Fun Time Continued...

This is what I started out with a couple of days ago or so...I had never colored on fabric before and always wanted to try it...well, not always, but you know what I mean.

I googled and came up with these instructions...very basic, but good enough for a beginner like myself.

Anyway, I cut one piece from a Moda white that I had....good quality cotton, picked a page from the coloring book, traced the picture onto the cotton using a Pigma Micron 01 (0.25mm) pen.

Okay, actually on the first picture I used my Sewline soft pencil to trace the picture.  After I started, I realized that I would be coloring over features that needed to be shown...so I redrew the lines with the Pigma pen. 

Hint:

 Draw your lines first with a pen, otherwise it will get caked with wax from the crayon and it is not impossible, but it takes a little work to get it cleaned off.

After I colored both the pictures, I found in my stash the perfect fabric to go with them...I am going to wait and look a little more to see if I can find another, if I can't, then I will make a simple 4 block wall hanging.

Notice the uneven side on the first picture....

I wasn't sure what size block I wanted and so just haphazardly cut a fabric piece..the picture I chose fit well within the "block", but when I finished the second piece, I realized it needed to be bigger than the first....

I ended up making both 10 1/2" square...with that one side uneven...I plan to compensate with the block that goes on that side...and say that the bugs ate part of the block....we'll see how it turns out in the next installment......

Vintage Sheets Giveaways! and Giveaways! and Giveaways!

So many giveaways! One right after another.....

Vintage Sheets started with this on March 25th, a small D9P from Katie Jean., closes on 4/1

On March 26th, a pillow from Liz Taylor handmade,  here; closes on 4/2

March 27th, she continues on with lovely fabric from Lora;  closes on 4/3

Fat Quarters from Jodi on March 28th; closes on 4/4

3 Scrap Packs to 3 winners from Amanda on March 29th; closes on 4/5

.....and 2 more to go yet...

WOW!

Quilt Idea??? or Guess What I'm Doing.......

I wonder if a quilt showing the 1040 tax form with little $$ floating away from various lines would be a welcome comfy quilt ............................................................................

..........................................NAAAAAAHHHHHH

Fun Time

After working on my curtains (see previous post) all last week for the weekly challenge that Amy (amyscreativeside) has once a month, I am pooped.  Many things happened last week to delay this work and I was barely able to finish the challenge on time..

So tomorrow I will start cleaning my metal shelves that DH cleared off for me to use.  In the meantime, I want to have fun and experiment.

Hence...

Sorry about the fuzzy picture, but my batteries ran out right after this one and I am too lazy to refill and try another shot. 

These are not fabric crayolas, which would probably be better, but I didn't even know there was such an animal until I started reading up on coloring on fabric. 

So I have picked out a picture, will transfer it over to my white fabric and start coloring.  We'll see how it turns out..........

One Thing, One Week Challenge #7 completed

My challenge with Amy was to make 2 curtain "tops" for my sewing room windows.  I squeaked under the wire finishing them. 

This is the basic design for the curtains...I wanted to try my hand at pinwheels.  I learned that the wind could blow two ways with pinwheels, and I tried both.  Needless to say, the design lacks a great deal, but I am keeping them.  It looks fun, in a weird sort of way.

I will be finishing two more curtains and then will start "embellishing" them a bit..hopefully by next "Challenge" they will be hanging where they should be instead of on the floor, cramped by space.

I know they will make the bare windows look better than they do now... even if the wind blows two directions at once...

Picture from the past & no new sewing news.....

Because my 1 year blogging anniversary is coming up next month, I was wandering through past posts and one of the first ones I showed was in April, 2010.  It struck me as funny... not the post itself, but the fact that the picture showed my older table and sewing machine in almost the same place as it is now...

I don't know how to copy the entire post, but here is a sort-of attempt at it...

=========================================

April 17, 2010

OBSERVER, QUIILT POLICE OR QUILT JUDGE?

A Mr. Bluebird came to watch my quilting skills today. He flitted around for about 2 hours, off and on. I think he was jealous of his reflection, thinking it was doing something that might be fun. Sorry about the quality of the picture, it was a bit cloudy outside.

=====================================

What is happening now??? 

Still working on curtains and a-waiting "new" shelving...DH is progressing and has about 2 more shelves to go through.  I gave him some empty plastic "shoe boxes" boxes to help things along.. Hopefully by this weekend I will have something to show you......

Curtains Analysis..should have listened to my math teacher!

So here I was, working in EQ with my curtains, already decided on 12" pinwheel blocks, which is a new block for me. Looked real good, size about 40" x something,  good size for (2)  4' x 5' windows side by side...leaves enough for the sunlight to still come through...

