Little Ole Wine (wall hanging) Maker....

Winery wall hanging top...

~~ 35" x 35"

My BIL & SIL have a winery.  They asked me to make something they could hang on the wall and also be on display at their booth when they go to an event.  Someone else will embroider their logo in the middle.  I like the contrast between the brown corks and the rest of the colors..Ordinarily, I would say the brown kinda overshadows the pastel colors/flowers, but since it is corks aka winery stuff, I figure that is okay.  Also, I don't know what color they plan to use for the logo and that might make a difference.
I hope to use light batting and quilt this when I get it back.  It really won't go to too many events outside, but it will need some heavy quilting to keep it in shape...I must remember, the heavier it is the more it will flutter in the breeze...

edit:  that's less, not more....

But as Scarlett would say, I think of that tomorrow...That's when we will be giving it to them...Until then, shhhhhh......

A Puzzle Coming Together....

The last couple of days I was able to squeeze in a little cutting and sewing and trimming.  Working on a wallhanging....

 These were sewn yesterday and trimmed today. 

I am starting to put them together now...It will be fun, cnosidering that I changed the colors all around.  That is such fun to do, but it can be very confusing...I created a substitution chart and have a feeling I will have to consult with that very often.

Knowing me, I will have a ripping good time before this is over....but I always have a positive viewpoint..Some day I will get things like this right the first time...maybe this is the day....

Beginnings of layout.....

(I Really Need to get me a good Wall!!)

Been Busy.....

I cannot dig holes any more...My DH knew this, and still he bought some slash pines to put in our yard.  He has  been wanting to do this for several years and he has decided that This is THE Year...

As you can see, we planted several others right after we moved here....4 or 5, I think..3 made it and really grew tall...the rest didn't, they became fodder for the neighbor's goats... So he bought 13 trees last week.

He is slowly (or not so slowly, depending on how you look at it) planting them...We have a method, he digs the hole and I hold the tree/support while he puts dirt, along with mulch and water, back into the hole.  We started this process last Friday, have planted 7 trees and have 6 more to go.  Pretty good for two 70+ yos.  We rested on Sunday...

Now to Sewing....

I made my first Jelly Roll quilt...I didn't race, went slow, and this is the result..

 I used a Jelly Roll that I received last year for participating in the Hands2Help Charity Quilt Challenge last year.  I may join again this year, but circumstances and time constraints may cause a problem...I am working on that now...more later.

I  started the winery wall hanging...at least I have cut the squares for the HSTs I will be using.  I plan to sew on it during one of the trips I will be taking soon.

And talking about trips....
I   bought a roll around for my sewing machine/supplies...I find I am going on 2 automobile trips in April which will pop over also into the first part of May...

I will have an opportunity to see my grandchildren on one of these trips and will be there when the new one comes...I am taking my featherweight, as well as my Go! Baby!.  my GC will work with my scraps and Go Baby! dies...By the time they get through cranking that crank I will have less scraps and a lot of tumblers, rectangles/squares and apple cores and who knows what else.  They might even have a few pillowcases to show for it....

Have to do Something to keep 6 children busy....

See you in a few weeks, Kentucky!

 PS - Enjoy the blue type, if it shows on the blog as it does while writing and previewing this post....

 

I am So Thrilled! About a Small Accomplishment!

Many of you have done this on your machines...It isn't new...

But I just did,,,and am still doing!  I had to stop and take pictures I was so wanting to share this with you...

Okay,,,start from the beginning, Frances....

I am getting ready to sandwich my little Baby Bunny quilt and, being frugal as I am (sometimes) I found three pieces of batting that will be large enough if I sew them together..

I have tried it in the past with my semi-super duper Janome, which is a great machine, BTW, but I could never get the batting to feed smooth enough and it always stretched...

If you remember a couple of earlier posts about my mother's and g. mother's Singers (circa early 1960s)...I had both of them cleaned and checked over and was using one of them..(They both sew terrific, another BTW)...

So I decided to try the built-in zigzag on the one I was "testing".  I put it on the largest zigzag (no attachments needed) and it works great! The feed dogs catch the batting and it is so smooth...I only have to be sure I keep the edges in the middle so that I zig is on one side and zag on the other. 

Lookie, Lookie!

And....

I am thrilled on a couple of levels....One: that I can actually sew batting on this machine (Singer 503), and Two: that a 50 + year old machine is back in business again.  This is the one I think will be going to my sister; I am thinking of keeping the Singer 500...(that one works also).

Okay, now back to the originally scheduled project...

See Ya....

Second Time the Charm

There, that looks so much better!  The sashings match! (the Before picture is in the post below)

I ripped out the long sashing and remeasured/ripped/resewed about 3 small sashings along one of the columns...

I was worried the blocks would become frayed if I continued to rip, so I decided to try putting everything together again.

After sewing the long sashing onto one row, I laid out the second row so it would align with the first.  Everything seemed to magically come together.

