After Christmas Chaos!

This week has been slow and unproductive, but I am finally getting back into the swing of things. I spent most of the week thinking about what to do and then decided it was time to finish my quilt top. I finally finished the last row. What I did was, quilt the front with the batting and no backing, next I added extra batting and will attach the back by adding tacking to the rows.

I thought it would be a good experiment to quilt without the back to make it easier and add the back, later. Not sure if that was a great idea, took me forever to hand quilt and still have to attach the back. I think the next one will be machine quilted and the future hand quilting will be done the right way;)

I got out my snap frame and realized I have no backing that fits, so I need to sew a few pieces together, then I can work on it this weekend. The quilt top was made by my friend Kelly, she sent me a couple to practice my quilting on.

I really make a mess at Christmas, making gifts and fun things for myself and I get messier and messier and now my room is total chaos. It is so bad, I hate going in, where do I start, lol. So, I got some new boxes and a lot of the unfinished things and excess will get put away for now and the extra boxes that are cluttering up the room will get cleared out and removed. I have plenty of fabric and patterns on the shelves, so I will work on using my stash and doing the patterns I have been putting off, the rest can wait. My tables are becoming storage units, so those will be cleared and things put where I can find them and maybe some wall bins to put in my scraps of wool. I like having the scraps nearby so I can use a piece when I want something for a small piece. I will also sell anything I have lost interest in, time to do the ones I want and not worry about having to make it all. Maybe use some of the material to make curtains, should be on my to do list. I used my wide angle, so the room looks wonky.

I also wanted to make a rug for my beach room, but I also know I have a long list of things I want to make and a rug would take up a lot of that time. I found a small blue jean rug in the store and got it since it was cheap and wanted to see how it looked in the room, I loved it. So, I searched on the web for the same brand and of course I couldn't find it. I inspected each type of jean rug until I found one that was closest to it and I love the new rug. It is darker than the other, I did like the lighter shades and it is larger than I wanted. I was looking for a 4' x 6' and this is 5' x 7', but it fits perfectly.

Now I feel like the room is a room and I will start working on cleaning out the junk that was in there and a blue jean quilt and matching pillows for the couch. Someday I will replace that with something I can use for guests, as well. Of course I need to make things for the walls and I have some quilts I have been wanting to make, folk art styles with ocean themes, so that will be my winter projects and the room will be ready for summer. It is a lot cooler down there, so it will be a nice retreat in the summer.

Not the best photo, the wide angle tends to fish eye on the lowest setting, but I wanted to get more of the room in. It makes the room look small and narrow. There is also a large closet in the back, needs to be cleaned out and I will have storage for my excess that I can hide away.

Tomorrow is going to be a nice day so we will be off on a hike. I am loving the weekend weather, love being able to get out and explore. I hope you all have a wonderful weekend, and find your own adventure.

Monday This and That!

This weekend was spent hunting for furnishings for the new rooms. We hit stores and consignments and nothing that said, this is perfect for the room.

On Sunday we went to the antique barn which houses over 100 booths of vendors from antiques to primitives and lots of vintage items, as well as handmade items, so it is a fun way to spend a few hours.

I tend to look at things from a different perspective, not what it in front of me, but those hidden items that no one else notices. In one booth, I saw what I would call, a lot of junk, but holding some of that junk was a chair and it had a tag on it. I liked it, but wasn't sure, so I walked around and looked at some other booths and thought, I like it, and I better grab it before someone else does, so it came home with me. Bill took it up front to hold and everyone that saw it, loved it, so it shows, sometimes we miss the good stuff that is being used to display other items.

I am so glad I got it, it fits perfectly with the new desk. It has that beach, hand made, antique look. I actually pictured it in my mind and never thought I would find something like it. The leftover paint is blue and green, so a perfect match. Now I need to decide on a  chair pad, I will hook one for this seat and I am thinking of something simple with my thrift wools to give it a raggy look.

While we were browsing the booths, I spied this wonderful vintage table and thought of my friend Allie. She loves the old tables and I thought this one was unique with the yellow top. So, I took a photo for Allie.Allie is also hosting a joint sew along, so visit her blog and check out the Postcards from  Heaven BOM, I will definitely be making these.