Did you know that 12" starting blocks  actually turn into 16 1/2" size pinwheels when put together? I should have realized that...since one uses 2  blocks to make a pinwheel. I really had a "duhhhh" moment!  Which is exactly why I decided to make pinwheel curtains first.  Imagine if I had already cut 40 12" blocks for a quilt.  I might not have enough companion fabric to finish it.  At least this way I am okay.

I'm sure there is an easy formula/go-by for figuring this out..just will have to research it. 

I am using the sew-around-the-edges method of making HSTs. Have made 1 so far to test the waters..

Now I'll start on the assembly line method to finish the others.

The good news to all this is that I will need less pinwheels. Instead of the 18 blocks, I am figuring on 15, possibly even only 12 needed.  Maybe I won't have to cut any more!

Guess the designer....My Learning Curve from 2009.....

I am starting the simple curtains for my room....finally decided on a pattern a few days ago...even with the stripes in the fabric, I want to try a pinwheel design..large 12" pinwheels...white and colored pinwheels.

I have had the fabric set aside for them, circa 1994 fabric...some that I bought at a resale store in 2009 while on our round robin trip to see kids, grandkids, and my sister in NH.  

So today I washed them with 2 color catchers (took two loads= 4 color catchers).  Still think they need more washing to set the dye, so will probably use Synthrapol this time...  Everything cool.

anybody recognize the designer style yet???

I was curious and, knowing a little more about designers than I did almost 2 years ago, I looked on the selvage and found....




that I am going to have Jenny Beyer curtains in my sewing room.  How lucky is that! 

Now that I know the designer, I am wondering if I can do it justice...but then I thought, heck, you only learn by doing.... Sooooooooo I am okay with that.


Of course I have to make at least 4 curtains and the tiebacks and maybe some other stuff to go with them.... but with the exception of one or two pieces, I have 2 or 3 yards of some of these dudes.

Sooooo.....(again)

Don't hold your breath, but when I am done with these, I figure I'll have some leftovers and plan to use them in one of my mini-giveaways in the future....

A Little Here, a Little There - No Shelves Yet

DH is taking a page from my book and cleaning/rearranging the hi-bay area of the barn... we will be taking the covered trailer to the dump so he is taking advantage of that also.. Good news is that he is coming along faster than I am on finishing..

So my shelves will be moving to their new home eventually.. 

Yes, my room is still messy, but not quite as bad as before..

My shelves will be against the wall where my ironing board is now.  Hopefully it will be put up and I will be able to use the small one leaning against the roll-around cart instead...  The blue laundry basket will be thrown in my closet in case I need it again... I need to decide how to arrange the notions I use when sewing.. I did buy some round hangers for my least used templates, but want to keep the ones I use the most in a more convenient place..My table that the cutting mat is on can also be used when I do paper work at my computer..  At least now I can sew while waiting for the shelves.  Curtains are on the agenda next and I have decided how to make them....in a later post.....

The containers underneath the chef's table and on the rollaround stand in the first picture will find their place on the new shelves..then I can decide what to do with the newly acquired space there... My flannel-in-the-basket is now up off the floor and where I can see it (future quilt).

Soo more later......and soon I hope!

Now, off to sew~~~~

Oh, So Glad DH is Choosing! /Re: Giveaway

Your comments have made this Giveaway a blast! Love it when there is friendly rivalry! Wish I had one piece for all of you!

But DH has chosen.. and our winner is....

DEB!

Congratulations!

Will be sending you an e-mail with questions re: packaging, and awaiting your address...

THANKS TO ALL who participated..what fun!

Such a Sew and Sew Giveaway with Elizabeth and Wanda

Another giveaway in the works...Elizabeth over at Such a Sew and Sew is helping her friend Wanda give away 10 1/2 yards of Civil War fabric, plus a book to go with it. 

Everyone has such great giveaways!  Check in tomorrow for the winner here on my blog...

Odds and Ends giveaway #6 - cross stitch fabric

Welcome to my 6th giveaway.  This one is a non-quilty item.  Many of you crafters like cross stitch, as did I, once upon a time until my eyes gave out....

So I have this item ready to send to its' new home...... 

It is a Charles Craft evenweave, 100% cotton, approx 20" x 24", 28 count, rose colored cross stitch fabric.  I bought it a few years ago to cross stitch some roses on.  Never even got it out of the package until I had to slip it into a cylinder to mail for this giveaway.  That 28 count did me in...my eyes are not that good anymore.  No creases, still in good condition. 

Again, comment only; giveaway ends at 10:00am, March 17 when my DH will draw a name of the winner.  When contact is made, it will be shipped to it's new owner.

Thanks for looking.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

What's on for April 1?  Lookee, lookee.......

A Glimpse of the Birthday Wall Hanging......

I have finished all that I can on the Birthday wall hanging I am making to test the Pigma Pens....

