On the Side.....

Mommarock wrote a comment on my Pipe Dream post re: my list of projects for 2012...

Maybe you could make them your blog header somehow.. don't ask me.. that way you would have to look at them every time you opened your blog.. it would remind you every time :)

Thank you, Mommarock.  I let the idea tumble around in my head overnight.  Result, if you look on the side of my blog under Picture Progress, you will see what I am working on.  These pictures will change occasionally to show my progress or show another new project.

If one picture stays too long, maybe.....

1)  It is taking me a Really Long Time to finish (as in handquilting)

2) I haven't had time to take pictures (shame on me)

3) I haven't been sewing as I should

4) I am on a roll and forgot to take pictures

5) my camera is broken

6) no film in my camera (What???)

7)  My machine broke down...no electricity..forgot to pay my bills...no stash left.....

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If so, you are free to e-mail and ask me "how are you doin'?? "

Or...

"Get Going, Lazybones!"

Optomistic Pipe Dreams (or) I Can Do It!

No New Years Resolutions...they all fall flat, usually.

Instead, I submit the following in hopes it comes true.....

About 1-2 years ago I bought 2 boxes of sheet protectors (200/box).  I placed articles/patterns/etc in them (1 project per protector) and placed them in this very huge binder.  I am now on my second box.

The binder is full.  It's weight and bulk makes it difficult for me to open and flip through it.  Definitely cannot fit on my lap. 

So comes the time that I need to split it up into several smaller binders.

I plan to only use these three binders.  I will continue to store the remainder in the big binder...using these three as my "I really want to do these next" folders".

I know there are initials for that,,,but what are they and what do they mean?? Can't remember....

Anyway, I have picked out 4 projects that I want to do next year..in amongst all the others that come up in the meantime...

And they are.....

This brown/blue one I have to get going on right away...for next Christmas..It will be a king size, hopefully, if I can convert the mathematics correctly...It is shown as a lap quilt...

Love these next two..don't know if it is because of the way the pictures look or the pattern..maybe both.

And a tablerunner from a blog post I read awhile back...

I figure these will keep me busy. 

I am going to try to squeeze one more in, but no picture yet...I just downloaded the tutorial today and I have my Moda Layer Cake package in mind for it.....

So we'll see the results a year from now.....

Ya'll remind me then, you hear???

A Survey and Review.....Non Quilting

Saw this link on Facebook and couldn't resist sharing...It's worth the click....


http://www.wired.com/geekdad/2011/01/the-5-best-toys-of-all-time/all/1

Wonder what would happen if we put these under the tree for Christmas?????

Stage One Done & Other Stuff

Hurrah! 

... I sat myself down, brushed myself off, and started (all over) again....

I finished separating the scraps as show at the last of the previous post...

....and....

I finished these as well...

They are out of the dreaded cardboard box...

and added to...

I found some 2 gallon ziplocks and put some of them to use...

Today I found that I was running into fabric I had done yesterday as well.  Remember the orange I said I put on the red pile yesterday?  Today some ended on the yellow pile instead...It seemed more logical.  That's okay..this is the first level of separation.....

Also, notice the small pieces next to my "neutrals" in the green basket.. They are slated to be used in my braided fabric..Yes, I am continuing to save narrow strips to be braided and later used in a rug, mug rug, coaster, or whatever.

I have more scraps, but they are mingled with a lot of larger pieces and are next on my list.  But for now, I am resting on my laurels..

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OH< OH< OH<

Wanted you to know what I read last week in several blogs/forums/somewhere (maybe Bonnie??).

Unquilty uses for left over batting:

Fits on your Swifter for dusting floors.

Takes the place of cotton balls for makeup, unmakeup, etc. (assuming it is relatively clean, of course)

Dust mop (tie several pieces together for hand dusting)

Tiny, tiny pieces great for bird nests....(along with small strips of cloth)

Put between toes when pedicuring....

()()()()()()()()()()()()())()(

and my memory escapes me with other uses....

Anybody out there want to give other ideas??...

Floors are Wonderous Things (or) Divide and Conquer!

I don't especially enjoy working on my sewing room floor.  My back and it don't get along.  However, every once in awhile it fits the purpose.***see below

I needed space to start separating my scraps.  I mean really start....I have read Bonnie Hunter and her separation tutorial, as well as others.  In 3 years I have yet to be able to continue or "find time" (lame excuse) to even begin the task.  I keep thinking, I must cut the strips, blocks, squares, triangles, blocks, etc first..  NOT HAPPENING, DUDE!

So here, on a dreary, cold, semi-moist, thoroughly yucky day, instead of going to Big Town for groceries, I took a container of red beans out of the freezer with the idea of Mexican Cornbread as accompaniment, and settled in my sewing room with the first (yes, first) small batch of scraps.

