It's a sign!! 

The first six friends who put their names in for the doily drawing all choose different doilies.  What's the chances of that?  Six different friends, six different doilies... and they seem to have paired off perfectly. So that must mean that you each get the doily of your choice! Might as well give them all away!  How could I disappoint any of you?  So enjoy, sweet ones!  Shoot me your snail mail addy!  God bless!

1. Angie
2. Synthia
3. Carol
4. Sarah
5. JulieQ
6. Laura

 

 

 Yeah, I'm feelin' it...

 Of course, it's orange, so... I cut this quilt out a couple of years ago...at least.  I was thinking I'd get it out every now and then and work on it.  Didn't happen, really.  For one thing, it's scrappy and I kept getting confused about what was what.  And I'm making it for me and you know how that is, you tend to put the "me" projects lower on the priority list of things to get done... kinda like my bedroom that needs a good cleaning/organizing.  So, I dug it out because I have a million other things I should be doing.  Kinda ornery that way.  I got all the blocks sewn and now I need to put them together.  It'll go back into the box while I distract myself with other things. Like painting the kitchen cabinets... when I should be quilting.





puzzle balls

Finally stuffed these little puzzle balls. Now what? I haven't a clue.

doily re-written

Finished this large doily.  I practically re-wrote the pattern.  I kinda follow the picture more than the directions... and as I was looking at the picture, I thought, "Wow, they did a really bad job at blocking this one..."  Nope, they did an amazing job blocking considering how wonky the doily was. I didn't notice until I got about half way done and by then I was committed and I liked the idea behind it.  So I went out on a limb and hoped that after all my alterations the silly thing would lay flat. Mission accomplished. I love the little flowers and leaves.





Give Away!!!! 

You knew I was gonna squeeze that in at the bottom, didn't you?  I figure there should be some sort of potential reward for muddling through my posts.  So... put your name in the hat.  If you click on the picture, you should be able to see more detail.  Just comment that you'd like a doily and put down the number of the doily you'd like. We'll count across the top row...1,2,3... and then across the bottom row... 4,5,6.  Left to right.  And just to make sure, give me a little description of the doily.  Actually, I'm just doing that for kicks.  (The bottom one on the right is smaller, but is made from 30wt- much smaller thread, but just as much, if not more, stitching than the large ones.) I look forward to hearing from you!

left to right: back row 1,2,3.  front row 4,5,6.

 Think Spring!

I've been thinking that for a while, actually.  It seems to finally be working.  

• The wood lot is floating in a green haze. 
• John camped out there, last night. 
• Will has plowed the garden.  
• I'm keeping my eye on the perennials sprouting in the flower garden. 
• Been doing some spotty Spring cleaning. Eva is mostly in charge of that.  The girl actually likes to clean.  I have no idea where that comes from.  I don't mind cleaning, there's just so many other things I'd rather be doing.  
• Sewed up some new curtains for the kitchen window from some- well, virtually all- of the 1930's reproduction stash. 
• Hung the painting of potted plants over the dining room window.  Brightens the room up nicely.  Thank you, Sandy. 
• Will trimmed out the windows, doors, and floor in our bedroom after 13 years of doing without. The field mice know it's Spring and like to come visiting in the middle of the night.  Seems to have worked.
• Changing out the wall quilts for lighter, brighter ones.

Welcome Spring!!         

Crown of Thorns made from West African basin and batiks

  
Crown of Thorns...

Done!  I got this quilt cut, sewn, quilted and bound in only two and a half weeks.  And I just love how it turned out.  Phil and Kim seemed to like it and that makes me a very happy camper.  Phil took a picture of it with Will and me, last night, and plans to send it to the lady who gave him the basin, Juliet Contay.  Living in Sierra Leone, I'm sure she has never even seen a quilt so it might be interesting to know what she thinks of this strange technique of cutting perfectly good fabric up into little pieces and then sewing them back together again. A strange practice, indeed!

For the quilters out there, I thought I'd share a couple of things that make my life so much easier.  Most of the veterans of quilting already use these tools but, for the newbies, I thought you'd like to check 'em out. 

Strip tube ruler in action

The first is a strip tube ruler. Love, love, LOVE this tool! There are 192 HST in this one quilt. I made all of them- the cutting and the sewing- in about an hour.  Maybe a little less. All you do is sew down BOTH sides of a WOF tube, set the line(the finished size of the block you want) on the seam and cut.  Flip the ruler and do the same on the other side of the tube.  Press open and, voila!  a HST that is smack on size- no need to square up! No drawing lines on the diagonal and the hassle of feeding that pointed end of the square into the pressure foot. It is so fast and so easy- it makes the bedrock of quilting- half square triangles- a cinch.