I had a pen that was a little old, but I decided to use it anyway.. I really had two:

One is a 01-0.25

and the other

a 08-0.50

I went with the 08 with .50 tip.  It seemed to be easier to write with....the .25 tip seemed to "sharp", it was a fine width...pulled on the fabric more and (for me) more difficult to write with.

Of course, I ironed freezer paper on the back before I wrote anything. 

Once I was finished writing all the info (names, b'dates) I sewed the rows together using some scrap fabric I found rolled up in a nice small cylinder.  Once I unrolled it, I found this:

I am learning that I am learning.....first I thought it was too bright and not right for what I wanted it for....and then I realized that I needed only 1 1/2" wide strips...Once I got into that mindframe, I saw that the colors were a perfect match for the lighter shades of my blocks...

Anyway, I researched how to heat-set the ink.  I got a piece of aluminum foil from the drawer in the kitchen, put it on my ironing board, set my iron at no-steam very hot, put the blocks on the foil, writing side down.  Then very carefully, continuing to move the iron to keep from scorching the fabric, I ironed each block for about 30 seconds.  I do have a teflon sheet for applique that I could have used, but was afraid it would dissipate the heat.

After I put the top altogether, I threw it into the washing machine for 20 minutes, by itself, checked it afterwards, and then put it in the dryer also for about 20 minutes..

Came out fine.....I will probably use a newer pen next time, but there was no smearing or, what I could see, fading of the writing....

There was one piece of fabric that was too busy for the ink to be seen clearly..I will suggest to my DDIL that she use the back of the fabric instead.

Wish I could show you the entire wall-hanging top, but it has some personal info on it, so you will have to be satisfied with this little sliver....

I will finish this top the end of June, thereabouts, when the newest member of the family arrives...as I said before, any more GC will find themselves hanging from the wall hanging with a piece of fabric, embroidery thread or yarn....

A Giveaway at The Vegetarian Hunter

Carolyn at The Vegetarian Hunter is have a neat giveaway. It's definitely worth checking out,,,and see why she is giving something away....also worth checking out!

In the Middle of Chaos! or....I've Hit Rock Bottom.....sshuuderrr!

The faint at heart should stop now....

DH has almost finished his new shelves...

My shelves are still in the barn....

I have started to move stuff around to make room and re-arrange....

Stuff that used to be on shelves is piled elsewhere so shelves could be moved.....

There's more.....

...and I'm not even going to open up my closet yet....

I need to take one thing at a time and say, do I really, really need it? and then decide where it should go...

but the new shelves should be in the room first...

My lovely old fold out desk with drawers will be moved from the corner to somewhere nicer and more accessible (have to...it's where my income tax stuff is!)

I have a lovely big room and am going to concentrate on making it lovely to work in...I am thinking of moving the two work tables (supposedly temp; as of almost 2 years) next to the windows in the first picture; computer has to stay where it is; new big long shelf will go against right hand wall close to corner.  Hard to describe when my mind changes all the time..

I really need a good working service to take the place of the two tables, but it can't be too wide, because I would not be able to reach it to work...

So if I don't blog as often, just remember that I am taking things one at a time and will eventually be able to show you more pictures...if not the after, then at least the "it is improving" pictures.

It sure couldn't get any worse!

Sob..Sob...Intent was there...

I looked at the innards of the sewing machine I saved from the barn.....

Won't even grace this with a picture....too much rust and too little care....I can't save it....

But I will keep the sewing table....

Hopefully a happier post later today or tomorrow....

Detour, This Way -> -> ->

Hi,

I'm over at Sew We Quilt Stash Manicure today...Check it out..... 

In the meantime.....I'm heading into town.....to the dentist....no, not me....DH.....

Busy, busy, and a giveaway at Stray Stitches

First,  the giveaway is at Stray Stitches.  She introduces a great designer, Linda, at Buzzing and Bumbling.  Stray Stitches is giving away designs that Linda has made.  Reeeaaallly cute!  Check it out!

***************************

Now, what have I been doing?  Remember I am as sloooww as molasses sometimes.  Then I get a spurt of energy and speed up to a snail's pace...

I found out something about Go-Jo, that handcleaning goop that is used to take off grease, crud, etc.  My sister told me she uses it to clean furniture,,,it is especially good for the pieces that look like alligator skin, all crackily and spider webby... it just cleans it, does not help scratches, much.  So I tried it on a small bookshelf and it worked..so now I am trying it on my sewing machine table I got from DHs mother (along with a Pfaff, which is the dickens to sew with!).   The picture is not that perfect, but the top is done and the side is not..maybe you can tell the difference. I will be taking off the paint splatter....

 I will be putting wax on it in a few days, after I buff the Go-Jo down...if it still looks good, I will continue on with some other pieces of furniture...

.....NEXT.....

