Friday Finishes!

I was actually able to get a few things done this week and even decorate the house for Christmas. It is a hard time of year, but I keep busy and enjoy making presents for others and decorating for the boys. I even put up my pencil tree and my unbreakable kitty ornaments, I know Alex will love that. He goes around my house and says kitty kitty, meow meow. Maybe grandma has way too many cat collectibles, lol.

I finished and hung my snowman piece, a free design by Buttermilk Basin. I really loved doing this one and love looking at it. It hangs from my front windows. I did the back with a premade quilted backing in black, that way it blocks out the sun and it doesn't shine through.

I also made up 14 balsam pillows. I still have a balsam, so I guess I need to make more, the next will be with the snowflakes. I cheated and bought a runner for my table. I plan on making runners for each season to fit the new table, fun projects for next year.

I also made two of the pre-printed pillows by All Through the Night. I have mixed feelings about these. I love the designs and they seem simple, but it took me awhile to stitch them, you have to be exact since the designs are printed on. The material is also a bit stiff and thin for my tastes. But, I still love them and love how they look, so I would do more of her pre-printed designs.

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend. Always make sure you take the time to enjoy the holidays and creating for them, sometimes we try to do it all and put too much pressure on ourselves.

Friday Finish!

This week I made a new piece, A BOM from The Little Red Hen, a new group on Facebook called Wooly Mysteries. There will be a new block each month and it is cat themed, my favorite subject to create.

I decided to do mine scrappy, using striped homespuns from my stash and old thrift wools. I added a mouth to mine, each one will be different but similar, since I do mine by hand and my hand has a mind of it's own, so that is what creates the personalities.

On this one I used green shades, the body is a men's jacket that I over dyed with a greenish blue, it got washed out in the photo.

I also got all my stockings prepped and ready to sew. I use freezer paper and decided to cut out the shape itself, before cutting the stocking. I was able to use the same piece for all five stockings, which is a nice way to save on freezer paper costs. What I did was, iron on the stocking shape, then I put it on the table to have a harder surface. I used my General's pencils to trace the design around the freezer paper, then removed that and cut out my stocking, 1/4" from the chalk line. It made it easier for me to judge the cut around the line. It also makes it easier to turn under, since you can use the lines as your turning edge. The pencil does make the line outside the original line, so you need to compensate for that, by turning the chalk line under, but it still works, even if your stockings are not the exact size.

This is with the white pencil, they also have them in colors, if you are working on light fabrics.

And this is how they look, when done, not perfect, but much better than my usual wonky applique. I will wait till I make the next three, before I decide placement. There is also a sashing and a middle section, so I think once separated they will look much better.

I hope  you all have a wonderful weekend and hopefully it will be warming up in your area. I am going to get out early to catch the tide and look for more beach glass. I have been collecting ideas for things to make for my beach room.

Friday Finish!

This week flew by, seems I spent most of it, cleaning and shopping and getting ready for my new project, but I was able to make the newest block by Suzy's Sitcom, Words to Live by. This is a fun one to do and I think it will make a nice gift, so it keeps me motivated.

I also started my canvas boards for the painting class, that I won. It is offered by Teresa Kogut as part of her courses, Gather, Dream, Create. This one is called Angel Strokes and she also has one that offers several others. Of course my boards are different sizes, one is slightly smaller than the original and I also made a mini one for practice. I also cheated and used art pens to trace the designs, so they are wobbly and messed up, but paint will cover us those mistakes;) I am not at my best this week, so I will let them sit till next week and then start painting. The weekend is here and time for another adventure.

I took a photo at my art table, I think it is time to finish my room and start decorating the rest, so I can enjoy using it this summer. The room is a lot cooler and will be nice since I won't have to use the air conditioner. I hope you all have a wonderful weekend, filled with adventures and creativity.

For some reason things look crooked, so I have to look at it, maybe we hung up a crooked, or the wide angle made it look off. You can see the mini board in front of the larger one.

Friday Finish!

Well, just one thing this week. I seem to have lost a day, lol. One moment it as tuesday and the next thing I knew, it is friday, thought I had one more day to work on some blocks. I finished the newest block from Buttermilk Basin and have Cheri's blocks started, so hopefully I can finish sewing those this weekend and get the pieced blocks made up next week and be all caught up. Did you know Cheri offers free patterns on her Facebook page? She just uploaded another from her Christmas book, a nativity pillow and a christmas quilt.

