Earbuds and Socks

...were some of the gifts that I had made as Christmas gifts for my family.

The earbud pattern can be found at Erin Erickson website: http://www.dogundermydesk.com/2011/11/circle-zip-earbud-pouch-tutorial/.
I was so happy to come across this pattern the week before Christmas since I was looking for new items to use as stocking stuffers this year. This pattern comes together very quickly. My only mistake in following the directions was with the first earbud, the blue one. The zipper tab was placed in the wrong direction, but that really is no big deal since it can still be unzipped and zipped.

The other gift that I was able to complete in time for Christmas was this pair of socks for my daughter. My husband's socks are still on the knitting needles and hopefully will be finished by end of this year. So from now until the New Year, I will be knitting.

A St. Nicholas Day Gift

I was a wee bit late in getting this project done in time for the Feast of St. Nicholas, Dec. 6. I spent the day after the feast day finishing up the quilting. This gift is headed to my mom since she has sent me boxes of her fabrics to use in my quilts. All minus the yellow fabric were from her stash.

This pattern, Fun Poinsettia, is from Sew Kind of Wonderful (http://sewkindofwonderful.blogspot.com/2013/11/fun-poinsettias.html). I didn't have the curve ruler that she suggests. Instead, I used a curve ruler with lots of curves that I already own and selected a curve that worked close to the directions on the placement of the ruler. I had to make some modifications since the curve was slightly off. Also, I only made one flower since I only had enough fabric for one. Piecing was done on Davis NVF since the walking foot on that machine is easy to use for curves. Quilting was done with the Davis NVF, along with part of the binding. The decorative stitching on the binding was done with the Necchi Supernova.

An Offbeat Jacket

My mom sent me a box of fabrics with a pattern that she had planned on making. Since she lost interest in making the jacket, she thought that I might be interested in making the jacket for myself.  Instead, I decided to make it for her as a surprise gift for Christmas.

The pattern is Vogue 8863 by Katherine Tilton. I do NOT recommend this pattern since the directions to the pattern are poorly written and difficult to understand in a couple of steps.

I made one change to the zipper since I don't like the composition of the design for the zipper. Even with this change, I'm not thrilled with the overall effect.

I installed the zipper on the inside of the right jacket flap by machine-stitching close to the zipper teeth and then sewing the other edge of that zipper strip down by hand.

I do love the choice of fabrics that my mom picked for this funky jacket. 

Another Season

My mom asked me if I could make a mini quilt like the one I gave her for Mother's Day. She wants to give this quilt as a thank you gift for receiving free organic veggies from friends whose kids own the farm mentioned on the mini quilt, One Straw Farm.

Since I no longer have some of the same fabrics, I changed most of the fabrics. I like the background fabric for this project since the vegetable/fruit look like little, round, red peppers. The paper-piecing was done on my Singer 201, quilting and binding on Davis NVF, and the decorative stitching on Singer 224.

A Redcoat

My son needed a Redcoat costume for his AP History oral presentation. After searching numerous places, I found a red jacket at the Goodwill shop to use.

I'm almost finished; I just need to add buttons and sew the inside flaps down.

 The finished coat.

Mondrian Quilt in Shades of Blue

This blue jean quilt reminds me of Mondrian's work.

When researching quilts made from jeans, I came across this gal's blog:
http://lucysquilts.blogspot.com/2009/12/denim-quilts.html.
Once I saw the quilts, I knew that I had to make one for my daughter's new apartment as a birthday present. Plus, it looked like a fun, quick project. So, my box of recycled, cleaned jeans that has been sitting for months was pulled out, and I busily got started with cutting and arranging 2", 4", 6", 8", 10", & 12" blocks.

The blocks were then attached with 1" strips of brown Kona fabric that were sewn together with 1/4" seams made by using the Two Spools machine. This technique makes for no bulky seams since one isn't sewing denim to denim.



