Microwaves...

...Should come with these messages instead of "Enjoy Your Meal" and "Press Start"!

I added these labels after cleaning my microwave after what looked like an explosion of baked beans, chili, ravioli, oatmeal and numerous other unidentified foods had gone off.  We'll see how well they work...I should apply for a patent maybe?

I didn't think to take a before picture.

I Won!

Me and My Sister Designs had a contest the other day for this HUGE pack of fat quarters from their new Christmas fabric group and I won!  It was waiting for me when I got home this afternoon from a retreat(more on that later).  I can't wait to do something with it.  I just need to find the perfect pattern for it.

Thanks to Barb and Mary of Me and My Sister Designs for the chance to work with the latest fabric!  They have the best designs!

The Boys are Winning...but that's OK!

First off, we have a new puppy.  A Boy.  Of Course.  Our last dog unfortunately got run over last summer.  It took the whole year to convince me we should get another one.

 I saved the best for last!  A new grandson!  He just makes me smile!  Check out that comb-over!  I got to be there when he was born and that is truly amazing.

And with all that's going on, I'm late with Jill's latest question.

Jill's latest Year of the PIGS questions is:

"Your guild has challenged you to complete the PIGS that you least want to work on. What project would it be and why?"

I have several and they all involve detailed sewing which I don't have the patience or time for.  One is a pillowcase that requires some machine embroidery...toooo slow for me.  Another is a table topper with machine applique...toooo slow for me!  Or too tedious or whatever.  Maybe someday when I have more time I'll get into that sort of thing...

Spend a little, Save a little!

Jill's latest question is about saving money while quilting.  Jill asks:

Since I have been learning how to coupon and save money, I'd like to know how you save time and money while quilting. Share any and every way that you can. Nothing will be considered silly if it saves either time or money! And you may be doing something that the rest of us have not thought of.

I guess my biggest way to save is to stay home!   If I'm not there, I can't be spending!  But sometimes you just have to have a 'fabric fix'.  So I try to use coupons or hit sales, like this weekend is our LQS's big sale.  I plan on at least getting the larger Tumbler Die for my Go Cutter. 

I'm not one to give up on fabric either.  I still have a tub of fabric from the '90's-mostly calico and homespuns.  I'll keep it for a bit longer, just in case I need it.  Even though when I look at some of it I wonder "What was I thinking?!"  One item I had purchased years ago was some 'rougher' muslin...well it's come in handy for the deer bologna we make.  My DIL sews the bags and  the bologna mixture is stuffed into the bags.  When I bought it I never dreamed it's be used for deer bologna!  I have no idea what the original use for the muslin was to be!

I also look online for free patterns.  My Documents folder is full of patterns I've found online here and there.



How Many Projects?

Jill's Year of the Pigs question for this week is Do you work on one project at a time or are you better when you are juggling two or more?

I usually only work on one project at a time-until I get to a hard place and stop, put it away and start another one.  That seems to be my makeup in all areas, whether it be quilting, paperwork, housework(what's that?!), or even reading books.  It's one thing at a time or not at all.  But I may try to start keeping several projects easily accessible in case I get bored or frustrated.  I would at least be getting something done instead of avoiding it altogether. 

Here are a few projects in the works:

A quilt for my granddaugher

(I secretly refer to this one as Marshmellow Peeps Train Wreck due to the pastel colors!)

The Purple Pansy quilt(STILL waiting for borders!) 

The Disappearing 9-Patch.

This one is just for fun. 

And oh there are many more but these three are probably the top of the list

Facing Your Quilting Fears!

Jill's next question for us is:  What part (or parts) of the process of making a quilt are your least favorite? The part (or parts) that you just dread and that make you throw your projects back into the dark recesses of your stash closet?

I'm pretty sure my least favorite is the actual quilting.  I just get so frustrated trying to wrestle a quilt of any size through my machine.  This would explain why I have so many quilt tops laying around.  I also may or may not have trouble making  the backing.  I've pieced together a backing already, but wasn't happy with how it turned out.  Do I have avoidance issues here or what!
Click on over to Jill's to see what others are saying (and doing or not doing as the case may be!)

Inspiration Anyone?!