One more block to go, it is a longer panel that will go above the W, so almost done and I actually kept up with this one;)

I found a few old photos in my slide box, this one is me and a girl named Amy Sherman. I spent my summers with my grandmother in Amagansett, Long Island. She would make me new dresses and I have a feeling she bought me new sneakers since they match Amy's. We got hand me downs and I was the youngest of 6 girls, and shoes were worn as long as she could squeeze our feet in them, lol. In those days, I could walk around the neighborhood and up to the store, now it is a highway and big houses with pools.

I hope everyone has a nice weekend.

Friday Finish!

Well, as usual my week didn't go as planned, but I got one thing finished. Our nice, first week of spring ended up with a tick, so I am back on lyme treatment and they gave me a tetanus shot since it was embedded in my skin.

I was going to make the quilt and my machine decided to give me problems and I finally gave up, so I may just make that one into a charity quilt and do tumblers from the blocks I have and add more to them. I doubt she would take it with her since she plans on filling her suitcase with diapers, they are expensive over there. Nick got new bunk beds, so I can work on quilts for his beds and a matching, larger one for when they come home. Luckily I bought some starter clothes and a car seat, so I have gifts to give them tomorrow.

I finished the second block in Buttermilk Basin's 2016 BOM, I am loving this one and I can't wait for the next one and finishing it. It is going to be a wonderful quilt to have for next Christmas. You can find the free block under Mystery BOM.

Another freebie this week is offered by Theodora Cleaves. She is offering her Paris Ladies for free. They would be fun to stitch or do in appliqué and a great idea for gifts by customizing them to your friends likes and personalities.

On fridays I like to post a photo and a saying to my daughter's Facebook page. I found an old photo of me with the kids, one Easter. I am not sure why I am so serious and Billy looks like he is ready to pop, lol.  I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend, I plan on getting out and enjoying the nice weather, hopefully no ticks this time.

Monday Finishes from Freebies!

There are so many wonderful artists on the internet who share their talents with us, and there is something for everyone. I actually finished two projects but the bunny was finished today.

The bunny pattern is a freebie offered on Pattern Mart. There are a variety of projects on their site for free and thousands of patterns from different artists. Be sure to sign up for their newsletter, they send one out, once a week and also have surveys that offer free patterns, as well.

This guy is a creation by Catnap Primitives. He is one piece, except for the ears, so he was easy to put together and fun to change up by using what I had. I have a hard time focusing on instructions, usually after a couple sentences I get lost, so I just look them over and then cut out the pieces and put them together;) Check out her other patterns, lots of wonderful prims and most are under five dollars.

I stitched areas on the ears to get the bunching and then I inserted a wire to keep them upright. I basically messed with them, until I got the look I want;) I hope you like him, he makes me smile. I moved him and didn't realize his carrots are crooked. I tacked them on to the hands, so they do move.

My second project was to get my Buttermilk Basins BOM done. I love the first design and can't wait to see the next one. This is going to be a fun BOM and you will have a finished quilt for next Christmas, don't forget to get your copy of the first block.

I am using Primitive Gatherings line of seasonal fabric for the backgrounds. The wool I use is a mix of new and over dyed thrift wool. I realized I forgot to add the fringe on the scarf and the star on the snowman, so I will add those on.

I hope everyone got to work on projects this weekend. Snowstorms have their benefits.

Monday Finishes!

This weekend Bill had to work so I used the time to get caught up on my blocks from Buttermilk Basin. One block was a pumpkin and I decided to change mine to a turkey and pumpkin for Thanksgiving.

I kept the candy cane simple, but I did add some jingle bells, not sure if that is a good idea for a quilt and not sure how big the quilt will be, but I think it will be more for display than use or maybe I may end up gifting it, if I don't make a mess of it. I had fun with the mitten, added a few embellishments for fun. I am thinking about the sashings and border, maybe blue?

Here are all the blocks with the layout. I think I have some out of order, but I think this looks good, do you? The blocks are a bit larger than the original, so I will be cutting them down to size.

On the home front, I have been trying to get ready for Christmas, and with only two days left, I come down with a stomach flu, such is life. We are going to go with turkey again, that way Bill can do the cooking and I will do a few dishes, so I can get the house done and not over do it.