I was in such a hurry I didn't think of taking pictures until after this was emptied...

I sat in my comfy office chair, reached over and grabbed pieces and literally threw them onto the floor, creating approximate piles of somewhat differing colors. 

 It was liberating!  I was carefree and wild! It was.....Eleanor Burnish!  Such a good feeling! 

 There were a few flannels that I kept together, regardless of color, and a few pieces I had sewn together in earlier attempts of corraling stash. Those I will place in their own pile for future possible use (no sense cutting them apart again).

***(I had just finished clearing the floor after my marathon of wrapping Christmas presents and here I go again!).....

Here is the result so far...after I finish with this post, I will pick them up and put them in ziplocks (for now), and get out another bunch.  I am not worried about sizes or shapes.  Of course if I come across a large piece that can be folded onto a mini-bolt, or some such item, then of course I'll do that. But for now, multi-color items go where first impressions dictate.  I have light background (largest pile), yellow, dark, green, red, and blue with a little orange mixed in with the red right now.

Not much, but I gotta start somewhere.......

And here comes the next challenge,

results in another post...hopefully...

Mini-Giveaway Changes

It has been almost a year since my first Giveaway (Jan 3)...My goal at that time was to clear out my sewing room, offering items I did not want or need, or ones I thought ya'll might like. 

I have met my goal.  Thank all of you for helping me declutter and refine my stash and take away some of the items I had no need for.  Love you all.

Before I go any further, I want to assure you I do intend to continue the Mini-Giveaways.  I would feel lost without the excitement of giving something someone else can and would use. 

My choices, however, have dwindled as I had hoped they would when I started.  I have found it a little more difficult to choose the item lately.  When I started this, I had oodles of items on my list.  But because I had several multi-item giveaways this last year, that list has shrunk. 

All that last paragraph is saying, in different ways, is that I have decided to only have one giveaway a month during this coming year.  The first one will occur on January 15, and the ones following will be on the 15th of each month thereafter.  This will allow me to slip in extra giveaways if I want to (and I want to!), so don't be worried.  I won't run out of things ya'll might be interested in. 

So continue to check in and see what's new in my quilting life. 

See you soon........

Wanta Be's.........Gotta Be's.........

My wanta be's and gotta be's are fighting with each other...The battlefield is my sewing room...it has    been invaded by gifts, boxes, wrapping paper, and bubble wrap. 

 Salvos of tape, be it scotch, masking, packing or shipping, were heard at varying intervals....

The pivotal battle occurred this last weekend, when all the above was corralled and lassoed ...

(now I wonder if it was a battle or a round-up???)

At any rate, law and order prevailed.  Now all that is left is the remnants of the conflict.  The Mighty Post Office is in control and the boxes and packages are on their way.  Including a Mini-Giveaway package (white squishy below)..

Of course I had to float a loan to pay for shipping (5 packages!), but what the heck, it's only once a year, right?

In a couple of hours, my sewing room will revert back to it's hopefully original state, and I can start playing again....

Until I start working on more decorations and food stuffs, that is......



Mini Giveaway #22 Winner......

Congrats to Deb in Virginia!  She will be receiving the beautiful afghan in a few days. 

Thank all of you for participating and be on the lookout in 2012 for the next giveaway. 

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Mini-Giveaway #22 - Cross Stitch Afghan

Greetings.... and FYI::::

Because of the time of year and all activities involved, I have decided that this will be the last Giveaway for the year...so no Giveaway is scheduled for December 15th...more on future Giveaways in another post coming up in a few days....

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Now::::
Found this next item on the very tip-top of my metal shelving.  I was I was moving items to make room for some more mini-bolts/bolts of fabric.  Guess it always helps to "tweak" what you already have moved once. 

I have a non-quilting item this time....very nice large 11-count throw size (45" x 66") afghan cloth with free cross stitch design.  It has been gently folded in plastic bag for a couple of years.

Rather than continuing with the verbal description, here are the pictures...

It's not a kit, so no thread, but you don't have to use the design given.  Comment below and be available to be notified. 

DH will draw on December 3 after 10:00am, which is on a Saturday, so the earliest I can mail this is the next Monday. 

  

Ya'll have fun, now......

Normal Days Doings....

Because my DH and I have been under the weather or getting out from under the clouds during pre-Thanksgiving days, we elected not to be around other people for fear we would be giving them an early Christmas present or a belated Thanksgiving package.  Our Thanksgiving was a stuffed cornish hen with gravy, veggies, and cranberry sauce. 

 So I may not have been as busy as some of you.

However,

I am slipping into in one of those periods where I know I have to do things, but looking back wondering what I have done. To refresh my memory, I have been listing things I have done during the days before Thanksgiving.

Not in order of importance, just rambling....