project board

The second thing that I'm growing to love is this silly little board made out of foam board you can get at the dollar store.  You just cut yourself a big square- I think this is an 18" square for a 12" block.  Something like that.  It certainly doesn't have to be exact.  Then I covered mine in some batting- I attached mine with loops of packing tape on the underside.  So simple.  But it makes moving block parts- from the cutting table to the sewing machine to the ironing board and back to the sewing machine- a lovely thing, indeed.  The batting keeps it all from shifting or floating away on a breeze. Plus, my sewing table can get a little cramped and this gives me a bit more wiggle room.  My ironing board is right next to my sewing machine but is more narrow than it should be, so I end up stacking pieces and then, wouldn't you know it?  I get them sewn together in the wrong order.  So frustrating.  This little board really helps me keep things much more orderly.  Sandy showed me this little trick.  She is an over-achiever and actually put binding on her boards. Hers do look prettier. But mine are still very functional.

insulin pump- all girly

And I'm showing off my new insulin pump that came via UPS, today.  I was so excited, I started clapping my hands and doing a happy-happy dance.  Then I said to Will, "This is pathetic! All this rapture over a piece of medical equipment." To which he said, "Well, it seems reasonable to me.  It's attached to you, literally, and you use it more than you do the bathroom." And I think he's right. Smiles all around! 

yet another doily

And lastly, a new doily.  Actually, I have a growing stack of them.  Cold winter weather seems very conducive to crocheting, dontcha think?  While I don't crochet much during the day- way too much to do- I do like to sit up at night and watch a movie and around and around I go.  Hard to put down as you see the pattern emerge.  I'm thinking a doily give away is in my- and your- future.  Stay tuned.  Have a blessed week! 

 

One of my latest doilies

Amazing...
 what 13 hours of sleep will do for a girl...

Shew!  I was that tired.  Feeling a whole lot better, today.  I despise running.  Going here, then there, and back to hither and yon.  I just wanna stay home and do laundry, cook, sweep floors and sew!!  Busy like that doesn't wear me out like the running does. Well, yeah, by the look of these pictures, it may seem like I've been sewing. But this is the sum total of over a month of sewing and that's just not near enough!

January, February, and March

every bit of fabric I had left over

Redwork:  I'm making these words to go around my redwork quilt which has two little children from each of the twelve months for a total of 24 clocks.  Now, I know I have a picture of that quilt here, somewhere.  oh, yes, I know...

12 months of redwork

 The words represent each month.  It takes me longer than it should because so much time elapses between making each word and I forget how I did the last so it's like starting from scratch. I ran out of white with red fabrics to make the background of the words. I squeezed every inch of life out of the ones that I had. I was piecing the smallest bits of fabric you can imagine just to make it work- crawling under the sewing table to retrieve clippings. Sandy to the rescue and now I have enough for the last five months.

basin fabric from West Africa

ironing board cover of shame

Crown of Thorns

African Basin Fabric...

Our friend, Phil, came back from a trip to Sierra Leone with two yards of fabric, hand-dyed and batiked. It was a gift to him from a mother whose children he had befriended.  I imagine that this was a very valuable gift. I'm making him a throw-size quilt of it. It was as stiff as cardboard when I first got it and since I was expecting a large amount of dye to be released when washing it, I put it in the washer- hoping for the best. But not a drop came out.  Amazing for such a saturated color. The fabric, itself, is very thin- rather like working with gauze.  So I starched it heavily and I'm having to take great care when pressing and sewing- the amount of bias stretch is epic.  I mighta-shoulda picked a pattern with less bias... but I liked this one for Phil, so...  I slowly and carefully march on.  I've drawn a 3" and a 12.5" square on my ironing board to help me block as I go along- very helpful.  Yes, the ironing board is a disaster- don't judge me- but it alleviates the guilt of drawing on a perfectly nice ironing board cover with a permanent marker.  

And a set of zippy bags I made for a friend for her Nook and sundries.  She's a big fan of butterflies.

  

After- notice the cloud of batting.  It had to go somewhere.

Before- yeah, it's a mess.  But I got a lot done!

My new assistant

Finished top

Out in the quiltin' room...

OK.  Was kinda busy during the holiday season. I made most of the kids' gifts.  And well, when I'm whirling around like a dervish... picking up after myself just seems so... pointless.  I know it serves a purpose, really.  I do. But when I'm all wrapped up in the moment, I just can't seem to pause and change gears and divert my attention away from the task at hand.  I just need to make clearing clutter a "task at hand," huh?  And here I am shamelessly sharing the disheveled state of my space.  But if I didn't share the "before" picture than you wouldn't be able to share in my joy at the new organization I've accomplished. Fabric is back in the bins, the horizontal surfaces are cleared of all non-essential personnel, floor swept. I even cleared a space on the shelf next to my table(which I also changed out.  Musical tables around here.  The sewing table went into the kitchen.  The kitchen table went into the dining room and the dining room table went into the sewing room.  Wasn't sure it would all work out and I was dreading returning everything back to it's original station... But all's well.  I might be able to get sweet William to build me a new dining room table... the present one will suffice, but it looks a little pathetic.) I stowed my favorite, most used machines- the Singer 301, the Singer serger, the Singer Featherweight, and the Brother Project Runway on the newly vacated shelf.  I labeled all the pedals and stowed them in a Rubbermaid drawer on the shelf below the machines.  It's working beautifully.