Then I sewed blocks together to form large sections. Those sections were quilted in a diagonal straight stitch that were 4 inches apart to the back fabric with the Davis NVF. It was easier to quilt sections versus quilting an entire quilt since denim is heavy. There is no batting used in this quilt since the denim alone is thick enough and heavy. The back of the quilt shows the best visible view of the sections. The solid black fabric pieces were added to fabrics pieces to form a complete panel or back section.

Once all of the five sections were quilted, I attached sections together by using black 1" strips of Kona fabric that were attached to sections with 1/4" seams on one side by machine. The other side of the strips were hand-sewn. Yes, I did hand sew those strips as well as the binding! I did the hand stitching so that there would not be any machine stitching lines showing on the top other than the quilted diagonal lines.

Not even my traditional finishing off of the binding with the decorative stitching was done on this quilt. I wanted to capture the simple, clean look of a Mondrian.

Decisions

...are sometimes difficult. I started quilting this table runner using the pattern that came with the kit, but I disliked the look of the quilting. It just wasn't a representation of my style of work- totally not me. So, I took the quilting out that I had done and let the work sit while I thought of patterns that I liked. After couple of weeks of reflection, I came up with this simple pattern that I could do using my Davis NVF for the quilting.

Minus the white fabric and the back fabric, all of the fabrics came from my mother's stash that she had given to me. This Wedding Ring table runner will be given to my mother.

Better than Paper-Piecing

Do you hate to tear the paper out in the paper-piecing project?

Well, Deborah Gansberger was not only frustrated with tearing out the paper, but also frustrated with not being able to see where she was putting the fabric. (We have all been there when working with placing the fabric in paper-piecing.) So, Deborah realized that she had the technology to developed a product to use as a substitute for the paper since Deborah and her husband owned a textile printing company. Here is the link to her products:http://www.ezpiecing.com/

Deborah had been the speaker of a guild that I attended when selling raffle tickets for the gorgeous quilt that my quilt guild was raffling off this past winter. She had a table with items for sale that evening, and I purchased the Double Wedding Ring Runner even before I heard her talk. I'm not an impulse shopper, but I knew that this Wedding Ring table runner would be a manageable project for me.

Last weekend, I read directions, cut fabrics, and pieced. I LOVE the foundation fabric that she has developed. It is so EASY to use! Her pattern directions are very well written and supported with clear photos.

This really is better than dealing with paper.

MIRAI

That is the name of my son's company:http://mirai.storenvy.com/products

He designs tee shirts! He does it all: sales, marketing, web design, photography, digital design, and the art work.  He worked with Threadbird, http://www.threadbird.com/,  to print his designs on tees that are made in America. All his work is Made in America...and he is trying to keep it that way.

The pretty model in photo is a friend of his. He shot the photos for his advertisement.

He asked me to make a beach cover-up by altering an X-large tee from his short sleeve line. Here are two photos that I took of the cover-up.

Letting GO

There are some projects that never materialize. Those projects never get completed for whatever reasons. My tie project is just that project.

I cleaned and took the ties apart. I started to cut my blocks that I planned to use for that pretty table runner that I envisioned.

 

As I was cutting up the blocks from the ties, a feeling of great depression over came me. The fabrics got even uglier....and the question of why am I working with such depressing fabrics came to mind. Instead of picturing a pretty table runner made from vintage ties, all I visualized was some elderly man wearing these ugly ties. At least he wasn't drooling.

IF there is such a thing as Spirits of Ties or Tie Gods, then they have spoken to me. Some used items can have new life breathed into them, and some folks are more patient at such projects. Today, I have accepted the fact that I'm not one for resuscitating vintage ties. So, I'm letting GO. A long overdue burial for these ties, the trash can....and a peace of mind for me.

The Ugly Ties

I love to recycle! Over a year ago, I won a bag of ties in a raffle. It was an easy win, since nobody else put a ticket into the drawing. Nobody wanted a bag of old, funky ties, but I was so happy to win that bag even though I didn't have a clue as to what type of quilt I would make with the ties. So that bag of ties sat off in a corner while other projects took priority. Recently, I came across the bag while organizing that corner of clutter. 

