"Sewing" for my little Fountain

Finally I did something to show you... not much, I'm afraid.


So it seems that my newest grandson is quite the little fountain...
(I'm the perverse granny who is proud of him.) Since the two parents are having such a time getting wetted, (even though I made 18 Pee Pee Tee Pees for the shower) I thought I'd make changing pads for under baby.  I bought water proof fabric, and pinked the edges. The fabric came in a package of 3 pieces 21" X 24" and I got it at JoAnn's. It is not only waterproof but breathable. (They suggest lots of uses, and there were all kinds of booklets to buy that show how to make cute little diaper covers from this fabric. I didn't want to get that involved.)  Below shows the 3 fabrics. I made the changing pads out of the green fabrics, and the orange will go on bibs that I have planned. The 3 pieces were $15.00 - price of a yard of it.

 

 

 Below shows the pinked edges. (Think he'll mind the pink part?  LOL)  (I give up... every time I try to put this picture on X-Large it goes blank.  The rest of them loaded the same way have no problem with being enlarged.) I also rounded the corners.... Whew! work, work, work.

On another note...
Our Foreigners (from the UK) arrived and we had a wonderful day with them. Hubby (center) and his Brother (on the right) had lots to talk about... he brought old family photos.... I even enjoyed that... (Who would have guessed that one's MIL could ever have been that beautiful. I've seen uglier movie stars!) and Brother's Partner and I talked plants and quilts... believe it!  He was wondering if a quilt he wanted to buy was worth $18,000.  (No no, you are seeing right - Eighteen Thousand Dollars!!!!!!!!!!) I have to admit that a Hawaiian Quilt might be worth that - the way he described it.

These three pictures I took outside of the Spaghetti Factory while we waited.

These are the two brothers - 5.5 years apart, and as different as can be. (There was another Brother in between them, and he was very different from these two. Sadly he has passed... gone ahead to find some rooms, I guess.)

It's hard to get a picture of Hubby without he is talking...

 

Sadly, they have gone home, but not until they spent 3 days at the Mall of America...(as I understand it, they tripled the US economy while there. LOL) It's always their last destination when they are in the States. I wondered why -Brother said it's the staffing. The people who help are always so nice there. Listen up shopkeepers of the UK. B' Nice! as my first grandgirl would have said 17 years ago. Treat your customers better.  After all, they are your bread and butter.


So things should settle down soon. I'm still working on the quilting of the same two quilts... want to do a really good job.... just fighting some depression - the old lady vice, I guess. Hope you are having a wonderful weekend.

Hugs,

Terri

A joke on me...

This week we are cleaning inside and out - relatives coming to visit!
So I always start by picking up - all kinds of piles of stuff are laying around. I started in the  computer room because I'm still blogging and reading blogs and that's where there was a huge pile of recipes, quilt patterns, designs I thunk up and sayings I want to use in cards, and hubby notes (indecipherable)... So this is a picture of one of the piles - there were 5 after I went through them and took them off to different places.

Top of the pile here... "A beautiful thing is never perfect. an Egyptian proverb". (It allows my quilts to exist.  Okay, remember that this is 1 of 5 piles... 

 

 

 

 

Bottom of the pile dates back to Oct of last year!!!!!!!!! and this was the last thing at the bottom!!!!!!

It's one of those disposable dust rags!!!!!  LOL

 

(pause for giggles)

 

 

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On another note: Hhhhmmmmm (key of C)

This is a bit of punch embroidery I did in the 70s. No, not in 70 degree weather, but in the 1970s. (a decade in the last millennium) Some of you gals aren't even that old!  Anyway, it is on denim and a simple design. The stitches need to be quite close together to show a line within the other stitches. See the back of it in the next pic.

 

I was so proud of myself, that I was able to wade into the sewing room and find something from 40 some years ago.  (Now you know why I have so much stuff. I save it. I really don't want it to go into the landfill, if it can be helped. That's me, I'm green!)

 

So I'm off to dust, sweep spiders out of their homes, scrub, etc... Yuck! 

Wish me well... I might not make it through all that.

 

Hugs,

Terri

 

Design Wall Monday

So many bloggers have a regular Design Wall Monday... Here's mine today....

From another angle....

 

The commission is off the wall!  Getting quilting this afternoon, then binding and hand sewing. What should the label say...?

 

So a little tongue in cheek design wall for you.

 

Hugs,

Terri

Quilt Show today!

We went to the Gold Bug Quilters' Guild Quilt Show today... here are the ones I liked.

She said this was made with leftovers from a bigger quilt.

This one was 3-D.  Below is a close up.

The shadows were not 3-D - so pretty and amazing. Each of the leaves are pieced, too. It's all made from jelly rolls.

I liked the snowman face on tan fabric... remember:  don't eat the yellow snow!

I gotta try some of this! (No, I wasn't tipsy - it's the way it was hung.)

