Tuesday, June 30, 2009

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.

Friday, June 26, 2009

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!

Wednesday, June 24, 2009

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!

Saturday, June 20, 2009

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.


Friday, June 19, 2009

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.