Jill's latest question is

What do you do when you have no desire to sew? Do you ever get bored with your fabric and look for a different direction

I can say all the usual things like cleaning up my room, putting away fabric, but one thing that can get me started again is taking a class...which kinda defeats the purpose of finishing UFO's!  However, sometimes getting together with friends to start another project is something that will give me motivation. 

Here is my latest project, a Disappearing 9-Patch.  This was a free class given by my friend Nancy.  The class was so popular when offered by our quilt guild that she extended it to two nights.

Year of the PIGS - 3/23

Jill's question for the Year of the Pigs is:   Is there anything that you can do for or change in your sewing area to encourage your creativity? Something that you saw on someone else's post that you think would work for you? Inspiration that you got from somewhere else? 

My answer is:

Probably one thing I can to is to get my vertical blinds up and take down the towel curtains so I can let in the natural light which is amazing in this room.  Also I can see this fantastic view as well!  Seriously, what more inspiration do I need than this?!

 Another thing is to get my DS to clear out the rest of his stuff.  He has most of these shelves still full although I've managed to squeeze some of my stuff in there.  Also there is a tiny closet I know I could fill up-at least with the boxes my machine and GO cutter came in.  And maybe a tub or two of fabric?!

Clutter free would be my best improvement!

My Space-No, not that MySpace!

Jill's new question for Year of the PIGS is

"about sewing space and how you use it. Do you have a separate room all to yourself?

Hmmm....I have a separate room all to myself(albeit a small one)...well almost all of it is mine.  My son still has a set of big shelves with alot of his stuff on it, although I'm stealing more and more shelf space as time passes.  But for the most part the room is all mine...in all it's messiness!  Which brings the next question:

Are you a little (or a lot) messy or Princess of Tidy?

I go from being totally messy to cleaning it up, which usually means putting all the material away that I just to pull out to admire!  I know if I want to get anything done I have to read everything up first...which leads into this question: 

  Are there things that you find a hindrance to your sewing mojo like no place to put an iron but on the other side of the room from your machine or a lack of storage of tools that just create more clutter to trip over?

One thing that hinders me from getting anything done is having too many projects out at once.  Whether it be the actual project or just fabrics that are part of an idea fermenting in my cluttered brain, if they are out, they distract me to no end-not to mention getting in my way.  As you can see in the picture below, under the ironing board is another bin to store my projects.  I'm hoping to be able to get most of my projects put in separate bins and just get the bin out that I am interested in working on.  One thing I really like is having the ironing board right behind me-I can just roll the chair a few inches to press whatever I've gotten pieced together without a lot of movement. 

I also am glad for the Scotch brand hooks that don't require a nail in the wall so I can hang my rulers.  Since I only have a small selection of them! HA!

 

Right now my table is being used for cutting-ordinarily the machine would be where the green fabric is. 

The table where the Accuquilt GO is just happens to have come from my grandparents restaurant of many years ago.  Stuff like that makes me happy!  The curtain towels on the other hand...not so much!

And now for a little game:

Can you spot the differences?

The picture on the left was taken July 1, 2010...the one on the right was taken today...I do recall saying I need more stash!

So, all in all, I'm pretty happy with the room...it'll do for now.  But someday I am going to have a longarm and...well...it ain't fittin' in here! 

Year of the PIGS Question!

Jill's Year of the Pigs Question for this week is:  "So what have you finished and what are you starting on?"

My answer is I finished this little fabric basket(woohoo!)  It's for the guild's quilt show which is held this summer.  They set up a boutique table with donated handmade items and at the last meeting there were lots of kits made up.  I only took one of them not knowing how much time I'd have to finish it.  I managed to get it done and also the friendship blocks(no pic).  There are two in each kit-one I signed and it will go to the out-going president and the other one goes into a drawing for those who've participated.  I haven't won yet!

I'm working on a Turning Twenty Again quilt top at the moment.

What's My Excuse?

Jill has asked us her third question-Why you put PIGS and UFOs to the side . 

I think one reason is time.  I'm sure I could get lots done if I'd sew 15 minutes here and there but I seem to be the kind of person who needs to work at something for longer than that.  It just doesn't feel as though I'm getting anything accomplished in short increments.  I also seem to have more ideas than time...hence the stash!

Another reason would be that I dislike doing borders.  Maybe because I don't really have a nice place to lay a quilt top out without scrubbing and sanitizing the floor(kinda kidding on the sanitizing part but not really!  Farms are messy!)  I guess this also applies to basting.  I don't really like to do that either!