Tonight was spent watching Nicholas. He is full of energy and Grandma is fighting off a flu. One fun thing is, he loves to help me unload the dishwasher, so he hands me the dishes from the bottom and that is a big help, even if it takes longer;) He loves to follow me around and check things out, maybe I will have a helper when I need to cut fabrics, later on.

Friday Foibles!

You know what they say about the best laid plans, that was how my week went. I think I have the after Christmas shut down, I just need to rest a bit and gather my senses and then I can tackle things again.

I had planned on posting a freebie but the pieces are unfinished. I took my machine in and I cannot get my little one to work right, it keeps nesting on me, so I am hoping I can get it figured out and have the pieces ready for Monday's posts.

Today I also wanted to ask a question. I ordered a rug and it came in today. I got it from Overstock and wondering how others like buying from them, this is my first experience. I love the rug, much nicer than I expected and nothing wrong with it but.. It smells musty. It came wrapped in a ton of plastic wrapping with the original wrapping and I think it has been sitting this way in a warehouse for a while, so moisture probably got into it. It this normal for shipped rugs? I usually get them at the store, but needed a longer one for my hallway. I wanted to get other's opinions before I order any rugs online, again.

One of the things I wanted to do was to redo my sewing room. I moved everything around and all I did was make more of a mess, it was better the way it was, lol. Now I need to rethink it and clean up the mess I made. I am decluttering and putting things in boxes that I don't use as much so I have more room to work and less cutter on the tables.

This is my disaster today. I used my phone so I could use the panorama so the room looks distorted.

I did find a nice table for my beach room. I was going to redo one of mine, but I decided to keep that one for wood work and get a smaller one to use as a desk for painting smaller items or boxes. Now I need to find a chair to go with it. I think a thrift store should have something I can use for it, or maybe a simple, small beach bench style.

And here is a panorama of the room, it is a work in progress. I plan on painting a scene on the far wall and I still have a wall that you cannot see. I am thinking I might just put my new quilting machine in this room, then I can keep my sewing room less cluttered. I am still looking for the perfect rug. I want it to fit the beach theme but by colors or something fun and artsy to put a pop of color in. It will be fun making some small art quilts to add to the walls.

This looks off since I panned around the room on three sides, and the walls look spotty, but that is because the nautical lamp throws off shadows with the cut glass.

I hope everyone has a nice weekend, rain here and Nick is coming to hang out with me tomorrow. Hopefully I will have something fun you can make, ready for my Monday post.

Feline Friday!

I haven't finished any projects this week, too buys decorating and redecorating, the fun of cats.

Moki pretty much lives in his tree house, he sleeps there and keeps an eye on the outside world from his top perch. But, the minute I put up the trees he decides he wants to sleep on the bureau. I want to put the chenille candy canes on them, but i know he will be pulling them off and pulling the trees down. 

"I want my Candy Canes!"

I also did a new arrangement for my sewing room. I think it needs a vintage textile sign to go in back of it, another thing to make.

Sewing Helper!

Today I am having a pretty good day, the pain has lessened, but the nerves have kicked in.
I know it will be up and down and it will get worse before it gets better, but knowing the end result, makes it all worth it.

I started a new project to keep my hands busy, I can only work so much at a time before my hand cramps up, but I am enjoying making it and I will show some picts when I get a little more done. While I was in my sewing room, cutting out pieces, someone snuck in. The cats really want to get into my room and I have to watch them. Moki and Izzy are the worst, they know to hide under and behind things so I can't get to them, lol. And they all seem to want to get to this spot and wreak havoc getting there.

Wool and Stash cleaning = Why I need an Accuquilt Go Cutter

I finally got around to cleaning my sewing room out. I wanted to reorganize my fabrics and just keep the best ones, so that I could see them at a glance and use that as a basis for future quilts. I put the excess fabric in my basement room, so it is where I can get to it still. This is how it looks now, no more heaps of fabric falling over and covering up other pieces, so that I had to dig to find anything. The pile in the upper left is my amish fabrics. I plan on making some mini amish pieces and practicing my free motion. All of the beautiful fabric was gifted to me, by my friend Kelly. I would never have been able to get fabrics like that.

The pile to the right is my homespuns. I was waiting to get enough in tans to make a wildlife camping quilt for my trailer, so that will be a future quilt. Then I have fabrics in sets and types for regular quilting and a set with batiks and fun fabrics for art quilts.
I also have my basics for backings and borders on my other unit, along with a shelf of floral fabrics that will all go nice in a quilt.



