work on the other projects. :) happy quilting!

Indecision

I am plagued with indecision. I start a project, don't like the way it is turning out, and go off in a totally different direction. For instance, as a part of my participation in the Charming Girls Quilt club this month, I committed to finishing a quilt from the odds and ends of nine patch blocks that I had sitting in the closet. I got the blocks out, and cut them in quarters for making a Disappearing 9 patch block. But the colors just do not go together. The most number of blocks of one fabric combination that I had was 6, but most of the blocks there were only one or two. You have to know, these were blocks made from scraps of past projects. I love scrappy quilts, but this one is just not coming together. There is not enough variety to make it flow, and not enough of each block to do much with otherwise.

So, in mid-stream, I have changed my plan. I am taking the blocks that are made from the same fabrics and making table runners out of them. There will be two table runners (4 blocks each), and one table topper (that one I had 6 blocks that matched). They look great as table runners. Here's a little preview of one of them.

It's not finished, I still have to put on the binding. I did stitch in the ditch for the quilting, and plan to use a red binding on it.

What do you think of it so far?

Check this out!

Sew Fun Quilts is having a Birthday giveaway! She is adding one item each day for the first 18 days of July. The drawing will be held on her birthday, July 19th. Go on over and sign up. There are already some fantastic items in the giveaway. If you love cats, you have got to check out this one.

Which one are you?

I have a few questions for all you serious quilters and sewing enthusiasts out there. Do you sew for vanity or for love, or both?

Do you crave the attention that a perfectly sewn item gets you? Does every stitch have to be perfect? Do you repeatedly tear out a seam that just isn't quite right to your way of thinking? Do you enjoy what you do, and I mean do you really, really, really love every aspect of it? Are there times you would rather just put the item in the trash and start something new because the pattern is so frustrating but you chug along and finish it perfectly anyway?

Or do you sew and think of the recipient, which in turn takes your mind to a loving memory of that person? Do you let the small mistakes slide because you know that the recipient won't mind a few mistakes because you made it for them? Do you truly love sewing, just for the sake of sewing?

I fall in the last category. I don't have to have perfect seams with all corners matching perfectly. To me, a few mindless mistakes made while thinking of someone I love when making an item make a piece more interesting and brings me closer to that person. It makes no sense to me to redo a piece a gazillion times just to get the perfectly matched corner. Then sewing becomes a chore and is no longer fun for me. I sew because I love the act of sewing. I have heard sewing referred to as therapy. I have to agree with that. When I am concentrating on a project, I lose track of time, my body relaxes and I thoroughly become engrossed in the process. Stress is wiped away.

Don't get me wrong, I do try to be as precise as possible when sewing. But, if it doesn't turn out exactly perfect, I don't sweat it. I have found that there are very few people in this world that will look at every stitch in an item to see if it is perfectly lined up with the next one and the one before it.

Let me leave you with one thought:

Don't sweat the small stuff.

Have You Heard?

There's a new giveaway going on over at C&T Publishing. They are giving away, not one, not two but 16 grab bags filled with all kinds of goodies. The contents will be a surprise, but you can rest assured that if you win one of the grab bags, you won't be disappointed. There are three ways you can gain an entry to the giveaway... make a comment on the post, sign up for their newsletter and blog about the giveaway. So, yes, this is my third entry into the giveaway. It promises to be a great one and is open until July 12, 2009.

Holiday Fun, and I Won a Giveaway!

Happy July 4th America! I hope everyone has had a perfect day! I know I did. I went to a cookout with family and friends. We spent a leisurely afternoon chatting, eating and reminiscing about other holidays we have spent together.

I was notified by Robin of A Straight Seam this morning that I had won a giveaway on her blog. I get one pattern of my choice (I chose her Rose Parquet pattern) and a copy of her beautiful Carolina Rose quilt pattern! Yippeeee! If you haven't visited Robin's blog, please do so, she has a wonderful bunch of eye candy on her blog.

July Projects for Charming Girl's Quilt Club

Time to post my projects for this month's Quilt Club: First up, some 9 patch blocks that have been sitting waiting patiently on me to return to them for over 6 years. I decided to try the Disappearing 9-patch design and have already cut the blocks in quarters. Haven't decided yet exactly how I want to put them back together. Any suggestions?