But I did one thing different when I started pinning the second row.... I matched the first cross sashing with the other and pinned there first.  I continued to pin each cross sashing (and they did match) and finally I added pins to either end of the piece.  I really don't know if that technique helped, or if I had solved it with the resewing of the blocks/sashing...

Anyway, I am pleased and maybe I have learned a new technique.

Sometimes it is more logical Not to start at the beginning...

I May be Calling Jack (the Ripper) For This

This week our quilting group laid out the blocks for our Habitat for Humanity quilt we will be making.
This is without the sashing..  The blank square is for a block that had to be worked on...I had to take the picture quickly before the blocks were distributed.

 Each of us took home 1 or 2 rows to put together, along with the sashing needed.  We will have a 72 block quilt when we get finished (9 x 8)


I am not a picky quilter, but I think Mr. Jack is going to earn his retainer Wednesday. Luckily I did not cut the strip I was given for the long sashing.  I still have a tail hanging on one end.......of the two columns/rows....

  I don't like the idea of redoing all the sashing, but I feel as if I need to put the extra effort in it.  My part might not be perfect, but it will be better than the picture, I hope...

With several people involved in making the quilt, we are bound to have a little sash sliding in places....but hopefully the people who get the quilt will be looking at the overall result...and it should  be great.

If I get a picture of the finished quilt I will post it....

I Love My Hubby!

I am not in business....Far from it....Love Retirement!

But my hubby, also retired, likes to make "business cards" for himself to show at any hamfest or gathering, or if someone wants our address, etc...

While he was making a fresh batch for himself, he surprised me with a few (10,) of these:

 Our address, phone number and my e-mail address is under my name, naturally I blocked it out so I could show you.

The quilt shown is the one I made him,,,a crazy quilt out of his old clothes....heavy as all get out, it was a quilt as you go project...

Futures....in Quilting

Oops! Sorry.. Wrong key to those who see the title and nothing else last Sunday....There are Futures in my future, honest...

Basically, I got tired of several of these being stuffed in see through drawers...

They have been there too long (years +) because.I just couldn't make up my mind to cut them in smaller, useable pieces.. once I cut them....what if I need some of them for other reasons???....

Procrastination and Indecision....two BAD and USELESS attitudes!

In the meantime, my Go! Baby has been Rediscovered, along with dies (Tumblers, Squares, and Rectangles..)

Put the two together and I have the start of a couple of scrappy quilts,,,,eventually....

.
Not paying attention to color too much...hoping to have a large variety of shapes so I can pick and choose...who knows, maybe I'll even combine shapes....

I SO love!!! not knowing what I am doing!

Hoppin' Bunnies Whoop....

One step led to another and look what I did today....

Whoop! Whoop!

Thank You, Neighbor!

One of my neighbors enjoys machine embroidery....and sometimes she has leftovers.....

These are a sample of about 18 or 19 she gave me the other day with the instruction, "Make a baby quilt for the New GD to Be". 

Yes, Ma'am!

I picked 10 out, and to go with them I will be making 10 identical Nine Patch Blocks.  In accordance with my 2013 attitude of "Things I Have Been Promising Myself to Do", I brought out my Go Baby (which has been gathering dust on the bottom shelf) and will be trying the strip method of making Nine Patches....more pictures about that later; in the meantime, this is what I have done thus far....

Oh, the silver lines on the die?  Except for the goof line at the end, they show me where the cutting blade is so I can see if the fabric covers it or not....I used a silver Sharpie...

Bug Collection - Block One

Yea! It's official....I have started my first applique project, for Real! 

The directions say to cut the background a little bigger while sewing, to allow for fraying of edges...so this will be cut down to 9 1/2" x 4 1/2" just before I put everything together.

The spider was my February block.  I should be able to finish more than one block a month, but that is my minimum. Other than that, I have no schedule to keep on this. 

Lazy Way Out.....or.. Recycling Opportunity

I bought this ready-made wall hanging a few months ago with the idea of just having something to sew when I didn't have anything else, or felt like a small change from a long HQing project.

I used black thread and HQed on all the black lines....wishing I hadn't about one hour after I started (okay, it was about 10 minutes, but I am stubborn and didn't quit).  Anyway, I finished it a while back. 

One of the reasons I did this was to practice making a sleeve and sewing it on the back. I read the directions and had it firm in my mind how to do it, even bought a dowel stick.  So, yesterday I started looking for a white piece of fabric to use....and found an old curtain. I started to put it aside when I realized......it already had a sleeve..... It was slightly more than sheer and less than cotton, but substantial enough to hold this lightweight project.

So I measured, cut, sewed, and came up with an already folded and creased sleeve which I tucked under the binding as I sewed it on...still sewing, btw....

It was the lazy way out, but one must look for innovative ways to save time.....you can make more quilts that way...

Do I still need practice making the sleeve from scratch.....yes.....but I am still on the lookout for free curtains...