OK...one more excuse reason:  I start something, realize I don't really like doing it and lay it aside promising myself when I get more time I'll finish it(see reason #1).  This seems to be mainly applique and 'fancy' work.  For now I'm all about piecing and this is supposed to be my hobby-relaxing and fun-so if it isn't, I lose interest fast! 

I figure someday when I retire(and I don't want to wish my life away, so I can wait for that)I figure I'll get more done!  One thing is for sure, I won't have a lack of things to do!

Now if I could just figure out why the laundry never gets done.....

Got this much done...which is to say...not much done!

After a discouraging false start in which I started sewing blocks together and then realized that I had forgotten to change the needle position for the foot I was using which resulted in about a 1/8th inch bigger than the desired 1/4" seam...then some unsewing...then got my blocks together for the top...borders are next.  I'm no speed demon, that's for sure!



Purple Pansy Quilt-at least until I think of a better name!

I had this one all cut and ready to sew while on vacation in WY last October but instead helped my niece with her quilt.  I got the 9-patch blocks done and started on the snowball block during retreat in November and that was it for a while.  Now the blocks are all done and ready to assemble...

...and I got bonus triangles from the snowball blocks and made them into pinwheels...well, 3 pinwheels anyway!  (I still don't know what is up with the sideways picture.  Anyone know how to fix this?  The picture isn't like this on my computer.) 



PIGS stats!

Jill has asked another question about our PIGS(Projects in Grocery Sacks!) 

"Do you have a list of your PIGS and is it current? How many PIGS and UFOs do you have? What is your oldest and how old is it?"

I have a kinda, sorta list of some of my current projects.  I really need to get them all together in one spot so they "speak" to me more often!  I've never actually counted them but here are a few:

My Graham Cracker Quilt...I took this class from Nancy.  It needs a back and quilted and bound.

My quilt with no name that I did as a quilt along with The Old Red Barn Co.  Again, it needs a back, quilted and bound.  I was also thinking of taking it apart in half to make two smaller quilts...I guess that's what's holding me back from finishing it.(yeah...sure!)

(My couch is the cleanest place to lay these things out!)

My Stack N Whack wall hanging.  I need to tweak the borders yet and do the backing, quilting and binding thing...hmm...I see a pattern here...

Probably my oldest project would be a table cloth I started probably...at least 10 years ago.  I pieced together some blue/tan homespun, rounded the corners to make it oval, sewed lace on it and pieced a back for it...all I need to do is pin right sides together, turn it and finish it.  No pictures because I'm not really sure where it is.

There are plenty more!

A Doll Quilt and MORE Fabric!

Got the fabric I ordered from Favorite Fabrics today and a Joann's flyer too.  I have a gift card I got for Christmas and can't wait to use it!  I like to find the best sales before I use a gift card...get all I can out of it!

I got the pickle and green bean fabric for an elusive jar quilt that has been just an idea for longer than I can remember.  I've been collecting suitable fabrics for it for what seems like forever. 

The hay bale fabric...well, I couldn't resist!  I have no idea what I'll do with it yet but that seems to be the case with me in any fabric purchase!

I'm starting out the year in a small way. 

I completed one doll quilt this evening.  My guild donates them to the Toys For Tots program.  Every doll that is given out has a quilt to go with it.  I kinda/sorta set a goal of doing one a month, although this is probably the most elaborate one I'll do.  It's end scraps from a strip quilt I did...sometime...can't remember!  I think I posted about it here somewhere!  I'm too lazy to find it! 

Can you see where I was too lazy to pin?  And too lazy to unsew?!

The back of the quilt...sideways, I can't figure out how to turn the photo. 



UFO Storage

Jill has asked the question "How do you store your UFOs and PIGS separate from your fabric stash?"
Here is what I've started doing.  I got this plastic bin at Joann's when they were 50% off...and immediately wished I had gotten more.  These are great for going to retreats.  I took this one with three different UFO's(and I didn't get them finished so they are still UFO's!).  I keep the fabric(hopefully already cut!), the instructions and any special tools or thread or needles needed for the project. 

The one on the left is supposed to be for Christmas storage but that's not going to happen!  I got this one on sale also...at Joann's.  It was the only one left but I'm going to BOLO for more!

I just realized I am still using towels for curtains...I do have my priorities!