Realizing that I need to do something with the bag, I researched quilted tie projects. There are some ugly tie projects to be seen, but there are also some quilted tie projects are very well done and elegant looking. Luckily, I came across this gal's scrappy, quilted, necktie scarves that could pass as a table runner: http://www.flickr.com/photos/quiltmanufaktur/sets/72157630834274980/ At, I first thought she had made table runners. Here is her blog: http://quiltmanufaktur.blogspot.com/2012/01/krawattenrecycling-iii.html. After seeing her photos of her pretty, quilted, tie scarves, I'm now inspired to create a table runner with my bag of ugly ties.

Birds on a Fence

Back in March, I participated in my quilt guild's block-of-the-month. The gals that organize the block-of-the-month said it was a paper-piecing project. I was excited to do this block since I had done paper-piecing. What I didn't know was that the block's pieces were already cut to size and only needed to be sewn together. I didn't know this since the instruction sheet was titled paper-piecing project. The diagram of the bird on the instruction sheet was there for one to use as a guide and not to be used to paper-piece. Well not realizing the mistake in terminology, I paper-pieced. When I turned in my block, it was then that I realized the error since my block was smaller than the other blocks. I looked at the gal in charge of the project and stated that it said paper-piecing. She then said "OH" and mumbled something about it really being foundation piecing (which it isn't that either). I looked at her blankly, then quickly recovered my thoughts, and stated that my square could always be used in the back of a quilt for whomever wins the squares.

The time came for the drawing, there were three winners and I was one. When I heard my name called, I just chuckled to myself since I knew my square would be handed back to me. My lone birdie on the back is sitting proudly.

This donation quilt is truly a community quilt since many hands went into the making of the quilt.

Leftovers

This table runner is a leftover row from the latest quilt that I made. I had misjudged the size needed for one side of the quilt by one row. So, I decided to make that scrapped row into something that I could use and enjoy.

A Mother's Day Gift

When I saw the Pick Violets free paper piece pattern by Amy Friend of During Quiet Time on her blog, I knew it would be my next project. I made a small change to the handle of the garden shovel since I didn't want to deal with the smaller pieces.

My mom loves wild flowers. She will sometimes stop on a side of a road to pick daisies, Queen Anne's Lacy, and other summertime flowers to make a beautiful bouquet. The daisies in this mini quilt remind me of some of those roadside fields that my mom frequents in the summer. This spring my mom has been replacing some old, leggy plants in her yard. That's a prodigious job for her since Mom is in her eighties. Instead of giving my mom flowers for Mother's Day, I'm going to give her this small table topper. It should last longer than a bouquet of flowers.

Petals, Bubbles, and Waves

I finally finished the quilt for my neighbor's daughter. I hope the decorative stitching holds up well on the petals and bubbles side of this quilt.

The pattern on the side with the multiple colors of the rainbow is called New Wave. The quilting was just a straight stitch in the narrower white sections.

Been Basting

While basting this week, one program that I watched was The Great British Sewing Bee on YouTube. I thoroughly enjoy this program.

I realized that I would start my basting row by tying a knot to the end of my thread and then making the stitches. The row would end without a knot, just a cross over of threads to hold the thread in place like shown below. I now start my row this way, instead of making a knot at end of thread. I should have thought of this before since it is so much faster.

Singer 224 at Work

I used my Singer 224 for the raw edge applique of the petals and bubbles.

The treadling of this machine is so smooth and the stitching of this machine is very pretty. It's an enjoyable machine to use for decorative stitching.

Bubbles

I went with the split! And added bubbles.

  Next step is gluing pieces into place and decorative stitching. 

Pink and Orange Petals

I started working on side two of the graduation quilt, but I got stuck on the layout of the petals. My original plan was to add different size circles along the bottom left and up the right side. I'm having difficultly in visualizing the flow of the circles when the petals are all together. So, I took a break and did some reading for a couple of days.

