Blame Bonnie Hunter....SHE did it....

Ok - yeah - it's been a while since I hit my blog, I get it.   You can stop checking the obits, I'm still here.  ;-) Have had some life-altering changes in my life since my last post (all good - trust me), so I've been a little pre-occupied - to say the least.  BUT - I do have a few new "Quilty" things to report....

First off - just a little shout out to Bonnie Hunter over at Quiltville......   Grrrrrrrrrrr - THANKS A LOT BONNIE!!!   UGH!!!  I blame her for my new-found fascination for old sewing machines.....

There are a few new occupants to the "Quilting Revolution" Household....

Meet "Gemma"... because she's a GEM!

Definitely NOT a Featherweight by any means.  I haven't done a ton of research on her yet - but I picked her up at a local "Flea Market" type place called Hodge Podge in Rochester, NY.   What a find - I covered her back up immediately and took her home.   I can't wait to make her purr....

Meet "Fairlane" ... because she reminds me of an old car from the 50's :-)

This one I'm guessing was used for just the table.  She's flawless - but had her cord cut.  My honey is going to replace her electric parts and help me get her up and running too.

This one belongs to my boyfriends mother and is just in for a check up.   Poor thing is dry as a bone and the timing is WAY off.  Just need to find a rubber gear to repair the bobbin winder mechanism.   (She's not moving in, just visiting....)

And my most recent finish - Baby Minnie Mouse lap quilt for my beautiful God-Daughter - "Devyn Abby"

That's all she wrote for now!   More later!!

Snowed In!! What to do, what to do...

So here's a shocker....there's snow - coming steadily down - in Western, NY - in February!   What ARE the odds???  Here's our Storm Watch Report...

" There will be a wide range in storm total accumulation with areas closest to Lake Ontario, including Rochester, picking up 7 to 12 inches"

Pppffftt...  Walk in the park for us..  So what do we plan for weekends like this?   Stop off at Wegmans on the way home (heck - you're already out in it), grab the essentials - Coffee, Creamer, Splenda. - Cat Food.  Perhaps a few frozen pizzas, couple cans of soup, make sure there's toilet paper...and we are GOOD TO GO!   Since there are no plans for the weekend - I have MUCH progress I intend to make on my current projects!   Need to keep that February List in mind too:

1 - "Bloomin Steps" - This one should be all cut and ready to go on retreat with me next weekend - but I'll double check that I've got everything.

2 - "Jan, Feb, Mar Paper-Pieced Flower of the Month Blocks"   - Yep!  This is the top contender for this weekend - haven't even pulled the fabrics out for them!

3 - "Hand Applique Block - Making good progress on this already - I work on this during my lunch hour at work when I remember to take a lunch.

4 - "Apple-Core" - I've decided to put this goal on hold and remove it from my February Goals.  And since I think that's against the rules - I added TWO to take it's place for this month.  :-)

(Add-on for February) 4.5 (Heh-heh) - I started a NEW project last night that I want to make an enormous amount of progress this weekend on.   Can't even give you a glimpse yet...but it's "so stinkin' cute"  <-- Vicki's famous saying. :-)

(Another Add-On for February) 4.75 - Sewing Room Cross-Stitch Wall Hanging.   I've wanted to do this piece for as long as I can remember, but just haven't been in the mood to do cross-stitch.   I had to dig through the garage last week to find a closet door and the hand rail from the stairs for the Household Projects going on.  Whilst digging through the rafters, I came upon my cross-stitch stand. It looked so sad the way the top hung down to the ground covered in cobwebs.   Guess there was some nostalgia going on there.   So I brought it out of the cold, sat down with it, washed it, gave it a lemon oil rub - pulled out my 3-drawer cabinet with all my cross-stitch supplies, cut the 14-count AIDA cloth, pulled all the DMC colors for the project, rolled the piece up on the scroll frame, and commenced stitching! I've been doing at least three 24" strings a night. (This is my 15-minutes a day challenge).     I'll give a progress report sometime on Sunday on how this is moving along.

So there you have it!  That's what I'll be doing while "SNOWED IN - IN WESTERN, NY!"

Household Projects - Part 1

I am a listmaker...