This one reminded me of the Houseelf.  Wouldn't this be the Bride of your Forestman?

Such pretty colors!

The camera did not do justice to this one. I liked the way the border was done, and the Christmassy colors. The centers of the blocks are a paisley print. The rest is greens.

I guess Christmas is coming... I liked this one, too, but then red is my favorite color.

This pic is a detail of the quilting on the next picture. That whole panel in beige is quilted from the sky down to reeds and water...

Think richer deeper forest kinds of colors. I think I need a better camera.

 

Aren't these cute? I think it was a challenge, cause there were a dozen or so.

 

I did get 3 new batiks... I guess I was drooling, so my hubby encouraged me to pick out a few pieces... He's an enabler.  I think he was so happy to get into the show for free.

 

 

Sew that was the excitement here today.

 

Thanks to all that stopped by and left me some cheer. I appreciate the prayers for my daughter. We need a miracle there.

 

Hugs,

Terri

Reading & Sewing....

I've been reading blogs and sewing... That's pretty much it.

Here are some pictures



Meow!

Jennifer has a challenge going for paper piecers (see the button on the sidebar). Make one or up to 5 of the kitty faces from her free pattern and send them in, and you could win all of the kitty faces. There are rules posted at the link above (Jennifer). I did have a bunch of troubles with mine.... First, I'm not a cat person, so making a Tabby block... well I had troubles figuring out the colors, and second, they didn't turn out the correct size, so I may have to try again. Third time is the charm?  See the grey kitty has a neck. I made one of the pieces the wrong color. (I kind of like it that way. Looks like he is turning his head to look at me.) But alas, he is not quite 5.5" either. The spotty one maybe the wrong color way, and the nose and ear pink don't show much....also the eyes seem to be too green, and for me that gives him a lizard look.  What do you think?


Below is the commission I got a couple of weeks ago. Here it is rows sewn, but not together... oh, and the bottom 2 rows are pinned together and sitting on the sewing machine. Since the picture I have the flimsy done... now the part I absolutely hate. Basting

 

You all are wondering what happened to my colors, these are the colors chosen by my client. (Don't you just love that word?) All the fabrics are from my stash, and it is gorgeous in person.... the camera takes away alot. That yellow is textured and the olive green is actually  a muted gold. This is a mere shadow...   ( Notice the white paper in the center? It's my low tech way of identifying my pictures. I didn't want to spend all that time on Picassa or whatever.) 

 

Here's my two blocks for the Rainbow Challenge, see the button on the sidebar. Orange is the color for September... that one on the right looks yellow on the picture... I might have to make a couple more orange. I love o.

 

 

Okay, so this is the part of the blog I've been dreading. I have to ask you all to pray more. My Chrissy is having more intensified chemo... She is growing more cancer cells than one set of chemo can kill. She is now having chemo beads injected onto her liver - and that has worked this first time, but only cleaned a small spot. They will keep trying to clean off the whole liver (which was cut in half to take care of tumors previously, and is not growing back now since the cancer has attacked it again.) If this all sounds really serious, it is. The chemo weakens her so much, and then the second kind is worse. It is so serious that our SIL called us - we should come to visit. So please, please pray your hardest.

 

Hugs,

Terri

Week 5 Tetris block

It took me a while, but Ta Da!

On this, the second half of the quilt -  I haven't even cut a white square!!! (Tooting my own horn -Tsk.) Everything is filling in quite nicely. I've been leaving openings for the pieces on next week's drop of shapes, so it isn't all sewn down yet. I'm having lots of fun with this challenge. How about you?

Hugs,

Terri

Recorded for Posterity

My sewing room... First round of pictures taken at eye level...

It's a pass through room to the last bedroom (which we call the "Way Back" room. It houses the considerable mess that is the art supply and rubber stamp hobby - we won't go there today... It would burn your eyes out). This is a pic of the left wall - the design wall, now empty - as you walk into the room. It has some cards, pics of the grands and small items pinned at the far end, and the back door with the makeshift curtain, to keep the sun off of my cutting mat. Any questions?  Yes, Mary? The reason the wall is empty is the quilt that was there is being quilted, and this condition didn't last long, as I now have the Tetris Challenge up on the wall. Helps me to figure out what the next pieces are... and I was cutting those while the pictures loaded.

This is the next wall with a door to the "Way Back" room, the cutting table (now covered in fabric and projects to be... the cork board leans on the table.

Left side is the cutting table and cork board again... next to that is the entertainment center that our son and girlfriend didn't want any more and it works out as shelving for this mess.

This is the window - facing west and trying to be cooled and shaded by 2 tangerines outside. Plants are on top of the shelving unit we got from a friend who used our garage for a while to make snowboards. (Most of the furniture in the room is rummage sale stuff.)

