Clips, Snips & Quips

Sailing Sailing

Sailboats, sailboats and more sailboats are what Landon's new quilt is all about.  

I  picked up the kit for this paper-pieced "baby" quilt at a retreat a while ago and decided it was time to put it together.  All told, there are 35 of the boats.  I'd do one here, one there.  Before I knew it, it was quite a stack.  

Tuesday I was home for the day and decided to put them together...and lo and behold, the quilt wasn't a baby quilt at all.  It was supposed to be finished with the striped border, but even at that, it was a large twin size.  Soooo, I decided to add one more border and now it's big enough to fit Landon's double bed.

I dropped it off at the quilter's last night.  She's promised to have it to me in time for this birthday on the 12th.  I'm keeping my fingers crossed.  

Carolyn W...we really must get together sometime soon and make some sailboats.  You cringed when I told you I was paper piecing.  After doing 35 little boats, I'm now an expert, and it's incredibly easy and every boat is matched "just so".  I think Ben needs one of these in his room, too.  

What's next?  So many projects, so little time.  I've promised a girlfriend a baby girl quilt for a granddaughter coming in March.  Don and Michelle's new baby is due sometime in May.  I have a Thomas-The-Train quilt that would fit in Caleb's new room.  I have a tree skirt that never quite made it under the tree this year.  That uncovers just the tip of the iceberg.  Guess I'll have to close my eyes and see which one I pull out of the cabinet.

Off to work...usually I'd be hoping for a blizzard so I could take a week or so off in January.  Not this year.  We've been in the 50s most of this winter and I'm lovin' the clear roads and bright sunshine.  If this keeps up, the trees will be budding soon.  Either way, in another eight weeks or so, spring will be here!!!

Caleb's Big Night !!

It's been a long, long time since I've gone to a Christmas program for a little guy.  Probably about 20 years, I'm guessing.  I know I won't wait another 20 for the next one.  If I get nothing else for Christmas, I'm happy.  Tonight was what it's all about.

Caleb is now 4, going to be 5 in March.  He goes to the SonShine Christian Center preschool while Mom and Dad go to work.  Tonight was his night to shine.  He was the spokesman for his 4-yr-old group, reciting his 9 lines from the Book of Luke.  He'd practiced hard, but there was a moment when he looked out at the audience of probably around 200 and decided it was a bit scarey.  Then he found his voice and the whole room hushed while he told his story.

They followed it with Let it Snow, Let it Snow and a few more caroles.  And then, as quick as it started, it was over.  All 77 kids, from 2 up through kindergarten, smiled with pride as Moms and Dads picked them up and took them home.  Good stuff.

Of course, preschoolers still take naps, or at least they try to rest:)  Caleb has a new blanket for nap time.  This time it's a story book about the elves getting toys ready for Christmas.  Hope he enjoys it.  After tonight, he's more than earned it. 

Love you sweetheart.  You made Grandma so proud.

Christmas Quilt

I had the pleasure of hosting the Sew What (my Friday night sewing group) Christmas party yesterday afternoon.  The crunch had been on the last couple weeks to finish my new quilt, pillow shams and valance.  Friday night, after an already long day, I knew I had to get the pillow shams together.  For the life of me, I couldn't keep the concept of "right sides together" in my brain.  At least three time I did some really nice, long seams only to open them up and realize I needed a seam ripper.  Still, those pillow shams were going to be ready, one way or the other.  Sleep just needed to wait until I finished -- which I did shortly after midnight.  

The original fabric came as a Christmas gift last year from Carolyn Shelby.  She'd found it in a quilt store in Sedona, AZ while on a business trip.  They were so pretty, I just couldn't keep them tucked away in a drawer.  In October I went on another of The Little Shop's Mystery Quilt weekends, and this is what materialized in about 48 hours -- sleep, again, was optional.  