I make project lists, shopping lists, to do lists, financial lists, inventory lists, <insert anything here> lists.   Most of the time, just the mere act of making the list - motivates me to "get er done".  When it comes to Household Lists - they are usually for shopping, projects that need to be done, or those nagging thoughts that constantly creep into my head - "Geez.  I HAVE to remember to do that!"

 

Now that I'm living alone again, I find myself making lists more frequently and doing more things.  It truly gives me a feeling of accomplishment when I scratch something off of one of my many lists and can put it out of my head forever.   I've also come to realize that this momentary feeling of accomplishment, is what gives me the mindset of "Freedom" to do whatever my choosing!   Lately - I reward myself with working on a project in my sewing studio.   Which is fantastic - because I really missed the pull to my creative side - it was gone far too long.

 

Throughout the week this week - I was looking forward to the weekend to sit, relax, sew, listen to an audio book, call some girlfriends and catch up and a handful of other things.   Surprisingly, I am finding myself drawn to the running "To Do" tasks swimming around in my head instead. They are REALLY distracting!   There is A LOT to do around the house now that the dust has settled and everyone has moved onto the next chapter of their lives.   I've come to realize that boys are really hard on things!  So it's a process to get everything to this girl's standards.  :-)  Momma has been staying with me for the month of January and helping me SUPER CLEAN various rooms of the house. Much of the work needed right now at her house is all outdoors. Obviously WINTER makes that difficult, so we have focused our efforts indoors at my house!  Here's some before pics - and only a few AFTER thus far.

 

Living Room around Moving Day

 

 Living Room Now

 

The Living Room couches were a fabulous find.  It pays to be friends with generous Quilters.  :-)  They were in a "Formal" living room of a 4-story manor off of East Avenue with a couple that are moving to California and didn't want to take them with them!  They are well-constructed and comfortable, and gorgeous!   We have them convered with sheets now though to protect them from the kitties.  The area rug was a find at the VOA.  It was filthy dirty but SUPER Cheap.  I spotted a pretty flower under the filth and snagged it.   Several carpet shampoo's later - it's breathtaking.  It can't stay in the living room though - the cats are a little TOO enamoured with it as well...  Momma had to keep it safe just long enough for the picture!  It's hand-woven wool pile and thick!   They love getting their nails into it.  So it will end up going into one of the guest rooms upstairs, behind a closed door.

 

We have been shampooing our BRAINS out, the results are extraordinary!

 

 

The upstairs has a LOT more work yet.  The boys were free to put whatever they wanted on the walls of their bedrooms, so there are a gazillion nail holes and staple gun holes to fill and more carpets to clean.

 

 

 

Currently - the focus is on what I will call - "The Blue Room" - only because it has a Blue Carpet (for now).  So far - we have washed\scrubbed the walls, used a gallon of spackle, sanded & brushed off the walls.  They are ready to prime!  Lisa (one of my BFF's), and her husband Dave came over last week and helped us pull off the molding and all the carpet tack strips to reveal....beautiful hard-wood flooring.  Somewhere in the back of my head I knew the entire house had hard-wood floors, but they were all covered when I bought the house, so I forgot.  Now - I'm ever so grateful.  :-)

 

 

So I'm anxious to get this room painted and primed so I can throw out that nasty carpet, shine up those floors, and put that pretty flowered VOA rug up here.  But...it's a process.  I have to be patient because materials for these projects have to be purchased in very small stages.  Lisa & family are coming back tonight to help mud the crud that was under the molding.  Because the carpeting will eventually be tossed out (or repurposed to the laundry room if it I can get it to come clean), the molding has to be moved down to touch the hardwood floor, thus revealing 1/2" all the way around, of holes, layers of wallpaper & paint and all kinds of stuff.

 

Eventually, I will find furniture to furnish my empty rooms so that friends and family can come visit and stay.  The boys are super busy with their lives now, but perhaps someday - grandchildren will come and have sleepovers here!!  I know - wishful thinking right?

 

New Block Releases - what to choose!?

So in December - I was trying to decide what new projects I wanted to tackle for 2013.  I wanted to deem 2013 as my NO UFO year!  And only start NEW projects.  :-)   You can see all the choices I came up with HERE.

Let's see what kind of trouble I can get into now that it's a new month!  :-)

February's Paper-Pieced Block is out over at Quiet Play.  So stinkin' cute.  It's a seam ripper!

