Scissor Case Finis

I finished up my scissor case over the weekend.  I'm very pleased with how it turned out.  Two down and ?? to go.   :-)  I really don't know how many little treats are coming with our casket class (I have instructions for four or five at this point).  I laced up the next one and started stitching - it's a little pin cushion.  I'll take a photo the next time I work on it. 

 Here are my two little treasures together.  These will have a home in the casket someday. 

This is a set of hand made needlework tools I purchased from the UK.  They are made of English Yew and are all hand turned.  I'll need them for the stumpwork that I'm doing on the casket.  Of course I don't know how to use them yet but that will come in the second 18 month course.  I can't wait. 

My old eyes...

For at least a month now I've been trying to finish the goldwork on this piece of stitching. It's for my Casket class and it will be part of a little scissor case. I've not been able to make any progress and I couldn't figure out why. Then it occurred to me last week the issue is I'm really struggling to see the stitching.



I have a new pair of progressive glasses (cost a small fortune) but they don't help at all and in fact my cheaters are far better for stitching than they are. Once I realized what the issue could be, I asked my casket group for recommendations for magnifying glasses or lamps. One of the ladies suggested I use a pair of cheaters along with my glasses. That did the trick - I was able to see well enough to finish the stitching on the piece. I have also ordered a magnifying lamp that has interchangeable lenses and a no heat lamp. That should come next week. I’m still looking for an affordable option for stitching when I'm not around the lamp - there was a lot of strain with the cheaters and glasses. Not something I want to do long term.

But as a result of finally being able to see – the finished cuff of my scissor case! I hope to put the scissor case together this weekend so I can start stitching the next item for the class – a pincushion.

I have made my first installment payment of my double casket. $110 dollars a month for 24 months. Yikes! We are on the home stretch of the first class having just finished up month 12 of 18. That means in September I start the second class which is another 18 months long. I’m still afraid to start work on the stumpwork – I haven’t even done any of the many sampler kits I purchased. I don’t know what my problem is. Nor have I finished learning Adobe Illustrator so I can start to design my casket. Again, I don’t know what my problem is. Time is always an issue but I’ve been sitting around at night bored out of my mind. I just need to start something, anything and I think the rest will start to role.

I’ve started work on my half bath and so far have the tile floor finished and the toilet installed (all done by yours truly). I wanted to install a beadboard wainscoting but the $$$$! Yikes. And I didn’t have the skill level yet and really didn’t want to ask for help. So I found the coolest product at Home Depot – paintable wainscoting wallpaper! I swear it looks like the real thing and I haven’t even painted it yet. Only took two hours to do the entire bathroom. Next up the pedestal sink and trim work. I need help with both of those but I’m learning. Hopefully someday I won’t need to make phone calls to family members.

Until next time!

done!

I'm totally caught up with all my quilting!  There is nothing in the box!  Since the early winter, I've quilted 20 quilts on my sister's long arm machine (in addition to her 20 quilts).  Of course I have a ton of tops ready to go - some cut out, some started and some just in the raw fabric form ranging from 12" x 12" to 110" x 110".  More than enough to keep me busy for quite some time.

This one is an older Joann Fabrics block of the month quilt.  I totally changed the center block - the original was this hideous applique block of a house.  I designed what is there now and I love it.  I'm keeping this one for sure.  It's queen size and will look nice in my spare bedroom during the summer months.  I have so many now that I can change out quilts for each season.  :-)  Which was the plan from the start.  Now I just need to make myself king size for my bed.  So far I only have one quilt finished and only one kit in my stach.  Need more.  :-)

The last one off the machine was a French General - this was the from first line of fabrics that was designed by them.  Still my favorite. 

Have a great weekend!  I'm still digging out from the snow during the week and as I type this it's snowing again! 

another one bites the dust

 I finished up this quilt over the weekend.  Only two to go!  This was the first one that I tried to mix it up a bit - different border and different designs in the squares.  I love how it turned out. 

I LOVE feathers!

I can breathe!

My sinus surgery was a complete success and I'm happy to report that I can breath through my nose.  :-)  I still have a headache and my left eye hurts a bit but there is still a tube in there that gets removed on Friday and I suspect that is the culprit.  But it's almost over - a year of being sick.  I can't wait to start to feel better.  Hopefully I'll be able to stick to my running plan now.  I want to loose some of the weight I've gained over the past couple of years and I can't do it without exercise and running is my exercise of choice.  Over the past year, I haven't been able to find any momentum because I'm always sick.  I want to run at least one half marathan this year (targeting the fall) and lot's of smaller races.  I really enjoy it. 

