now a full time babysitter for my 4-month old grandson;

(pooped from my birthday party)

working on a center block for a Round Robin;

(I have another border to add, then I’m done!

This is my first Round Robin and, I’ve only been quilting for a year!)

and, I’m currently working on a hexagon quilt!

(96 strips sewn together by twos; making 48 pairs of strips.  Whew…done!

Now, I am starting to cut these into 60 degree, 4.5″  triangles!

This pattern is from a McCall’s Quilting magazine, dated 2008)

Now, I have a question for you.  This fabric is a find; 3 yds for $6 and vintage 70s stretchy nylon!

Photo does not do the colours justice in this fabric.  The orange and yellow is SO very vibrant!

Should I make a cute vintage halter and pants outfit for my 7 year-old using this fabric?

Or, is it too much for me (at my age)?  If not, how about these patterns with that fabric for me?

What do you think?  Really!

It’s been a while since my last post.   As always, I am so busy with ‘everyday’ and my craft love!

I’ve been sewing and knitting items for my Etsy shop, family and friends!

Well, I bought a knitting loom at the local thrift store some time ago.  Well, I pulled it out  and gave it a ‘test’ run.  Can I say, that I’m addicted?!  Here is the fruit of my labor!

I love these neckwarmers!  They were fairly quick to make (quicker than hand knitting) and they are so cute!  You can wear them in the winter or in the spring/summer, and even at the beach!

I converted a Singer 99K that was destined to the landfill, into a hand crank for my 7 yo daughter!  She and I are both pleased!  I can have MY Singer 128 hand crank back and now, she has her own!

I am currently working on…  A hexagon quilt (my first attempt at this type of quilt); a center quilt block for a Round Robin I joined; an art bra; a quilt for a friend’s new baby; a quilt for my cousin’s baby (arrival in October?); and, various knitting items.  Not to mention, cute retro outfits for myself and baby daughter.  I’m thinking of teaching my baby girl how to make a garment this time!  Should be fun…she’s a quick study!

Stay tuned…I promise, I’ll return with more updates and ‘ever-changing’ plans!

HAPPY CREATING!

This block is for a block exchange I’ve joined.  I’m sewing 2-3 sets of 12 blocks on a hand crank sewing machine.

See my Frister & Rossmann sewing machine, dated 1890.

Had a wonderful Saturday of…sewing, eating, thrifting and gabbing with friends!

My project is hand quilting this quilt top.  It’s coming along slowly, but surely.  I wanted to learn hand quilting, so my teacher was YouTube videos.  Here are some good teachers for basic hand quilting; Nancy Ellen and Amyalamode.

I plan to hand quilt the blocks and machine quilt the sashing.  That could change, but we’ll see how this works so far.

I received this fabric from another sewing friend in the mail.  This will be another quilt project for my brother-in-law, who is a Marine veteran.  Shhhh…It’s a surprise!

HAPPY SEWING!

Here’s my Charlie taking a break from the swings and slides.

My two oldest daughters.   My 16-year old (in black tee and denim)  is teaching her sister (the 23 year old, in peach top and a new mother) how to ride the ‘Ripstick’!  WOW!  I even got in on that!

…and the baby enjoyed his stroller ride in the sunshine!

The baby girl, did not want to leave the swings.  And, we all miss Dad when he’s working out-of-town and we go to the lakefront to hang out!

Now, Saturday was MY day!  Good company, Good conversation, Good food and of course, Good sewing at my Sewing Meetups!  I was also able to complete my quiltalong blocks and some sashing!

Willa, our Fabulous Organizer of the Sew Meetups contemplating her next move on her project!

A beautiful quilt done by one of our members, Marilee!  Lovely!  Oh, and that cute little machine sitting in the pic, is one of my dream machines!  I want a Featherweight!

Mercedes working on her pattern and Heather working on hand-stitching!

Marilee working on paper piecing and Nanette working on her quilt blocks.   And, Peggy (on the end) focused and finishing her quilt (which she did, and started another)!  She’s an inspiration and encouraging!  Peggy taught me quilting and free-motion.  She was also the person who had given me my first treadle and taught me how to treadle!  Peggy’s pretty amazing, huh!  A wonderful person!  (Hey, did you notice all of the ladies to the left of me had Featherweights?)