 

 

The second block for Jingle Applique is delayed at Once Piece at a Time until next week because Erin isn't feeling well - but the first block and the center block is out.

 

 

 

The next Block for Sulky's Sewing BOM is available too!  So cute!!

 

 

 

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Get It Done - February

Oh Goodie...Judy over at Patchwork Times has another motivational Linky Thingy!  I'm in!

On the last day of the month we are to post four things we would like to get done in the next month and update on progress from the previous month.  I didn't link up for January - but I'm in for February!

The things I wanted to get done in January were the following:

1) Get Bonnie Hunter's Easy Street Mystery Quilt Top Done - CHECK!

2) Get Block Entry done for Quiltmaker 100 Block Quilt Mug Contest - CHECK!

3) Get 1,300 two-inch squares cut and ready to take on Valentine's Day Weekend Quilting Retreat along with 160 3 1/2" squares, and 24 3" Background Strips......and uhm....whatever else the Scrap Therapy "Bloomin Steps" pattern says to do! - CHECK CHECK!

4) Get next Applique Block prepped to go into Hand-Work Bag.  (Choose Block, Choose Fabrics, Trace layout with chalk pencil, Freezer Paper Templates, Best Press and outline pieces) - CHECK CHECK CHECK!

I'm REALLY liking this 4 goal thingy for the month!   So here's my list for February:

1)  BEGIN & COMPLETE Scrappy "Bloomin Steps" Quilt Top
2)  BEGIN & COMPLETE January, February & March Paper-Pieced Flower of the Month Blocks.
3)  COMPLETE Current Hand Applique Block and PREP work for next block
4)  Start new "Leader\Ender" Project of Apple-Core Scrap Quilt

Design Wall Monday - Just keep cutting...

Whew!   Nothing on the Design Wall - but boy am I READY to put them up there!   But I can't.....I promised Vicki I wouldn't sew a single seam.....for TWO MORE WEEKS......ugh....

I am ANXIOUSLY waiting for my Valentine's Day Get Away!  My sweeties and I are going on retreat!!   Vicki, Sandy at Quilting for the Rest of Us and Lori at Craftication!   The four of us are shacking up for 3 days at our favorite Quilt Camp!   Bonnie Hunter's Easy Street Mystery Quilt brought on the scrappy bug and man did I ever get bit...... I have been hacking away at my stash ALL WEEK LONG...    Going to be doing a Scrap Therapy pattern called "Bloomin Steps"  (It's really Jewel Box - but they can call it what ever they want).  The unique part to Scrap Therapy is the inner border, that's using scraps within scraps and the VERY scrappy border I'm going to be doing!   Guess how many 2" squares I had to cut.....go ahead and guess.....

1,300 !!!!

(no....I'm not kidding)

There are many MANY more interesting Design Walls to look at over at Patchwork Times - be sure to stop in and check it out!!

Be sure to like us on Facebook too - we post all KINDS of kewl stuff to surf weekly!  

Click Here to go to Quilting Revolution on Facebook!!

Design Wall Monday - 100 Blocks!

One of the things I really wanted to check off my list this weekend was to get my block entry done for Quiltmaker's 100-Block Contest to try and win a mug!   As I was typing up this post, I surfed on over to Quilt Maker's Blog to do the "Linky Thing" so you could get in on it too.... and I realized that I think I MISSED the submission deadline!  Waaaahhh.    I did win a copy of the Volume 1 Reprint of 100 Blocks so I am VERY excited about that, but I'm pretty sure I missed the chance at a mug.  (sniffle).

BUT - I still enjoyed thumbing through to choose a block to make!   I was on a mission to find a suitable block design that would help me accentuate one of the MANY Calico Prints I have accumulated over the years.   I have SO many of them - but I rarely feel the pull towards projects that take advantage of BIG PRINT Fabrics.  My resolution for 2013 was to "Use my Calico Stash".... and I really wanted to make things with them that really can't be done with any other fabric.  Simply to go along the line of my mindset when I bought it..."Oh...I LOVE this....I have to have some!!"..    Never with a purpose...just for the fabric. (sigh)

So this time - I had to do the opposite.  Choose a pattern that would work with the fabric I wanted to use!  Fun Challenge for myself!

I chose Block #55 from Volume 1 of Quiltmaker's 100 Blocks.  It's called Wishing Star by Bonnie Mitchell.