 I didn't make as much progress as I was hoping to on my scissor case.  I didn't feel like stitching at all while recovering from the surgery.  Hopefully I'll feel like it soon.  I really want to get caught up. 

 Here is another quilt hot off the quilter.  This is the final JoAnn Fabrics BOM I had laying around.  This one is earmarked for a niece.  Thinking I might need a wedding shower gift in the next year or so.  I'll just put it away until it's needed.  I have two more that are quilted and just need to be bound.  They should be done in the next couple of days.  And the last top is on the machine already half quilted.  I can't beleive I have no more tops to finish. 

Not much progress has been made on my house over the last six months or so.  I havne't had a ton of money and time is always an issue.  But yesterday I got my front hall closet door hung!  I only lived with the gaping hole for 18 months.  :-)  It feels good to get going again.  Next month I'm starting work on my sewing and spare room.  All new oak floors and trim work.  Then I'll start working on the half bath attached to my bedroom.  Lots of cool plans there.  I can't wait!

Second Casket Project - Progress!

I've actually been making progress on my second casket project.  It's a tiny glove scissor case and this is the cuff at the top of the glove.  The size of the linen is giving me fits.  I just can't see well enough with even my best cheater glasses and even though I have progressive lenses in my glass, they are worthless for stitching this fine.  I broke down and bought the highest power cheaters yesterday but didn't have time to stitch last night.  I hope they work.  I think it's time for a Dazor light with magnifying lens.  I'll need it for all the fine work I need to do on the casket. 

I finished up a couple more quilts last week but only took photos of one.  Don't know how I forgot the second one.  This is another blast from the past - a Thimbleberries from about seven eight years ago.  I think it's called Bird House Quilt?  It was a block of the month club I belonged to at the time.  Still cute even though it, like so many other quilts I've finished lately, don't match my house at all.  But it's sorta spring like and it's on my couch.

Close up of the quilting pattern - like how it turned out.  As I said before, I finished two last week and I'll take a photo when I have a chance.  I have another quilt on the frame but as fate would have it half way though the quilting yesterday the machine started to misbehave badly so I quit for the day.  I already ripped a ton of quilting out and that is not easy to do so I walked away and I'm looking for advice from my Yahoo Group on my brand of quilter.  Sometimes I hate this machine.  I'll only have two quilt tops to go after that!  I can't believe I'm always done with almost 20 tops.  :-)

Think of me on Wednesday - I'm having a mass removed from my sinus and I'm quite apprehensive.  I've never had any sort of surgery and it's freaking me out.  :-)  I'm sure it will all end well but I hate not knowing what I don't know. 

My First Casket Project (and more quilts)

Here is my first completed project from my Cabinet of Curiosities class - the Butterfly Pinkeep.  We had a choice of two colorways, the bright original looking colors and the faded colors (or we could do our own of course).  I went with the bright colors based on what the ladies were using in the late 1600's.  And they are bright.  Love it.  Tricia has set up the course so we learn to use the silks and techniques that we will need to make our caskets.  And I'm really glad she has set it up this way.  I love the colors of the Soie Paris silk but I hate working with them.  And they are pricey and money is a concern for me so I'll be looking for substitutes for them.  I'm thinking Vicky Clayton silks will be a start.   And I can order variegated colors and that would be cool.  I'll then have more money to spend on some of the other threads that have been developed for the course. 

 And I've already started work on my second piece - it's a little glove - this is the band.  All tent stitch over 34 count linen.  Oh my eyes!  :-) 

I'm way behind right now.  We are currently on month 10 of lessons and instructions and have already received complete supplies and instructions for four projects and started on the instructions for the fifth.  And I still need to start work on designing my box panels.  And for that I need to learn how to use Adobe Illustrator and my Bamboo Tablet.  I don't want to draw and redraw the panels over and over again as I change my mind.  But the learning curve for my plan is huge.  My plan is to have all my casket panels more or less designed and colors and stitching styles selected  by the time this first course is over.  And I want to have most of my supplies gathered - stitching frames, linen, silks, extra bits, etc. by the time the second stumpwork course starts (nine months from now).  Then I start working on my box as the months of that course unfold. 

And don't forget I still need to buy my casket.  I'm sure it's going to be around $3,000+ or so but I'm pretty sure we can pay for it monthly with delivery after we are done paying for it.  For me that is in a couple of years.  :-) 

 I finished another quilt last weekend.  This was a Timbleberries quilt pattern with Timbleberries fabric from around 8 or so years ago.  It's called Paintbox Stars.  I did hundreds of flying geese.  :-)  But super happy with how it turned out and it fits my king size bed!  My first quilt ever to do so.  I'm glad the long arm quilter can do up to this size quilt because I want more!