This is to the right of the window. Poster of a centennial quilt made by a guild in Carson City, NV. We just happened to find the quilt show there on the way home from Tahoe - a dozen years ago.
Book case above the sewing room (shows here on the right of the picture) is actually the window of the room that was cut in two - before we owned the house - to make a room and hallway to this sewing room and the afore mentioned "Way Back" room. Rather than cover it all over they used the sills to support the bookcase.

Here's the rest of the room at eye level. The bookcase ends at the doorway - which has no door, but you are looking out into my hallway of grandkid art, and the top of the very important $4 fan - more rummage sale. I've had it for a dozen years - works fine!

On the sewing machine right now is the I Spy. I'm sewing around the individual squares... UGH!

Now to the left of the sewing machine - which is in a cabinet and the lid is open all the time and it rests on a rummage sale table. The table also includes my boom box and tapes, CDs and the pink is pulled for the next palm which will be light pink and hot pink for the veins. The Cadbury box houses small sewing tools, the mister is for ironing and misting the plants to the left - shown later.

My crippled ironing board is set on boxes at the back and sticks out just under the sewing machine cabinet.... perfect to press a seam... no getting up, just twist in your chair. Saves loads of time.

Below the plants is the pink bin... the smallest one... full to the brim.

and below that is the collection of big enough pieces for most of a backing. See the roll of purple with peppers on it? That was to be the backing for a certain wedding quilt. The two didn't like the quilt on the wall, so it went to Sarah Craig's church group. I hated having it around. (You see I am Wiccan.)

Below - next to the pink

Below - my small purple collection.... (Did I mention these are candid shots. Nothing was upset by cleaning.  This is the raw truth, people... the true confession.)

Under more of the plants - working left...


Further left and on the TV stand...

In the space that held a TV... I Spy in a box, the Seasonal Fabrics are mostly Halloween and the Multicoloreds are fabrics I can't figure out where else to put. It's usually much more full, but right now I have a "tray" ( a box lid from Costco) full that I pulled for an unusual snowball quilt I'm hoping to get to make... soon.

Red and blue bins are both 78 Qt. plastic - actually the red one is bigger... but who is counting. When I pull fabrics it takes a while to get to see all the different pieces - I always go by color and value, and you know I'm usually paper piecing, so that's more important to the projects.

In another opening in the TV chest is my library of quilting books, and some felt.

This is the mess that has accumulated on the yellow and orange bin. It's some pinks that have been cut already for the palm fronds, the lid of pulled fabrics for the snowball adventure, my grandma's quilt that needs repair, and here on the left a new batting is bidding for attention. They hide out under the cutting table.

This is the mess on the cutting table. Tossed fabric that has been cut for the Tetris Challenge, and under that is the "tray" of fabrics I keep separate for Harry Potter paper piecing - an ongoing project.
I just love making them, and when I'm blue they help me feel better.

This is a "birthday and Mother's Day" gift from my Darling Daughter. She thought these pieces looked like Bird (making) fabrics... see below.

I'm pretty sure I haven't shown them before.

Above the TV section of the TV storage unit is a "tray" of  special fabrics saved for Scot's quilt. I have some biiiiiiiig plans for that one, and that is why it isn't made yet. I'm a bit intimidated by my own plans. I'm quite afraid of failure, so I put it off.  Does that ever happen to you?

On the design wall is the green bin...also a 78 Qt. full and open with a project tray with the palm leaves. See the calendar next to it? It got taken off the wall by the quilt being quilted... what a naughty boy!

In front of the door a cart of quilt mags and assorted stuff.  I have alot of asst. stuff.

Under the cutting table - more magazines. These are only the ones that are marked for projects I'd like to make someday. The other collection of quilt magazines is in the way back room....

In front of the window, my orchids. (Notice that is pronounced or kids.) There is also a white Christmas cactus on the right.

A Crown of Thorns and an Easter Cactus behind it... It's blooming out of season - see the red on the bottom right. They like alot of water, and will bloom all year if you keep them supplied.

Here's a pile of UFOs on top of the entertainment center.... and a bunch of projects to do. I'll show them to you some time.

 Above shows the mess by the sewing basket. The Nilla box is for recycling, the bag is for snippets big enough for 2 seams, there is a yellow bag that rigs up to the front of the machine for tiny snippets, and the waste basket. Beyond is a bedside table (we got for free from a neighbor) that holds quilting thread in a drawer, and all kinds of iron on stuff in the bottom drawer... I've never tried that.  The top is storing scissors, etc.

Lastly here is the box of fabrics saved back for HP paper piecing.  Fabric that looks magical to me.
See there is a cutting mat under there!

Anyway, that's my room - you've seen it before, but it is messier now, I think.

I know where everything is - so it is organized. Isn't that more important than pretty?

I am going to link up to the Moda Bake Shop stash link party - they are having a show off your stash event. Sheila said I should, so I'm gonna.

Hugs to you all!!!!

Terri