I wanted to know a little about Bonnie so I went hunting...  No website or Blog that I can find for her - but I did find a few free patterns she designed for Clothworks if you are interested!

European Taupe IV
Cherie'
Gone Haunting

It's also Design Wall Monday!   Be sure to check out more Design Walls at Patchwork Times

Be sure to "Like" us on Facebook too - we post all KINDS of kewl stuff to surf on there weekly!
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"Lantana Sunrise" AKA - Easy Street!!

Still trying to figure out why Bonnie Hunter called this baby EASY STREET.....  The units and the piecing were NOT hard....but man.....I thought the seams were never going to end!!!

The Inspiration - Lantana Flowers

The Quilt - "Lantana Sunrise"

Next - Plan the borders and the quilting....yeah - not today.   I need to find a project that will give me a little more "Instant Gratification".  :-)  It took me 45 minutes to clean up all the thread snips from my sewing room!!

Too bad Quiltville's Linky Party is over - I would have loved to have had it done in time.

QuiltMaker,Quiltmaker...make me a Block!!

There are some really cool things happening at Quiltmaker Magazine that I had to share!   You might have seen these little babies on the newsstands this past year.   Perhaps you walked on by thinking, it's just another magazine full of quilt blocks that I can find free on the internet....

Au Contraire mon Frere

These block designs are ORIGINAL designs from Today's Top Designers!! Quiltmaker's 100 Blocks Volume 1 - Collector's Edition.

 These are NOT public domain blocks that are in every quilt block book you can buy!! You don't know what you are missing!

We are talking ALL about it on the Quilting Revolution Facebook Page 

Back by Popular Demand is the FIRST Volume of Quiltmaker's 100 Blocks.  This issue SOLD OUT really fast, and as more volume's came out, and people actually realized what they missed out on...Quiltmaker did a reprint!   Get yours TODAY!

Quiltmaker is also running a contest for a chance at a free issue - Comments on their blog by January 14th automatically get entered.

- AND - 

If you make a project from ANY of the 6 Volumes published, and submit a photo to them, you get a chance at this mug!   I LOVE coffee.....and LOVE quilting....so I LOVE this mug!   Gotta have it!!

Be sure to check out their post!

Here

2013...what to do..what to do..

My mind has just been crawling with all kinds of creative goals and "To Do's" for 2013.  But few actual DECISIONS...   So I decided to spend the evening surfing to gather some choices....uh....BAD IDEA

There's so many to choose from!!!

4-block a week Quilt-a-Long on "Simplify and Quilt" HERE
Dancing Stars Quilt-A-Long on "Amy's Creative Side" HERE
Jingle Block of the Month on "One Piece at a Time" HERE
Santa's Toy Box Sew Along on "Pat Sloan's Blog" HERE
A Row-A-Long that's already started on "Bee in my Bonnet" HERE with a Flickr Group HERE
Free Motion Quilt-a-Long HERE
2013 NEW FO at Catpatches HERE
BOM with Quilt Story HERE
Nothing But UFO's HERE
Crazy Quilt Journal Project HERE
Secret Blog Hop HERE
a ONE DAY Mystery on NYE! HERE
Quilting Gallery "Show and Tell" Weekly HERE
Blogger Block of the Month HERE
60 degree diamond EPP Quilt A Long HERE
Block of the Month 2012 HERE
a SMORGASBORD of Quilty Fun HERE
Drop and Give me 20 HERE
The Bitty block Swap HERE
Paper Pieced BOM HERE with a preview of the Blocks HERE
A RAINBOW Dear Jane....HERE  referencing the tutorials HERE  (Dear God - PUHLEEZE don't let me get "Jane" fever....)

And Don't forget the "Linky Parties"!!!

Design Wall Mondays HERE
App Store Tuesday HERE
Fabric Tuesday HERE
Wordless Wednesdays
Friday Night Sew-In's HERE
Thank God it's Finished Friday HERE
Stash Report Sundays HERE

Super Awesome Podcasts...
Quilting for the Rest of Us - HERE

Ok.....Someone please shut down my internet.....Just for tonight.....(sigh)

Enjoy the links!!   Be sure to "Like" us on Facebook too - we post all KINDS of kewl stuff to surf on there weekly!   Click HERE to get to Quilting Revolution on Facebook

Mystery Quilt Inspiration

Things have been very quiet around here recently - making me really dive into the Mystery Quilt I'm doing.   Never done a mystery quilt before.   I stressed for WEEKS over choosing colors.   I didn't want to copy the colors that Bonnie Hunter chose for her rendition of Easy Street.   So this was a "Breaking Free" experience for me.   Not having any idea what the quilt was going to look like.    I'm a planner.   I plan everything.   Right down to the Binding before I even begin cutting and sewing.