 Close up of the quilting pattern.  I'm very happy with how it turned out.

 This is a quilt I finished up a couple of weeks ago.  Can't remember the name of it or the pattern line but love how it turned out.  Quilted it with black thread and happy with the end result.

Up for this weekend (already on the quilt frame) is another JoAnn Fabrics quilt of the month from around seven years ago.  That one I plan on keeping as the colors still work in my house.  Then I can start a French General that I made a couple of years ago!  Can't wait for that one.  French General are currently my favorite line of quilt fabrics.  The just one more top to go and I'm totally caught up with my tops.  I have my next quilt cut out - it's a smallish wall hanging - about 36 inches square but with lots of little pieces.  And the beauty part?  I'll be able to quilt it right away.  :-)  It's great having a long arm quilter.  I still have around a dozen or so quilt tops kitted up.  I really want to start to get to those also.  I hate buying more when I have tubs filled with uncut fabric.  And it's always been a goal of mine to be a finisher and not just a starter with everything I do.

still quilting!

Still a lot of quilting going on in my life!  I'm down to only three tops that need to be quilted on my machine.  Here are several quilts that I managed to get photos of.  I just noticed I'm missing one or two and I still have three that are in a pile to have their binding finished off.  :-)  I'm down to three tops that I still need to buy backing for so now I have started to piece more tops!  I'm starting to run out of space to put all my quilts.  A happy problem to have for sure.

 This was an old JoAnn Fabrics quilt block of the month quilt.  I think it's around nine or ten years old.  I gave it to one of my brothers as a thank you for all the help he has given me on my house.  He was quilt thrilled with it.  :-)  It's big - queen size at least.

 This bright little guy I put together last summer (along with the same quilt in a different color way) and my sister needed a quick baby quilt so I let her give this one away. 

 Here is another top that sat around for years waiting to be quilted - this pattern is a Miss Rosie (she is one of my favorite quilt designers) and it was my first fabric random (scrappy) style quilt.  I did it around eight years ago.  This one is big also.  It almost fits my king size bed.  If I would have done more more column and one more row, it would have.  Bummer.  :-)

Here is Isabelle in her favorite chair sleeping watching me quilt.  The long arm machine is at my sister's house and she gets tired out from playing with my sister's lab, Hunter.  Break times are always in this chair. 

 Here is my first ever "real" quilt.  Everything before this had been just putting together blocks and making stuff up.  This one is at least 25 years old.  I bought a booklet that taught the user one block and technique at a time.  I hung onto these 12 blocks for years and years and around two years ago, I put the top together.  And here is it finally quilted!  The colors are dreadful so 80's but I still love it.  I plan on putting it in my sewing room when I'm finished with renovating it this spring. 

 My latest finish just came off the frame on Sunday and I bound it last night.  This is the warmest quilt I have ever done.  It's 100% flannel top and back with 100% wool batting inside.  It's from a design from Primitive Gatherings and again, is on the large size.  The photo on the bottom is a close up of the quilting .  It looks great with the strips. 

Until next time! 



year in review

I don't know about you, but I'm glad 2012 is over.  It's been a really tough year for me and my family and we are hoping for better in 2013. 

Even though I haven't been getting as much stitching as done as I wanted, I have been able to pull 10 quilts off the long arm quilting machine in the past month.  It's finally starting to work more often than not and soon my sister and I (mostly me) will start to learn freehand skills instead of totally relying on digitized files for the quilting.  But the edge to edge designs sure do look pretty.  We spend a small fortune on 100's of Anne Bright designs but every one so far has been worth the price.

As for 2013 it has lots in store.  I'm pretty sure now that I have to have surgery on my sinuses at some point in the next several weeks.  But that's ok because I'm tired of being sick and tired.  So I'm hoping I'll start stitching on the train more.  Night time will be for working on my casket designs - I still have to master Adobe Illustrator but that should be easy once I start to work on it.  I'm ready to start working on my stumpwork - that will happen in the evenings also.  The stitching frames are too big to lug around on the train.  Lot's of quilting in store for 2013 - I have at least 10 more tops to quilt and that many at least that still need to be pieced.  Home improvement starts again in January - more hardwood floors going down in my sewing room and spare bedroom (I'll be half way with all the hardwood in my house!) and working on my sewing room!  Yeah!  I have so many plans for the sewing room.  It will be fun to start to get it all together.

Here are the projects that I have finished in the last couple of months. 

I never got a photo before I gave it away.  :-)  The quilt is called Cheese and Crackers and it's done in thimbleberries fabrics.