As you can tell, I have a relatively new companion in the quilting room.  Will has been doing some quilting for me. And so, I "have" to stay out there with him so that I can answer any questions he might have, right?  (I tore my rotator cuff and my bicep tendon-making pushing the quilting machine around less than entirely pleasant.  No worries.  I've had one steroid shot and looks like I'll need at least one more.  Rotator feels great, bicep tendon, not so much.  Guess how I injured myself?  Now this should be a cautionary tale to all quilters.  I was folding a quilt.  Yep, pop!  I felt kinda silly about that.  But it is what it is. Doing the shots and physical therapy and some day soon, I may even be able to pull up my jeans with both hands.  It's the little things you miss when you don't have them.)  Will is doing great at the whole quilting thing.  He hasn't attempted free-handing, yet.  I think he was kinda intimidated but now that he's used to the noise and everything, he's ready.  He loves it and even says he's hooked. If you know my Will... you'd see how... strange... that whole sentence is.  

So I've been productive in the areas of binding and finishing up projects. The applique is an example of a project that needed doing.  I started it last New Years, and kinda got bored with all that applique. Didn't plan on finishing as I was pretty certain I'd get bored again.  Amazingly, not.  And that braided border was a blast.  I'd never done one before and I am pretty sure I'll use it again.  One problem with this project... What, exactly, does one do with a quilt measuring 55" square?  Seems too small for a throw, and too big for a wall hanging.  I'm thinking.  The rod over the piano might work...but I think it'll seem kinda disproportionately short.  Still thinking.  And, realistically, I have plenty of time to decide as it isn't quilted or bound, yet.  It got stowed in a tub and will re-emerge some day.

See ya!

All of my girls. L-R: Laurie, Eva, Bekah, Mel, and Mary

The tortilla assembly line.

Our whole family: Back row L-R: Dan,John,Paul. Front row L-R: Laurie,Eva,Joe,Mary,Jacob,Abe,Nines,Bekah,Will

Nines' Feast...

My feast is the last one of the season.  (Paul has been in Alabama for the past six months, so we might be able to get his feast in before he leaves on his next trip.) I'm 45- thought it only fair since I mentioned everyone elses' age. I'm letting my gray hair grow out, today.  I might change my mind, tomorrow. I'm emotional- I cry when I hear/read a story I like. I especially love to hear about people's stories- I'm never bored.  I don't laugh at jokes, but I do laugh when I find something funny.  I love to do things with my hands- gardening- especially flowers, quilting, crocheting.  I have to set time limits for myself in those areas, because I can do them for hours on end. I can only input information for about two hours, tops. So seminars and lectureships are completely wasted on me. I'm a sponge for minutiae- I am filled with useless bits of information but find it all very fascinating. But, because of the limited attention span, ya better get to the point relatively quickly.  I don't much care for being told how I should do things, but I like being told how things are done.  I love snow.  My husband, Will, is my favorite person.  I am amazed by my children in so many ways. How can eight people be so different when they spent the majority of their lives together?  They fascinate me and I find each of them absolutely delightful. I am so proud of them and the people they are, but when others mention what a good parent I am, I look at them as if they are aliens.  I tried, I did, but it's a very gracious God who smoothed over all of my mistakes.  And I made so very many. Praise be to God for His grace!  I am happiest when in their company.  I'm blessed- my cup overflows.

I never keep my feast a secret because I don't like being sequestered from the family. I invoked the five girls' help with my meal. What a delight to have them all bustling around the kitchen, chopping vegetables, getting things into serving bowls and on the buffet in the dining room. Eva and Bekah decorated the table for me with bright table clothes, oil lamps and crepe paper.  The three oldest girls made tortillas.  I whipped up the dough and they rolled and grilled and pressed and twirled.  Mary showed them how it was done. When Mary dusted the front of her shirt off, saying she got flour on herself, she stopped and said, "Hey!  I've got an apron now!  She went to her little pile of presents and pulled out her apron I made for her with dogs on it- she's an animal lover.  And then all of the girls scattered and came back wearing their aprons. I think I've never seen anything more adorable than all five of them in their aprons, with specially made hand towels hanging from the side loops- embroidered with cupcakes to match. The rest of the prep work we all shared. So we had tortillas, meat, refried beans, rice, cheese, lettuce, salsa(Mary made), sour cream, black olives, jalapenos and I don't remember what else.  And there was ketchup for Will because he eats Gringo tacos. I made hot fudge pudding cake a couple hours later because everyone was too stuffed to eat anymore right after dinner.  All in all, I think it was tasty and it was such a thrill to have them all sitting at the table.