My inspiration was a flower I discovered in the flower beds of Wegmans this past Spring.   I saw them get planted and they immediately drew my eye.    I had never seen anything quite like it.

I became obsessed with it!   I had to stop and see it's growth every time I went to the store!   Finally, my mother got sick of me talking about this flower and decided to call Wegmans Customer Care and ask what the name of the flower was.   We contemplated creeping into the night to snag a sprout - but our moral character thought better.  <grin>

The woman from Customer Care actually went out to the flower beds, with mom's vivid description of the flower and went hunting.   A few hours later - she returned the call.   She had to make a few phone calls, but found out the name of the flower was "Lantana" and was in fact available in a few locations near us!

Off we went - We finally found tiny, baby Lantana's, with just buds on the tips without any blooms.   But the staff at the Garden Factory assured us we were looking at the right flower.    4 plants later - and some gypsum, peat moss, something something steriod fertilizer (I have no idea - my mom is the gardener) - they were planted, fed, watered and loved until they grew into these GORGEOUS bushels of Pink, Yellow and orange flowers.   

And believe it or not - I am still keeping up with the clues that Bonnie Hunter posts for Easy Street - Mystery Monday Link Up   I just love playing with all the pieces!   This is by far NOT the solution to the mystery, as there are a few pieces I didn't use - but boy is it inspiring to move these things around my Design Wall.   OH - It's Design Wall Monday Too!   You can see more projects here -> Patchwork Times

This is so much fun!   I can't wait until the next clue to come out on Friday!   Aren't the colors amazing?

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Where it all started...and where it's going...

It's funny how our Creative Minds evolve....  Think back to your first quilt, or the first time you embroidered on something.   We come so far as we develop our talents and creative minds.  Our tastes change - our "Signature Colors" sometimes change. The types of projects we sew change...our lives change.   If you don't take a deep breath...and accept every moment that something changes.....you'll miss the whole journey.....



Even our BLOGS change! If you are a blogger - you know exactly what I mean.  Remember your first few posts?   Remember all the aggrivation of setting it up, figuring out all the little widgets and links and stuff that everyone else seemed to already know?  Where to put it, how does this work, how does that work...how do I promote it?  ....Now WHAT in the world do I blog about?? 

Once upon a time I started a blog... I started it because I was working at my dream job.  Surrounded by creative minds, eager to learn, eager to CREATE, eager to share and be proud of their accomplishments.   They came to me with thier quilting problems, computer problems, sewing machine issues.  So many would wander in with worry in their eyes, and the feeling of failure because something wasn't coming out the way they envisioned it.   They read our newsletter every week to see what was going on in our little corner of the world.  They came to our embroidery club to be wowed by the creations we'd find on the internet.  They took our classes to get the support they needed to conquer their fears...

Then - one day, the dream was gone.  It ended as quickly as it started, and I felt lost.  I tried to get it back, some way, some how....but I didn't have the tools, the support, or the startup funds to do it.   I was heartbroken.    The last class I was teaching there was a "Beginning Quilting Class".  I had 7 or 8 students that were scared, and nervous but wanted SO badly to try and make their beautiful quilts and overcome their fears. They wanted so badly to have a legacy to leave behind some day, or bond with other people that would inspire them, instead of bringing them down.   One of my students was even a family member that swore that she would NEVER touch a sewing machine.  I remember how proud I was when she couldn't help but smile when she realized she was actually really good at it.   I have no idea if she ever continued to perfect her talent.  I have no idea how any of those women are doing anymore....

Eventually, as time went on, I got sick of being sad....I picked myself up by my bootstraps....deleted the painful memories off of my blog, and slowly crept back out.  When life gives you a gut punch to the stomach you have two choices....curl up in a ball and wallow in the things you can not control....or stand up.  Put one foot in front of the other, keep breathing in and out, love and cherish the people in your life......and eventually - time will heal, it will get easier, things will change.  You will smile and enjoy the world around you again.   All you can do - is go with the flow.    Sometimes it takes a while.   But if you hang in there, and believe in your heart that time heals all wounds.....you'll be ok... 

