Making Progress....

Since I have finished my cross stitch project, I needed a new one for my lunch break. I pulled out my stars and have settled in to stitched them to my squares. Two patriotic prints will proudly show off my 50 States stars with a simple (wonky) running stitch. A poor choice of fabric to embroider the stars on leaves me with lots of little threads. My star points may not last too long. It is going faster than I anticipated and 10 stars are done already. Slowly but surely... a few stitches a day is better than none!


 There is other motivation to complete this project. Mollie at Wild Olive is starting a new stitch club, Around the House. I'm in, are you?

50 States Embroidery

"Much may be done in those little shreds and patches of time which every day produces, and which most men throw away" ~ Charles Caleb Colton

And that is the how I am working on my 50 States Stitching Club by Mollie Johanson of Wild Olive.

Each week she released a pattern until all 50 States were represented to be stitched on to an English Paper Pieced star. I worked on the embroidery and paper piecing during my lunch hour and slowly but surely all 50 of them are stitched up. 

I've also trimmed blue squares for the stars....  Trimming those stars?! Not a job I'm looking forward to... 

Stitch Club update

I am moving along with the Summer Stitch Club. Isn't some cheerful fabric? I'm going with the green to calm those bright oranges. Slowly but surely, I am catching up with this weekly project.

A bit late for this post, but I just had to show you what I got! This year I made it to the Annual Friends of the Library Book Sale! It's one of my favorite places to browse for books. I only had a short time, so I headed straight for the craft section. Score! Some knitting, some quilting, some toy making. Looney Toons Transfers that will make a great embroidery project. Some books on bobbin lace...Cross stitch, of course, including one for Russian Lace (drawn thead).


But my personal favorite for this trip... the cross stitch Monopoly chart. It has been at the bottom of my wish list, because really, when do I have the time to take on this project? Well, now I have the chart, should I so be inclined (at a bargain price!).

Happy Crafting, everyone!

Little Birdies

Of course, we don't want to declutter... so in addition to the Cachoeira socks, I also started making these little birds. I was looking for something that I could make for small thank you gifts.

And here's some of them. I added little tabs at the top of the head for split rings. It also gives me a place to tie on my little thank you note. I started with an assortment pack of felt. The Mr. helped me cut out the pieces, then mixed and matched the wings and tail. Don't you just love how colorful they are? I just finished a second batch of birds. Stitching the eyes and beak takes the longest, but overall these little cuties are quick to make, assembly line style. Off to make more to be sure that I have enough... More felt please!

MAGIC pillowcases

I picked up pillowcase kits on sale at Connecting Threads. The instructions that came with the kit are excellent. You can find tutorials for the technique around the web (just search for rolled or magic pillowcase, I found it here and here and here).  The sewing portion is a snap. I spent more time pinning and pressing. I see more pillowcases in my future!

Quilt - DONE!

It's done! Here is the Nicholas quilt that I have been working on. I knew that this was a large project, but just didn't realize how a large until I started assembling. It's not my neatest work, but I'm still pleased with the finished product.

I just adore the monkeys, seamingly swinging around the quilt top, while the smaller animals on the green ground are sauntering about.

The quilt has some Warm and Natural batting and backed with flannel. It's tied 4 places on each block. My favorite part of the assembly is handstitching the binding to the back. I hope Nicholas enjoys it as much as I enjoyed making it.

the proud owner of...

a "genuine" Singer replica... I got it at a moving sale and was told it worked. I turned the wheel and all the parts moved smoothly, so I parted with my $ and walked away happy.

I am told it is a Singer 15CH. It is in the shop for a tune up as I write this. It's getting a full check up and they even offered to put the case together correctly. There were some screws and hinges included that will help to hold it all together.

I can't wait to get it home and test it out!

quilt top - DONE!

Happy dance here this weekend. The extra work to the sashing was worth it.

I framed the name block in the light blue. The backing is  a light blue flannel with clouds and stars.

But the dancing quickly ended as I realized on Sunday that I didn't buy enough for the back and batting. With the changes I made to the top, I miscalculated the amount of fabric I needed. I can piece together the batting, but I'll need more flannel. So one more trip to the fabric store this afternoon. At least, I got to work on the binding. The strips are cut and waiting to be pressed, but that's for another day...

More blocks

This has been my only project on the weekends. Cutting, pinning and sewing. Oh, my! A twin sized quilt, my largest project ever. The piecing seems to be never ending. At least the name block is finished. My applique skills need some work, don't look to closely. I'm leaning towards finishing it up with a blanket stitch.

The original plan did not include sashing, but the more I thought about it, I realized it would look better with the sashing. I decided to use the mottled brown fabric that was chosen for the binding and name block. I had hoped to have all of the blocks finished and spend this weekend assembling, but between my tempermental machine and the sashing, I'm about a week behind. Cutting, pinning, sewing... that's the plan for the weekend!

Nine patch - halfway

This project is for a twin size blanket. And I have about half the blocks assembled. The pieces are cut for the second half. I don't quite like the way the brown blocks look next to each other. The plan is to pin the blocks this week, finish assembling the blocks over the weekend, then decide on the sashing. Oh and work on the applique name in between all of that. If only I can get my tempermental sewing machine to cooperate...

gathering supplies

I was asked to sew a blanket for a friend. A simple project with just a size requirement. It will be for a twin bed. I haven't pieced anything that large... ever... I like small portable projects. But the more I thought about it, the more I didn't see any reason to turn down the request. The request was for a simple project, I suggested a 9-patch. The lead time is more than generous. I just haven't done much sewing lately. Granted, I am no expert, but I can manage to sew a straight line, most of the time. So here's a sneak peek at the fabric I will be using. I washed the fabric, it just needs to ironed and I'll start the task of cutting this weekend. So until this is done, most of my other projects will be put aside. Wish me luck!