 I love my hutch with the quilt on it.  It was the plan all along to use the hutch as a quilt holder. 

 I'm planning on doing little pieces for the back of my front door.  This is the first one.

 My first 12" mini quilt.  I have at least a half dozen in my stash.

 I went though a stage a couple of years ago when I was buying different things.  Doesn't really match my decorating plan but it's still pretty. 

 My favorite so far of what I've quilted the past month.  I'm planning on doing a lot more of this style. 

 A nice a warm flannel!  The pugs love this one.  It was super easy to piece and quilt.

 This is a twister.  An experiment because I wanted to see what all the shouting was about.  I won't be making anymore.  ;-)

 Another really different one for me!  I won't be making any more like this one either!  :-)

 My first penny rug!  This was fun to work on while on the train.  I want to do more. 

And last a baby quilt for my youngest great niece.  Only two years late.  :-)

I have one more that I just pulled off the frame yesterday but it still needs to be bound.  So it's going to be my first 2013 finish - unless I get busy right now!  LOL!

Have a great 2013!

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas!

short update

It's short because it's all the stitching I've done in two months!  I finished up the first of several projects that are being provided with our Casket of Curiosities project. This piece is small, maybe 2 inches by 2 inches and is going to be a pin pillow for my box. The colors are marvelous but I hate the silk fiber that is provided and it's supposed to be the basis of the stitching. I'm almost 100% certain at this point I'm going to try to match these colors to Vikki Clayton silks.  I like to work with hers better and they are so much more affordable.  While I love the color and gloss of the finished project, this is already costing me thousands of dollars and I don't have enough cash to spend more in silk thread.  I'll make do with substitutions. 

I'm way behind on my casket project - Tricia has provided four or five small projects to date and this is only the first one (each one teaches a different skill and lets us try out the products before we spend major funds).  My design progress came to a screeching halt when I decided to convert all the designs that I was interested in to PDF format so I can move them around the casket blanks and recolor to my hearts content.  So I had to go buy a digitizing tablet plus Adobe Illustrator.  Still learning how to do the basics. 

I've also been spending hours and hours in front of my sister's long arm quilting machine.  We have manged to master the basics of the machine and the computer program that controls the quilting and are taking at least two quilts off the frame a week - I even managed two small ones alone last night!  It's her year to provide the family with gifts and she wanted to gift at least 10 and we are almost there.  I've even been able to sneak in a couple small quilts for me and I'll take photos and post them as soon as they are bound and washed.  I'm proud to say that not only am I a piecer, I am a quilter.  :-)  It's great to have total control of the entire process. 

Butterfly Pinpad Finis

I finished up my butterfly pinpad over the weekend.  Cute little piece!  It was a needlework nibble from Tricia at Thistle Threads and I enjoyed stitching it and finishing it. 

Have a great week!

Swan Lake finis

I finished up Swan Lake this week - number seven in the Anniversaries of the Heart series from Blackbird Designs.  I'm half way done!  Yeah!

 This is what my Anniversaries of the Heart looks like half way finished. 

I didn't feel like moving onto number eight (Clara Ellen) so I started the first panel of A Petit Sampling Etui. This is actually the second time I have started it - I started back a couple of years ago using Vikki Clayton silks but I didn't like how it was turning out so I frogged it all out and this is the restart. 

This month in my casket class we received the first two projects!  Yeah!  I'm going to get started on the stitching right away so I can keep up with everything.  I started to convert all the patterns into electronic files yesterday.  It will take forever to get everything I want converted but in the long run will work out great. 

Halloween tree

Here is this year's Halloween tree.  I finished off all the ornaments that I stitched last year and I hope to still add a couple more this year.  I'm running into the same trouble however as I am for the Christmas cross stitch tree - lack of small ones for the top of the tree.  I'm not feeling like doing any over one right now so I'm only looking for small designs or designs that  I can take an element or two from.  Maybe there will be something in this year's Just Cross Stitch - my copy should be here any day - today even.  :-)

I also finished stitching my needlework nibble on Thursday evening.  I hope to finish it off today.  I'm happy with how my stitching looks.  Yesterday the postman delivered my stumpwork kit from Australia.  I little underwhelmed with what I received for the cost.  But last least now I have examples of the sort of base fabrics I should be using - and now I can go purchase yards of it to practice on.  The kit didn't include anything that I can't purchase at JoAnn's or Michaels.  That was also nice to know.  Just wish I would have tried on my own and saved the $50 bucks.  I could have put it toward a nice needlework slate that I need to buy for my casket embroideries.  Oh well, live and learn. 

Have a great weekend!