I try to stay away from news sites and papers....it's so depressing.  Sometimes you can't help it - even Social Media can bring all the sorrows of the world right into your view.  Facebook - that's how I heard the news.   All of the sweet angels that are gone in Conneticut and the teachers that loved them...   Those families, that community, I know it's hard to see now....but it will get easier.  Take time to grieve and accept what has happened....but life CAN go on.  Our purpose...is to survive...EVERYTHING that life hands us.....and keep on the journey....

More CHANGE is coming in my life.   I thought I knew exactly what I was doing, and where I was going.   No such luck.   But the heartbreaks and hurts that I've experienced in my life have started to make me realize, that something will always change.   When you least expect it. There is more pain and hurt on your journey.   Don't fool yourself into thinking that life is perfect and you've got it all figured out.   You don't.   When it comes...take a deep breath...put one foot in front of the other, and keep on...keeping on.  This too shall pass....

Who knows where the next turn in the road will bring you.....take the plunge...hold your head high and stop looking behind you......always forward.

App Store Tuesday

Ooooh Baby!   Did you miss "APP STORE TUESDAY"??   Well, I'm now the proud owner of an iPad 3 thanks to my amazing sons.  They pooled their paychecks together this past summer to ensure I had the MOTHER of all Birthdays in July :-) So without further adieu....let's get some "App Store Tuesday" up in here!!

Finally!!!  An app to design quilts for iPad\iPhone!  Woot Woot!

Quilt Wizard - By Patrick Diligent


Electric Quilt for IPad\iPhone it is NOT.....But it's definitely kewl enough to justify the $4.99 price!  

Quilting Wizard is a mobile application which allows you to test fabrics for your quilt project while you are browsing at the shop or at a quilt show. It runs on iPhone, iTouch and iPad.

First select some fabrics for your quilt in the fabrics palette, and select blocks from the block library. Fill the blocks with fabrics. Place the blocks in the quilt grid. Go back to the block design to adjust the fabrics, and see an immediate effect in the quilt view. While you are at the shop, or at a quilt show, you can take pictures with the device camera and use the fabrics picture straight away in the design. You can also select fabrics from pictures in your photo library.

Be sure to visit Wattlebird Designs & Co (Australia) to see the tips, tricks and user guide!  

The Sound of the Machine...

There's something soothing about the steady hum of a sewing machine.   I don't know that I really noticed it before.  When the house is quiet and empty, with only the sound of a small fan off in the distance somewhere, "Emma" (my sewing machine) sings to me softly.   I slow the speed way down so that I can put my foot to the floor...pedal to the metal... but in reality.....stay slow and steady....

So I started thinking...What happens in there when she's humming along?

Soothing isn't it?  Almost hypnotic...  And to think the steady song of our sewing machines...and single, circular, repetitive motions....give us the ability to C R E A T E.....whatever we can dream.  

My First "Mystery Quilt"..Mom's fault?

Ok - who's with me here....   When I dive into something - I have a tendancy to REALLY dive into it.   My latest endeavor - Bonnie Hunter's "Easy Street" Mystery Quilt

I still say that this is all Sandy's fault over at Quilting...for the rest of us.  But the reality is - my mom thinks SHE started it all.

My mom has become a TEXTING ADDICT.   We gave my mom an old cell phone with a pop out keyboard just so we could get a hold of her when she's off on her excursions to God knows where until God knows when. To my surprise - she went to a dinner party with friends and halfway into a bottle of Merlot - I get this random Text Message from my mom's cell phone.    "Hello??   Is this thing working?"   27 phone calls and text messages later, my mother's friends taught her how to text.....   Now - 6 months later - momma knows the text lingo better than my 17 year-old.   She sends me texts all day every day, 1,000 characters long.   It's hilarious.   She says she feels "hip" and "included" now.   Yay Mom!   Anywho....   She could be ANYWHERE, and if she hears or sees something that she thinks there might be an INKLING of interest on my part....I get a text about it.    So she texts me that "Sherri at Applebee's is doing a mystery quilt by Bonnie Hunter.  Do you know Bonnie Hunter?  Are you doing this too?   She says it's a really big deal!   You should look it up on Google!".