Ever since I was young, I have had a believe in Christmas wishes and miracles. Today I was granted two of my wishes, one was for a friend of my daughters who was coming home for Christmas and missed her flight, but today she made it home, so that made me happy. She was one of my daughter's best friends so it will be good to see her again.

The second wish was for my daughter's gravestone to be in by Christmas. Well, two days left and no word from the company. Bill called and they said it was there and ready to go in and when we got to the cemetery, the caretaker was just pulling up to pour the foundation. He told us that it will be ready to go on, Christmas Eve. What a wonderful Christmas present for us, yes Christmas wishes do happen.

I want to wish everyone A Merry Christmas and blessings to all who have followed me this past year, been there for me, during the good and bad times and lifted me up when I was low. May all your Christmas wishes come true!

Valentine Crazy Hearts!

Since I am sick, I decided I needed something simple that I could do in my lap. I have made crazy hearts, but I wanted to try them differently, this time.

This is a great project to do if you want to use up scraps and have some bowl fillers for Valentines. I just used scraps in my basket, any colors will do.

With this method, I drew out a heart on a light fabric, and tracing it on the back, as well. This way you use the front side for the fabrics and when you go to sew it together, you have the design on the back, to follow.

I used a washable blue pen, but any pen will do, you won't see the lines.

I cut and laid out the pieces to see how they looked and just layered them on top of each other. Once I got the look I wanted, I glued the edges down, to make it easier for layering and sewing. I used a blanket stitch around the edges of the pieces, and using the heart on the back, I could look and see where my stitches ended, so I went past the heart shape, but not any further. Once the pieces are sewed down, you can trim off the excess.

I used red ticking for the back and sewed them, right sides together, using the tracing on the back as a guide. After it is sewed, cut a slit on the back and turn them, right sides out. After you stuff them, sew up the opening and cover it with a little tag. I stitched the word love on mine, then sewed the tag to the back with a prim straight stitch. I soaked mine in watered down, walnut ink. By mixing it with water, you can control how dark or light, you want the stain.

I also made another pillow, using a design by Primitive Blessings. These are fun to do and you can place them on shelves around the house, or give them as gifts to a friend.

I also found some new freebies that look like fun and thought I would share them.
Debbie Mumm has a really cute BOM with owls and flowers, would love to make this one.
Fat Cat Patterns has a new BOM for 2013, lots of fun fish blocks, another fun one for kids or a great beach quilt.
Marjory of Peck's Pieces has a wonderful snowman and santa quilt that is available for download and she is also doing some valentine pieces and other quilts to share with her readers, so she is definitely a great blog to follow.

BOM's and New Cross Stitch

I found a free Block of the month and decided to do them for fun. It is nice to make something each month and then at the end of the year, I can put them together and have a nice gift to give for the holidays. I might add some birds to the tree, it seems bare to me;) I am mixing fabrics and wool on this one, some pieces are just too small for me to turn under and I am lazy. You can find the pattern, if you would like to do it, at Angie's bits n' pieces. The pattern can be found at the bottom of the page and is called, Simple Thymes.




I wanted to make a cross stitch piece, something to put in a small frame, but no patterns. So, I made up my own and this is what I came up with. Now that I have done it and realized where I went wrong, I can make a larger version to frame with the whole saying on it. I think it looks nice on my new side table in my bedroom and my Betsy mouse that I won, looks wonderful in the grouping.



Here is a closer look. I did this the old fashioned way, with graph paper and adjustments as I went. Not perfect, but not bad for my first try;) I have books coming in to the library, with colonial patterns, so I can improve on my designs for a new one, when I get them.

Bunny Hill BOM

I decided to try the Bunny Hill BOM. She is offering a free BOM each month and then the instructions for the borders and finishing. I thought it would be fun to try one and it is a great design. But, as you can see, I mutilated it, lol. It is crooked and my colors a bit dark and I forgot the last leaf, duh.

I wanted to use fabrics, it would have been nicer and I could have used better fabrics. But, I am lazy and those small pieces looked too much to needle turn, so I used wool. I think it would be better if I used a heavier weight backing or wool. My design might have been straighter;)

If you would like to try the BOM, you can go to the Bunny Hill Blog and download the pattern. She has also set up a flicker site for those participating. It is fun to see all of the blocks being made.