Next up, a friend of mine has an autistic son. She is a proud mom and has asked me to make a "rock" bag for her using this Autisim Awareness fabric to make it. This will be the 6th different project I have made for her using this fabric, and they have all turned out nicely. For those of you that don't know what a "rock" bag looks like, it is a simple pouch, with a flap, and a strap long enough to be worn cross-shoulder. I had made one for her son using scraps from the project shown in the post below this one. She wants hers to be similar but made with this fabric and adding a zipper. She takes her son to the park downtown to play almost every afternoon and she wants something to keep her wallet in as she walks when he plays.

So, that is the two projects I plan for this month's quilt club. Wish me luck! Oh, and if you are of a mind to join us, hop over to Charming Chatter and sign up.

TTFN

Recent Project

This is a bag I recently finished. It was made from a repurposed men's size extra large shirt. The shirt was made out of a very soft suede-like polyester fabric. Sorry for the colors in the photos, I borrowed my brother's camera and it is an older model. The color is more of a dark greenish tan than what is shown. The flap is actually the top of the sleeve, and was designed to utilize the shape of the sleeve cap. I did a crazy quilt cover on the flap. The bag is fully lined and I used fleece as the interfacing to maintain the softness of the bag. The over all size of the closed bag is 13" wide X 15" high.

With the flap open, you can see the two front pockets of the shirt which have button closures, handy for things you don't want to lose in the bottom of the bag like sunglasses, keys, etc.

The lining:

Close up of the stitching detail on the flap and strap. The strap is long enough to wear across your chest to facilitate hands free carriage. I hope you enjoyed looking at my little project. I have a couple more of these shirts in different colors, a rich burgundy/wine color and an olive green.

I did not use all of the shirt in this bag, only one sleeve and part of the front and half of the back. I don't have pictures of the other items I made from it. They included a wallet, a cross body "rock" pouch for a friend's son (he wanted an "Indiana Jones" bag), one bracelet and one chapstick carrier/key fob out of the cuffs and a couple of eyeglass cases. I kind of made it a quest to see exactly how much of the shirt I could use and how many items I could make from it. By the time I was finished, I had only a couple very tiny scraps left.

There's A New Club in Town!

And I joined! Kelly has just started a new club on her blog. I am "sew" excited about this new club. It is open to any project made from fabric and sewn. Basically, each month we are to post a project that we will then finish by the end of the month. For more details, go to Kelly's blog and check it out. Join in on the fun!

Now to figure out where I want to start for this month. I'll be back later today and post my first project.

I don't know how much sewing was involved but . . .

Have you seen this contest? It is a scholarship contest for high schoolers. They had to make prom outfits out of DUCT Tape! Some of them are really cool. Check it out It's amazing what these kids have come up with.

Goodies Galore

Oh my goodness, I have been so remiss this past week. I have received the prizes I won in some giveaways here in blog land and haven't even mentioned them. Please forgive me girls!

First, I received a beautiful charm pack bundle from Pam at Library Gal Quilts . It is a the Charleston V line of fabrics from Marcus Brothers and is a pretty coral and brown fabric line. Just plain beautiful. I haven't decided what to make with it yet, but it sure is pretty to look at. I will be sure to post whatever I make from it. Thank you Pam!

I'd take pictures to show, but Son #2 broke my new digital camera when he took it on vacation with him and hasn't replaced it yet. (Note to self: never let the kids borrow your camera.)

As if that wasn't enough, I also won another giveaway held by Jules at MoonCat Farms . She made the most gorgeous flower-shaped pin cushion to giveaway. And, it's my favorite color...purple! YAY! I received it in the mail today and it is even prettier in person than it was on the website (if that's possible). Thank you Jules!

Wow! two giveaways, two wins. Now that is not to say I didn't enter a whole lot more than two, but I feel so honored to have won them out of the hundreds of entries that these giveaways generate.

AND. . . I have just been notified that I won a third one. How cool is that? This one is a four patch bundle from Jane at Stitchminx Moments . Thank you Jane!

How lucky can one girl get?!?

If you haven't visited any of these three blogs, you don't know what you are missing. These ladies have some fabulous projects on their websites. Why not stop by and tell them Hi!
There are a lot of fantastic giveaways happening all over the internet on sewing blogs. Check them out

Have a great day!

What was I thinking?????

I have been wandering around blogland a lot recently and finding all kinds of wonderful quilting and sewing blogs. It has put me in the mood to make another quilt. I decided I wanted to try one of the Disappearing 9-patch quilts......simple enough, make 9 patch blocks, cut them in quarters and rearrange them to sew back up into this beautiful quilt.