I waved it off - "Mom... there are Mystery Quilts all over the web all the time"....and didn't think anything of it.

Then days later, Sandy announces at Sew Day...."Ok - they talked me into it - I'm doing Bonnie Hunter's Mystery Quilt!.   Wait....who?  What?  How did my MOM know something I didn't know?!?  To the Web!

Then I discovered that the quilt that our other friend Kate made at the last retreat was a Bonnie Hunter Mystery Quilt...   I would recognize "Orca Bay" anywhere once you've seen it....we were awestruck when she tacked the finished top to the wall.  

Ok....I'm in.   I want to play in the sandbox too!!!    I picked completely different colors from Bonnie...  So stay tuned on my progress!   I am proud to say that I am caught up with the rest of them and am anxiously awaiting "PART FOUR" to come out on Friday.  :-)

P.S. I can ALSO proudly say - that I have FINALLY - after an 18 month hiatus....have RE-BONDED with my sewing machine.....I've missed her.  :-)  It feels really good to be "Friends Again". :-)

Cats in the Sewing Room...

I find it fascinating that my 4-legged children have taken an extreme interest in being in my sewing room 24x7 now that it is down in the finished basement without a DOOR...why is that I wonder?  And what IS it about the places they choose to deem theirs??

This is where I found Max Cat.  He is undoubtedly the FATTEST Orange Tabby you will ever meet. How he managed to squish himself into this bin of FQ's is beyond me.....  Must remember to keep the top on that...

Scout....better known as "Meester Mow", has decided that the best place to be is on the ironing mat but ONLY when the iron is ON...and I'm facing the other direction.    Uhm....guys....the cat hair....the....(sigh)...never mind....

Don't even get me started on little "Miss Precious"....

Seriously!   What IS it about cats and quilts?   I decided to do some surfing...  My favorite landing page...Pinterest of course.    I find myself here more and more when surfing for random thoughts.  :-)   Take a look see.  :-)

Cats on Quilts

November Embroidery Club

Cozy Fleece Shawl with Pockets

This pretty shawl will be like a warm hug as soon as you wrap it around your shoulders.  The embroidered pockets are the perfect place to stash a cell phone, tissues or a sweet or two as you sit in your favorite chair to watch that old romance movie or spend some time with a new book.

Classes will be held at Amelia's Fabric and Yarn Shoppe on 

Tuesday, November 20 from 1:00 to 4:00 pm or Thursday, November 22 from 5:30 to 8:30. 

You must register for the class so call (585-392-1198) today to sign up!

Supplies needed for the class:
•         Embroidery machine and unit with cords
•         Design loaded in your machine or on a flash (USB) stick
•         Printouts of your instructions
•         5 x 7 embroidery hoop
•         2 hoopings of a light or medium tear away stabilizer
•         2 hoopings of a water soluble topping
•         Threads for the design
•         Bobbin loaded with embroidery weight bobbin thread
•         Temporary spray adhesive
•         Pins
•         Water erasable fabric marker
•         Small ruler
•         Two yards of good quality fleece (I used Blizzard fleece from JoAnn’s).  This is enough to make three shawls but you need the length to make the shawl long enough to go around your shoulders.

Please cut the fleece into the following pieces before class:
- One piece cut 18” x 72” for the shawl
- Two pieces cut 7” x 8” for the pockets

The designs I used are from one of my favorite websites (can you guess where?), Embroidery Library.  But you may choose any design you like that will fit in a 5” x 7” hoop.  I have a written “pattern” for you that you will receive at the class for the actual construction of the shawl.  You know, I would not leave you out in the cold!

Here is the link for the design I used:  Embroidery Library

Hope to see you in class at Amelia's Fabric and Yarn Shoppe for some warm and fuzzy stitching.

Post Retreat (sigh)...But Project Complete!

So sad when retreat comes to an end....  Once again - I took WAY too much stuff.   HAHAHAHA! Go figure...  BIG Surprise. 

However... I legitimately only had one project goal in mind and I can proudly say that THAT got accomplished. It took about 3 days to pick the fabrics I wanted to use out of my stash.  But once I pulled EVERYTHING out....it came to me.  That AHA moment, when you have found exactly what you were looking for.  Unfortunately, it took rethinking every planned project pile in my sewing room, and several already in progress piles to find it.   But I wiped 2 UFO's that I was no longer interested in and used a beige mini polka-dot, that's been in my stash since the beginning of time, that I thought I'd never, ever use.