I keep playing with the arrangement of the petals. I find myself wanting to split them into two groupings, some petals on top left side and the rest on the right center side. Splitting and separating the petals to each side just doesn't look complete right now. I think by adding the different size circles through the bottom left and up through the center to the top right will produce the balance and flow that I'm trying to achieve.

My son likes the look of the petals all together. He states is looks like a centerpiece. I think it's too predictable a look. I'll just cut the circles out and play with the arrangement some more.

My Gluten-Free World

I started another blog! Like one isn't enough. I have decided that I would like to keep this blog strictly pertaining to my interests in quilts and vintage sewing machines. My goal is to separate my hobbies and interests into three blogs: quilting, gardening, and cooking gluten-free. The garden blog isn't up yet, but should be very soon. The gluten-free blog is my diary on recipes that have worked for me and that I like, books read that I found very informative and helpful, and restaurants that I discover that I feel worthy of a accolade. Thanks for reading! http://mygluten-freeworld.blogspot.com/

Ruby's Fruit Basket

This quilt is GORGEOUS! This quilt is the opportunity quilt that my guilt guild made this year to raise money for the guild. The quilt is raffled off at the yearly guild show, which is coming up soon. The guild asks for volunteers to take the quilt around to other guilds in hopes that the members of the other guilds will purchase raffle tickets.  I volunteered to take it to a guild not too far from home; a guild that I wanted to visit but never got around to doing so.

My guild schedules two members to to this task. Since I'm the rookie to the guild, I just thought I would meet the other gal at the guild that we were schedule, help setup the quilt on the hanger, and sell raffle tickets.

Never did I ever imagine that this quilt would be sitting on my dining room table for two nights and day. The person in charge of passing the quilt to the volunteers chose me since I live not too far from her. 

I was so excited and so nervous at the same time. Excited that I could spent time drooling over the quilt for hours and nervous that nothing bad would happen to the quilt while I had possession of it.

Needless to say, I purchased $15 dollars of raffle tickets for myself, something that I never do.

This is the border. Many hands went into making this beautiful quilt, and I had the honor of meeting five of the gals the night I sold the raffle tickets. The gal working with me made a couple of baskets, and all of the ladies are members in both guilds.


The story behind the quilt and photo of entire quilt can be found here:http://www.amadorvalleyquilters.org/quilt-show/opportunity-quilt

Side One

I love the look of the New Wave Quilt pattern from Elizabeth Hartman/ www.ohfransson.com. Just one of many patterns that has been on my to do list for quite some time now. It's a very easy pattern to follow and assemble.

 

After arranging the layout of the colors, I spent the day piecing with my Two Spools machine. It has been a couple of months since I have sat down with this machine. I love this machine for piecing.

Side One finished; tomorrow I start on Side Two.

Happy Easter to All

Today, I awoke to a beautiful, clear, blue sky. The forecast was for rain. I'm sharing my bit of spring with those that still have winter clinging on. May your day be blessed with peace.

Market Bag

I'm spring cleaning my craft closet by finishing up projects that have been on my "To Do" list for years. I'm finding ways of using those yarns that have somehow multiplied while sitting on the closet shelf. Don't ask me how that has happened- but it's true. So at night while watching tv, I have been working on my knitting projects. Since this market bag tutorial, http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/grrlfriend-market-bag, has been on my list for a couple of years, I decided to make it last week. This is so much faster than making a sweater.

Fabrics and Designs

I spent part of the day playing with fabrics and quilt patterns. I'm in the planning stages for a quilt that will be given as a graduation gift to my neighbor's daughter. She'll be graduating from high school this spring. I'm planning on designing the quilt with both sides having a different look to the quilt pattern.

Since her favorite color is pink, I'm working with pink as the main color on one side. Although this isn't my favorite color,  I'm warming up to that color since there are some fabrics with fun motifs. I'm adding an orange since I like the look of the orange with the pink.

For the other side, I have chosen bright and cheery colors with cute motifs.
I thought I knew what I wanted to do for the one side, but now I'm leaning towards a different pattern.