Ok, I thought, I have another top started (It has set in my closet for the last 6 years waiting on me to finish it. It ain't gonna happen.) with 12" nine-patch blocks alternating with white squares. (We're talking wrong idea here people, it's uglier than homemade sin.) The fabrics, sans the white blocks are mostly Hoffman fabrics I purchased several years ago when I visited my sister. There are some lovely fabrics, and too good to waste on the aforementioned ugly quilt. I, also, have some more blocks made out of those same fabrics that didn't get sewn together for the ugly quilt top. They have been patiently waiting for me to return to them. I have a total of 43 9-patch blocks, almost enough for a queen size quilt. Problem is I have to tear apart the ugly top in order to use the fabrics.

Let me just insert here that I hate ripping out seams. The tool called a seam ripper that many quilters consider their best friend forever and I do not get along too well. I would rather cut off my big toe than use a seam ripper. However, that isn't practical, now is it? So putting my prejudices aside, I grab the seam ripper and start tearing out seams on the ugly top. By golly, I am gonna do this if it kills me. Two stuck fingers later, (man, that sucker is sharp) and I have half of it done. I am tempted to just put the whole shebang back in the closet and start fresh with new fabric from my stash, but I really want to use these fabrics.

I'll keep you posted on the progress. I hope to finish ripping out seams by this evening. Then I can start cutting all those blocks into pieces to sew back up.

Have a great Friday everyone!

Oh my!

Robin at A Straight Seam has the most gorgeous quilt on display on her blog. It's called Carolina Rose. She is giving away a copy of the pattern, and one other pattern of your choice from her website Seams Delightful Designs. All you have to do is leave a comment on the post. Simple! Run, don't walk, on over and browse through the pages of her blog, you won't be sorry. While you're there, don't forget to enter the giveaway.

Now I'm off to see what other great finds I can come up with this afternoon in blogland. Have a great day!

Pictures

These are two of the bags I have made recently. Sorry for the picture quality, I am not a photographer. I will post some more for you later. I would like to say, I am of the mindset that you just cut and sew, therefore, no patterns are used when I am making bags. No two of my bags are exactly the same size, shape, etc. Truly one-of-a-kind items.

You can never have too many . . .

No matter whether you call them purses, handbags, totes, pocketbooks or whatever, you can never have too many (unless you're a guy, in which case, ignore this post). For some reason, somewhere along the trail to civilization as we know it, it was decided that the woman/mother/family caretaker would be the designated carrier of all things for her family. This caused a quandry, I mean, for heaven's sake, a woman has only got 2 hands. I am no historian, but my guess is that's why pockets were invented. But, then, pockets aren't really large enough for carrying all the essentials. Besides, if you only have one pocket, and it's full of stuff you need/want to have with you, you may look lopsided as you walk. Enter the handbag/purse/tote/whatever you call it, the "extra hand."

Some are carried in your hand (clutch: basically a big pocket), but that defeats the "extra hand" feature and just makes you look stylish (maybe). So, we add a handle to the basic clutch and call it a "wristlet." A little more convenient, and allows your hand to hold something else as you wear the wristlet around your wrist. But with the wristlet hanging from your wrist, you realize it's not exactly stationary. It bangs against your thigh, it bangs against your wrist and everything else because of it's free-swinging design. (Cute if you're the Mary Tyler Moore type bouncing down the street in a carefree manner. Ever tried carrying a hot cup of coffee while having a wristlet attached to your wrist? OUCH!) Don't get me wrong, the clutch and the wristlet both have their uses especially if you only need a few essentials with you, or are a party girl. However, the majority of women "need" more holding power.

Enter the "shoulder bag/tote." Wow! What an invention! Worn either on the shoulder or cross shoulder, it adds a lot of . . . Umphf . . . to your carrying power. Depending on it's size, you can carry just the basic essentials, or a week's worth of clothes or the kitchen sink (not recommended for obvious reasons). They may be constructed with or without extra pockets, inside or out or both (to corral all those absolutely necessary little bits of stuff you don't want to lose in the abyss that is called the "bottom of the bag").

So, you ask, why is she telling me all this? ROFL, I do have a point to all of this, I really do. Making purses/handbags/totes is one of the things I do. I had planned to show you some of them but blogger isn't cooperating this morning and only wants to place them where it wants to, not where I tell it to. So, I will have to devise a way to circumvent the stubbornness of blogger.

A new day

Today is a new day, beautiful, sunny and full of exciting things. I am starting this blog to share another part of my life . . . sewing. Some of you know me from my other blog. In the next few days, I will be posting pictures of some of the projects I have been making over the last few months. And I will be sharing some lovely new-to-me blogs with you that I have found. If you have an interest in sewing, quilting, and recycling fabrics, I hope you will come back for another visit.