So, to say the least I had a Fabulous week(end)!

HAPPY SEWING!

And, she included these cute, crocheted spool pin doilies!  Aren’t these just lovely?!

It’s the little things that mean so much!  Thank you, Linda!  I love my spool pin doilies!  So refreshing to pull your letter out of the mailbox!

…from this “Happy Hugger” made using Amber Perry Patterns.  I love her blog!  She has many tutorials for knitting, crocheting and cloth diaper sewing!  Also, check out Amber Perry Patterns on Etsy!  I love her ‘Butt Knits’ for babies…so cute!

I opted to put hair on my Happy Hugger named Rosie.  I knitted about 8-10 rows of scrap ‘eyelash’ yarn and then, sewed it on.  I think she’s a doll! (hehe)

I’ve also been working on these rice bags/packs; for hot and cold use.  I’ve made these for my family and friends.  They are sew easy to make!  Check out the tutorial.

I’m currently knitting fingerless mitts for myself, finally!

Now, I ask…”What’s New With You?”

I decided to bless my neighbor with the quilt.  She is expecting her first child in June!  She’s had some rough spots…and, a quilt is a great source of comfort!

I also had some left over scraps and made a travel pillow to go along.  She loved it!  And, what’s great is I found out that yellow was her favorite color!  It was destiny!

You can see more pics of the quilt on my Flickr.

Have a Prosperous and Productive New Year!

I have been teaching my 6 year-old daughter, Alyssa to sew!

She started off on a Morse and New Home electric sewing machines.  However, when I purchased a handcrank and she tried it out…she LOVEd it!  I would have to say that it is the best machine to teach (especially young ones) sewing.

We’ve been quite busy in our household this past week.  Besides, getting things ready for Christmas, my oldest daughter has given birth to her first and our first grandbaby!

THE best Christmas present…Gabriel!

So, today was a “Mommi & Me Day” for my 6-year old and myself!  Alyssa wanted to work on the handcrank for this project.  Her first patchwork piece…a pillowcase!

She knows to iron all of her seams flat.

She did an excellent job!  And, she’s (and, I) are very proud of how her patchwork pillowcase turned out!

Very good, baby girl!

HAPPY SEWING!…and, MERRY CHRISTMAS!

I’ve been sewing for a long time, but I just learned this year to quilt and free-motion.  It’s as addictive as my enjoyment for vintage sewing machines, vintage sewing patterns, fabric and vintage sewing notions, etc.!

My first project for 2010 is a Spring Log Cabin Quilt which displays my love of vibrant colors and patterns!

I’ve assembled all of the blocks and I need to add sashing.  I think I will use white cotton for stashing; a solid color for backing (maybe, lemon); and, figure out what fab to use for the binding.

I read a tip from a reader in American Patchwork & Quilting, June 2008, “attack the stack”, …after finishing a quilt (or, any sewing project), instead of adding the leftover fabrics to the stash; cut it into strips and store in a strip box.  When box is full, it’s time to make a quilt.  Donate quilt to a local charity.

So, this is how this quilt came about.  From leftover fabrics from other sewing projects.  Don’t know yet, who will be blessed with this quilt.

Stay tuned…to see it finished!

HAPPY QUILTING!

I put up our Christmas tree the day after Thanksgiving, as always…but, I was not in the “Holiday Cheer”.

One day last week, this put a ‘spark’ in my cheerfulness!

This was delivered from Santa and made me smile!  This is machine 1 of 2 from Santa.  The name on it is Eau Claire (as in, the name of a place in Wisconsin).  I’ve been researching…haven’t found anything.  If you know something about this machine and leave a comment, I would be much appreciated!  However, I was thinking of gifting this machine to my niece after I give it a good cleaning and oiling.  It runs perfectly!  Machine 2 of 2 has not arrived yet,  it is a Frister & Rossmann hand crank.  I’m so excited!  Santa LOVES me!

Needless to say, my Holiday Cheer has arrived!  I completed ALL of the handmade gifts to teachers and staff at my childrens’ schools, and ALL of the gifts for my sister.  You can see the photos of some of the coin purses and cup cozies with matching mug rugs on Flickr.

…Cheers!