While I was cleaning, I decided to take my buddy off the floor, he was hidden to the side and I thought he would make good company while I worked at my table. I saw this in a prim store and said I like it. So, my husband surprised me and got it for my birthday, a few years ago. He is 3 feet tall, and now I don't have to talk to myself while I work;)



And since I was cleaning, I thought it was time to go through the boxes of wools, in my basement. Some is leftover from projects, some cut and needing dying and some, as is. I used to hit the thrifts every monday and grab all the wool on dollar day. So, I had a lot and too much to cut and dye at once. The problem was, my sons cat had to try out every box, no matter how high I put it. It was covered in hair and she puked in a few boxes. That was thrown out and all the hairy pieces went too, so I threw away a good amount, but it wasn't the best wools anyways. The rest got washed and dried, then I had to brush the remaining hairs off.

Here is the first load, lots of reds and orange in this one.



Then the second load....



The third.....



The fourth.......



And finally, the fifth, that was enough for one day and it did take me all day.
I did enjoy finding wools I had forgotten about and got lots of ideas of what to make with them. I plan on doing a lot of wool pieces since half the wool is too thick or thin for hooking, but perfect for quilting.



I still have a few plastic buckets to go through and some boxes, but almost there. Then the fun of dying will begin, but not in this heat. I keep my dyed good wools in these bins, in a locked room, so no kitty hair. That is where my things will stay from now on.

I think with all this wool and all my fabric, I need a go cutter. I really think they should pick me to receive a free cutter and a giveaway, dont you? LOL

Now that my room is cleaned out, I started on finishing my first project. Then I went into the hallway to do something, jumped to avoid crashing into the vacuum and ran into the door frame instead, duh. Now I have a broken pinky toe and it hurts like heck and I can't stand on it. So much for standing and cutting at my table.

My entry for IHAN's Giveaway

Kelly, from IHAN is having a wonderful giveaway and we had to pick one of the things to do, to be entered.
I choose showing my sewing room, without cleaning it first.
Kelly is giving, on lucky winner, the chance to win an Accuquilt Go fabric cutter and I want one!
Even though I don't want anyone else to win, check out her contest and her store, she carries a lot of wonderful notions and supplies, all at discounted prices.

This is my sewing area. My machine, a really fancy embroidery machine, that I have no idea how to use and don't ask me what possessed me to buy it, that is another story;) It does sew like a dream and I will learn how to use it, someday. I hang unfinished projects on the chair and on the ladder. I find old cabinets at the consignments and use those to store my sewing items in. And I use plastic, it isn't pretty, but it is functional. I have large basets on the floor too, to store yarns and wool in. That is my chair, my favorite tool to use, lol. I can wheel around the room, while I am working.



This is most of my stash. I really need to organize it again. I take things out and throw them back and now it is all mixed up.
I love cabinets with shelves for things I like to see and doors to hide everything else. As you can see, there are cats everywhere.



And this is where I do my main work, cutting and piecing and ironing. I do like to iron and press my seams as I go.
The table is really too low for cutting on, but would be easier with a Go cutter;) I have baskets on the walls to hold my scraps, scraps on the table and a mix of this and that in boxes and plastic under the table. Since I couldn't clean, you can see my rulers hanging. They go with the basket area on push in hooks. It is a great way to store them and easy to grab. Of course my radio is there too, I love to listen to celtic music when I am creating.
So, now you know what my room looks like normally, especially when I am working on a bunch of projects at once. One of these days I will organize better so I can find things and some curtains would be nice.

Izzy loves to watch

It has been a slow week, I have been busy and then sick.
I have been working on several projects, but they still need to be finished.
Tonight, I made a braided chair pad, but the picture came out whacky, so I need to take a picture of it tomorrow without flash.
As soon as I finish the rest of the projects, I will post pictures.

Izzy seems to like my sewing room. Whenever I go in there she comes running to get in. I really don't like the cats in there, I do like to have some things hair free;) But, they do like to watch me as I cut and sew items, so who can say no. Izzy likes the high spots, so this is one of her favorite spots to keep watch over me.

And this is the cat that we nicknamed Psycho kitty, she sure has calmed down. She and Dora love to play and now when my son visits, Izzy growls at him. Guess I am stuck with her;)