 I cut samples of 20 fabrics that will be used (hopefully) in 3 journal quilts.  I need to see if the writing that will be done on these fabrics will hold up or not. Rather than cutting snippets and playing with them,  I decided to start on a Birthday wall hanging.  Each block will have the name and birthday of our children and grandchildren..as well as ours...  So now maybe I won't be calling and checking on when and how old everyone is (oldest grandchild is 12 1/2 yrs old).  I need to write write on all of them so on about 3 of them will be the words Dates, Birthdays, and Names, unless I can think of something else to put there. 

Now one of the blocks will need to be blank and I will be putting a name on it the latter part of June, so the wall hanging cannot be finished until then.  So I will make a dummy strip to test the writing.  Can't have a wall hanging without the newest-to-be grandchild...

 If I have any more to be added, I will tie a string to the wall hanging and let the new one dangle.....

......FINALLY.....

We head to the barn where we see this......

This can be called the "before" picture of a shelf the DH will be letting me have..you can't see here, but it is another roll-around... It is made of good metal and can be cleaned easily, so there should not be any problem with barn stuff leaking into my sewing room.

The wider metal strips on the left by the shelves  and going to the edge of the picture is the framework of new shelving.  As soon as he transfers what he can onto it, I will have some more space for my stash.  Of course I will be helping him, getting on a ladder and handing him the stuff while he puts it where he wants..he is painting the shelving for the new unit now, so it will be a few days yet....maybe tomorrow????

Will let you know.......

Mechanic? Me????????

I went to town yesterday and came home with.....tools!  (like my DH doesn't have any to choose from...but he chose these for me!)

I am so ready for anything.

There are: screwdrivers (large to jeweler size), pliers, tweezers, hemostat, vinyl tubing, small flashlight (sends SOS signal{may need it!} ), toothpicks, needles, & sewing machine oil..will add rags, fabric, sewing lubricant, hogs hair brush, thread, bobbins, scissors.. ready to be a rockin' mechanic on the 20th!

Will be taking apart and learning (hopefully) to put back together.....this......

Well, (again, SO hopefully) not completely apart....but who knows..

Bought the book "The Featherweight 221 and I" by David McCallum AND ordered and received the DVD that goes with it! ....downloaded a copy of the owners manual (for free) and had it bound at the local Office ******.  I have been reading and re-reading this thing until I am so confused about which screws to unscrew and which screw NEVER to unscrew! 

My sister once told me that she was willing to tackle anything,,,as long as she had the cushion of someone who could fix it if she goofed up...and even then she jumped in...

I will have the cushion of 4 hours of help...

I haven't had this machine long enough to become a fanatic....have I???

Congrats to our Winner!

Doodles! from fabric.addict won the flowers.  Congratulations to her and thank all of you for trying.  See you again on the 15th...

I'm having fun with these giveaways....hope you are too...

Machine tops - Part 2

Between then and now, I added a few more rows of fabric to the larger piece...and then I forgot to take a picture of it before I cut....so I tried to put it back together again for you...

I used a 8.5 square template and was able to cut 5 of the 9 squares I need for the mat.  As you can see above, I angled the square wherever I wanted. 

Here is what I have to work with so far....wonder if I can resew the remainder together to help get 4 more squares????  

Nope, only one square available.....I'll need to add on some more pieces...

Ready to cut the blocks... & Oops, almost forgot the picture of the whole.....

and the blocks cut from above for one of the mats are added to the other 5....

Time passes.....I sew, sew, sew, and cut, cut, cut, and angle, angle, angle; I then cut from the fabric 9 blocks, using a 6.5" square template.   I sew everything together, machine quilt (walking foot), bind (with leftover binding strips) and come up with these:

 

 I liked the idea of not worrying about what goes where and just reaching in and grabbing pieces...May make something else later on like that, who knows......

And my bathroom looks less anemic.

Odds and Ends Giveaway #5 - flowers

This giveaway is the largest so far...remember I said that ordinarily these would consist of only one item...well, this one has a little more than one...a LOT more than one if you would count every single item....

A couple of years ago, a neighbor gave me some fabric and flowers that her mother had started to make.  There was a lot...I ended up making about 14 pillows for the 4 sisters and 2 brothers.  The flowers and cut shapes for the pillows were ready, all I had to do was put stuffing in them and sew them up...

So this is what I have left....

Nice decent amount of stuff, right....

Wait...

The above was only a close up sample....

Here is what I am giving away..

I am not even going to open the packages to see how many pieces of fabric there are..much less count the # of flowers or parts of flowers... I'm not even sure how old these are so your guess is probably better than mine would be....

The possiblities are endless....a quilt with these on a white background,,,several sewn items with these as accent....who knows??

So, again, comment on this post if you are interested... contact must be made to win.....giveaway will be over on March 3 at 10:00am (CST). DH will draw names and  I will e-mail the winner who will then give me their mailing address..

Good luck and hope you are having fun with these mini-giveaways..

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

...Oh, yes.....the preview for the next giveaway on March 15th.....