1)  Started to walk with DH to the mailbox and back. Right now, he walks all the way to the mailbox and I walk as long as I can, then wait until he comes back to where I stopped and we walk back to the house together.  Hope to make it to the mailbox with him soon (little over 1/2 mile r/t)

Property outlined, very shaky, mailbox at corner of lane and road.  Ponds, or tanks are dry now..

2)  Scheduled a few posts, including this one. 

3)  Had dentist appointment...x-rays and diagnosis....Will have a lulu of one during the first half of January.   Let's forget that and continue.....

4)  Still handquilting and a long way to go...

5)  Remember these bolts DH got for me in Corpus?

I have only 4 more left and hopefully by the time you read this they will be in use also. I used a lot of them as is for larger pieces of fabric, such as my flannels which were not folded very well.  They will be in better shape now. 

The rest I cut into mini-bolt sizes for smaller pieces.  To protect the fabric from the cardboard, I used a few plastic bags from store purchases (not grocery).  I was planning to use some Glad Cling Wrap, but that is so expensive it will be a last resort.  I looked around and found some of the very thin white trash bags...the kind that has the handles and is difficult to tear open and so thin they are really worthless for trash bags...so I cut them up and am able to cover about 6 or more mini-bolts with each one, using scotch tape.  

It takes a little time, but hopefully they will last awhile....

6) 7) 8) etc....general housework and goof/off stuff......

Hope to start another quilt shortly.  My machines are feeling neglected......

And I have other plans......

Later....

Baseball season quilt

I found baseball and dinosaur fabric at the church quilting group.  Brought it home and was lucky to find solid colors for borders to match it.  Add a colorful binding and tacking and I have another quick quilt to give away.

Now if it just wasn't sideways......

Wish I could give it to one of my grandsons, but don't want to use the church's fabric for personal use....

Love making these quilts....I feel I have a little more freedom than I do when I make a quilt for someone... I always worry if the relatives or friends will like them...

Update on Janome Health Status....

In the middle of October, I blogged that my Janome was sick and acting up. 

I wish to report, belately, that she is well and humming a nice little tune...No, I did not have to take her to the emergency room.. A little touch of home remedies did the trick, as well as a keen eye.

I ended up changing upper thread and used a brand new bobbin (definitely correct size), 

I was ready to thread the needle using the new upper thread (after I had filled the bobbin), and I could not find the needle hole.  It was very difficult...So I turned on the light behind the machine and took a really good look...

And found a broken needle.....no point......anywhere.....

Being the detective that I am, I realized the point had to have come off while sewing, hence had to be close by.

So I took off the faceplate, took out the bobbin and bobbin case.......

.....and there it was, laying there....

Remember how I said the bobbin had been jumping around and making noise?....well, there you go!

So lucky am I!  It could have gotten into the machine anywhere!

I put everything back together again, changed needles, threaded, and started her up...

and she has been fine ever since.

Still did not figure out why the needle broke, but maybe changing everything else solved that problem.

Another Comfy Baby Quilt Done

I had time on the trip to finish attaching the binding to this charity baby quilt.

 I burrowed through the fabric our group has and found most of the blue, then added a couple more blue pieces, as well as the pink from my stash.  I think it tends to be a girlie quilt, mainly because of the abundance of pink, although I was thinking of one for a boy when I started......

One never knows......

Acquisitions

I promised to show you what I bought on my trip to Corpus. 

http://www.thequiltcottage.com/TQC/Home

 I gave them all a bath and they are ready to be used. 

In what and to make what, I still don't know.  The top one and the two solids at the bottom I bought in Corpus...just noticed that the bottom green one is folded so you can see the back only...{sigh}...try to imagine a very subtle green/brown tie dye...see below....

There was a little over a yard of the grey/red plaid on the bolt so I bought that as well.  The pink one at the top is going with my other pink/green fabric to help knock the socks off of somebody...

Other than that I was in sort of a "dotty" mood. I bought most of them in Giddings...

http://www.gerlinesquiltshoppe.com/

If you remember, I told you in an earlier post that the Corpus quilters had just come back from Houston with oodles of stuff.  Well, look what they gave me after scrounging around in the back room. They even did a quick tape-together for me. They fit nicely on the floor behind the driver's seat. (and I took advantage of another picture to turn the green right side out so you can see it.) 

 

I plan to cut some of them in half and use them as mini-bolts to hold some of my fabric...Some may be used as is for my larger pieces.  They are cardboard, so I hope to cover them with some sort of plastic as protection. 

Guess I need to get busy soon......

Winner of country fabric, Mini-Giveaway #21 is.....

SALLIE --

Congratulations!  I know she will do us proud with the sewing results!  Thanks to all who commented and plan to see ya'll again on December 1st for another giveaway...

I'll send her the packet after contact...