Thursday, October 21, 2010

Getting ready for a quilt retreat

I have been sewing this week in preparation for a quilt retreat I am going on this weekend.  You ask why I have to sew to get ready for it when I will be sewing at it.  I was blessed to get a scholarship to go to the retreat and while we are at the retreat there will be silent auction to raise money to pay for scholarships.  So I feel I should donate several things to the auction.  In a previous post I had pincushion tarts I made.  Two of those will go to the auction.  I also made two more boxes, one of each size, and a purse.



I also got three more Lilly bags made.  The green one is for my daughter, the one on the right is for the quilt shop and the left one is another for me.  I just love that pink fabric. 

Have fun sewing!

Monday, October 18, 2010

"Stars Across the Thumb" Shop Hop 2010

I had fun on a shop hop this weekend.  Check out all my goodies.  I was a good girl and did not over spend or buy.  I went with my mom, good friend, and her mom-in-law.  We had a good time.  We were gone for a total of 10 hours.  




When I returned home and finally sat down to rest I realized I had not looked at my list at our last shop and I forgot to get some things I really needed.  Never fear, I went back Saturday morning and picked them up.  Another visit to the quilt shop is a good thing!

Saturday I got two more boxes done.  One for me and one for a silent Auction.  I almost have one more done for the silent auction.  I have two more frogs I am working on too.

Then....I was checking my email when I found I had one from Pat Sloan telling me I won a set of Aurifl thread!  I was so excited I started yelling!  My children sure were looking at me funny and wondered what was wrong.  I told them I was excited because I won!  Then they wanted to know what I won.  Thread I told them!  They just did not get my excitement.  Then... I went to Pat's blog and she had listed my blog!  I was yelling again.  My children think I am weird!  Thanks,Pat, I can't wait to get the thread.  I wonder how much I will yell when I have the thread in my hand.  

Check out Pat Sloan's blog at patsloan.typepad.com

Wednesday, October 13, 2010

My Girl is Sewing!

My second daughter learned to sew today.  She made a bag that will hold her Bible.  It is her 4-H project for the month.  She did a good job of following directions and being careful.  I am not sure if she liked sewing and will do it again though.  This is a pattern from a Better Homes and Gardens Publication.



Yesterday I made a purse and wallet for a dear friend of mine.  Her birthday is Thursday.  She recently lost a baby.  The second one this year and I wanted to do something really nice for her.

The purse pattern is "Mini Bow Tucks" by Quilts Illustrated.  Then wallet pattern is "Whimsey wallet" by This and That.
I need to make more of these wallets.  They would make great gifts.  I also love the fact I can make a wallet.  I have the smaller version of this by This & That that I use now.  A bigger one would be nice.

So many projects, so little time.

Sunday, October 10, 2010

A weekend being sick makes for lots of sewing.

I got a cold/sinus junk on Thursday.  I was at the quilt shop to teach a bag class.  No one showed up for the class, but I stayed awhile and did some sewing.  Mostly talking really.  While there I started to feel the itch in the back of my throat and my nose began to run.  I had a lot of places I was suppose to go to on Saturday but I was sick.  Along with several of the children.  That meant sewing.


Here are all the things I got done this weekend.  Well, the bag on the far left I made while at the quilt shop on Thursday.  It is the "Clutter Bug" by This & That.  

The left bag is made with Bliss from Moda.  The bag on the right is an older fabric line by April Cornell from Moda.  I added yo-yos instead of covered buttons on the front like the pattern called for.


This next bag is a Lazy Girl designs.  It is the Lily Pocket Purse.  I made it out of some fabrics I had.  It will go over my shoulder.  This is my preferred way of wearing a purse.  It does not hurt my shoulder as much.

My children all want one of these!  They sure are fun to make.  The pattern is "frog patch"  by Me and My Sister Designs.  I made these 3 from a "Happy" charm pack, also by Me and My Sister.  Only one of them is filled.  I have to get more poly-pellets.  


Sorry this is a bad picture.  It is a purse made with the "junk bag" pattern by Sweetwater.  The pattern called for canvas but I made mine out of cotton.  I should have lined the front and back outer pieces with fusible fleece so the bag is not so floppy.  The canvas would have taken care of this.  Never the less it will still be a great bag.

Last of all I made a 10  minute table runner.  I learned this at the quilt shop on Thursday.  It only takes two fabrics: one that is 1/3 yard the other that is 1/2 yard.  Very easy and makes a great gift.  This one is for my mother-in-law's birthday.

That is all for this weekend.  I have more projects planned so I will keep sewing.

Tarts anyone?

Last week I made tarts.  They are fat free and very useful.  The pattern is "Petitfore Pincushions" by Indygo Junction.  I call them tarts because they are in tart pans.

Then I finished up another project for the quilt shop.  It is a Crab Apple Hill pattern called  "Arlyn's Embroidery Envelope.


I had alot of fun making this project.  I am very proud of it.  It is made out of wool and is sewn with wool thread from Aurifil.  It is great to work with.


These are  two projects I made from the book "Quilt a Gift" by Barri Sue Gaudet.  The quilt shop has this book too so these items are at the shop too.  



Tuesday, October 5, 2010

Raccoon in the Mailbox

Here is what was in our mailbox this morning.  Who sent this to us?  

Thursday, September 23, 2010

Back up to last week

Here we have a project I did for the Backstreet Quilt Shop in Elkton. This is all done by hand in wool.

It is a Mary Flanagan pattern.  I t was fun to do once I got the stars figured out.

On Thursday of last week I taught a class at the quilt shop.  We made the pattern by Atkinson Designs called "Pockets to Go".   It is a great project to make and very handy to have.  I have made at least 10.  I am loosing count.  Here is a picture of some I made.




What did I do next last week?
Yes, That's me with my first deer.  My husband wanted me to hunt so I told him I would hunt but I wanted to shoot a doe.  No trophy bucks for me, I want good meat to eat.  So, I hunted the early doe hunt this year and got this 85 pound doe.  It is all cut up and in the freezer or canned.

So, Now I can talk about this week.



Wednesday, September 22, 2010

Fall-o-ween

Head over to Gudrun Erla's blog for a give-away and more information on the blog hop she has going on.
http://gudrun.typepad.comFallOween logo

Monday, September 6, 2010

Happy Labor Day!

We had a busy weekend of camping and driving.  We returned home this morning at 4:30.  Then we all climbed into bed and slept.  I awoke at 8:50 and was done sleeping.   So I got up, made coffee, let the dog out, and got my bags from the van, and took a shower.

While we were gone I went to "The Fabric Patch" in Ironwood, Michigan.  That is a nice quilt shop.  I got lots of great fabrics.  I can't wait to get at them.


While you are at it check out the give away over at thequiltedfish.typepad.com  

Tuesday, August 31, 2010

Today's sewing

I was able to get some sewing done today.  I made a bag that uses a tape measure for the closing on the top of the bag.

Both of these are made with the tape measure at the top for keeping the bag closed.

Then I refolded a pack of fat quarters I bought.
This is Sanibel by Heather Mulder Peterson and Deb Mulder.  She has some great patterns too.