So here's the story.....I bought a purse from Walmart a while back and it has been the BANE of my existance.   It's like the bottomless pit of purses.   It didn't matter which section of the purse I put something in.....it was gone.   Poof!   Every day it was hunt for car keys, "where's my lighter??", what the heck happened to that $20 bill??... I would only find things after the third or fourth pass of the abyss and even then, I had to practically dump the entire thing out on the table to even find my keys, my phone, my bank card.  UGH.  In addition to this black hole of a bag, I was carrying an additional book sized tote bag to keep my new-found love - safe and sound.   My iPad.  

I swore to myself that when I finally got out of my "no-sew" rut, the first thing I was going to make was the MOTHER of all purses.   It took me most of the weekend, but I was bound and determined to GET-ER-DONE....

So first - I DUMPED my purse out on the table - and threw it away.  (That felt REALLY good).  Assessed the items that I tend to like carrying with me and then....measured my iPad.  Comfortably 8x10.   This would be the nexus of the bag.



  After a TON of Math - dreaming, thinking, adding pockets and features for the specific things that I like to carry....my ULTIMATE PURSE was born.

 

(can't you just hear the angels singing when you look at this?? - I sure do...)

 

And all my CRAP....including my precious iPad....fits perfectly in each little designated space.

 

So here's what I did.   I pulled out my pattern for "The Professional Tote" and went hunting the web for the Designer.    Found her!   Laura Martell at "The Creative Thimble" I browsed to the "Contact Us" page and immediately wrote to her desperately seeking the super secret formula to reduce her pattern with the center zipper pocket as the focus size to fit my iPad.  Cuz everybody wants to right?!?!?!

Laura, bless her heart, got back to me in less than 24 hours.    Now, I'll have you know that she was much more interested in joining us at our retreat house on the lake, but needless to say, she hadn't tried to reduce the size of the tote and tried to think it through with me.  In theory, I thought "reduce everything by 2 1/2 inches".  Voila!  Right?!?!  Yeah - probably not so much..  She quickly identified that pieces #2 and #3 shouldn't be altered one way, and #3 & 10.....yeah.    Good luck and have fun!  HAHAHA!  Send pictures!  Geez - thanks Laura.  <grin>

So then I texted my mathamagician genius friend Dee all in CAPS ....that I had an emergency math problem.   And like the geek that she is, within seconds, called with pen and paper in hand.   (dork.  lol)   So we measured the FINISHED center pocket (because I've already made a full size Professional Tote) and started reducing from there.  Dee helped me determine to get the center pocket to best fit my iPad was to reduce EVERY measurement in the pattern....by 20%.   So I copied the "tag" pages of the pattern on my printer and started doing the math.    Converted everything to decimals then multiplied by .80.  Found an engineering chart somewhere on line that gave me fraction equivalents in inches, and started changing all the measurements.

WARNING - Measure TWICE......Cut ONCE

 

I rechecked every calculation THREE times before I started cutting into fabric.   Very smart of me don't you think?   Good think too, cuz I screwed up in 2 places.

 

 

Then, and only then, was I ready to pack for retreat.  HA!  I went carefully down the list of required materials and checked them off one by one.   A quick stop at Joann's on my way out of town for 4 yards of black nylon "Strap" and I was off.

 

Once I got the fabric & interfacing cut out and fused together, I started to get very creative with the inside of the bag.   I love the front pocket with the lined pocket behind the lined zipper pocket, so I decided to make a double one on the inside.  Seperated it with a piece of fabric covered strap and added a kewl key fob.

 

Then - I added an extra layer of batting between the pieces for that inner zipper pocket to keep my iPad EXTRA safe.  The pleated pocket with the flap was a MUST for my charger & cable, because that's bulky.





Two lined pockets on either side of the inner pocket (instead of the vinyl see-through thingy" and viola!   She is done!  Once loaded back up again, I added an additional magnetic snap to the top because I knew I would never zip the thing shut, even though I ensured that the top zipper was added just in case I did want to shut it up tight.  :-)

Next Project?   The Quilters Wallet to match!