Here's what I learned along the way:  Buy at least twice as much "stuff" as you think you could possibly use.  Nothing's worse than getting settled in for an afternoon and realizing you need to get in the car and run out for supplies.  Next, don't believe for a minute anything takes as long as it's supposed to.  I "should've" had this done a month ago.  So why was I still up on Friday night, trying to miter the corners on those shams?  And third, when stuffing pillow shams, go down to Kohl's with a 30% off coupon and buy a couple of their $5 pillows.  Stuffing and unstuffing those things is such a waste of time.  They're pretty...but they're just for show.

So what do people do who have their house cleaned and decorated for the holidays this early in December?  I'm kind of at a loss.  I'm usually a December 23rd-type person.  Who knows what I'll have time for now!

Advent Calendar 2011

I've finally finished one of the many things I have planned for the holidays.  This Advent calendar didn't look like it would be too hard.  It just looked like there were a million steps.  Make that a million and one steps.  And then multiply it by two since I wanted to make one for Caleb and Landon and one for Rylee and Ryan.  

The picture really doesn't do it justice.  If you want to see each of the pockets, just double click the picture.  That should zoom in and give you a better view.  

Anyway, I saw this pattern last year and knew I wanted to make it sooner than later.  Everyone except Ryan has worked really hard at learning their numbers and I thought I'd try to make something that they could use as a Christmas tradition.  

Now comes the fun part.  Do you have any suggestions for things I can put in the pockets?   So far I have flashing toothbrushes, stickers, tiny flashlights, and Kazoos.  If you have any ideas, leave me a comment.  I still have 21 more days to fill!!

I still have more Christmas things that really need to get finished.  I'm picking up my Christmas quilt from the quilter tomorrow, and I'm having a Christmas party here on the 3rd, so I'd like to have the binding finished so I can use it on my bed that day.  If it happens, you'll be the first to see it.  

Hope all's well and you're getting just a bit of the holiday spirit.  Thanksgiving will be here before you know it, and then Christmas will be right around the corner.

Chinese Auction...

It must be fall and it's time to get ready to settle in and nest!  I have tons of projects started and nothing getting finished.

A while ago I said I'd have a donation for a Chinese auction hosted by the Burlington County 4H.  I pulled out an "extra" baby blanket and decided it was time to find it a home...and then decided it really needed something to go with it. Noble idea -- for someone who's retired -- which I'm not.  That's never stopped me before, so last Saturday I took a day totally for myself and sat down and made the h.u.g.e. matching bag with an embroidered turtle on the front.  Originally it was supposed to be a diaper bag, but it's too big.  Then I decided it was going to be a toddler bag filled with the important things toddlers need to pack when they're going to grandma's for the day...or daycare...or the babysitter.  That meant I needed to take a trip to Target and get those important things -- Candy Land, Chutes and Ladders, Don't Break The Ice, Hi Ho Cherrio, Go Fish, Crazy 8s, Old Maid, Clifford the Big Red Dog, Crayons, Coloring Books...you name it, it's in there.

So tell me the truth.  If you were putting tickets in bins at a Chinese Auction, would you pick it?  We'll find out next Friday when the drawing takes place!  

Promise...more things are coming soon.  I just need a couple more days to finish them up!

TWINS!

A friend of a friend of a friend is having twins!  Actually, it's a girl who used to be a part of the Sew What? sewing group I belong to.  She moved just about the time I joined the group, so technically I've never met her.   

Anyway, long story short, since Kristen's on bedrest, our group has decided to help her finish up a couple projects she had started...and the group thought it would be fun to put a matching pair of baby blankets along in the package.  Since I'd rather work on something new than finish up something old, I volunteered to make the quilt tops...and I do believe they turned out pretty cute, if I do say so myself!

That's what I did this past weekend.  What did you do?

 

Old Into New

A while ago my Friday night sewing group put together a new challenge for the year.  The idea was to take something leftover, put it in a brown paper bag, and one night each of us picked a bag.  Our job was to make something out of whatever it was we picked.  Some girls had a couple blocks left over from a quilt top.  Some had pieces of fabric that had been cut but never used.  My bag contained six fat quarters that sort of went together and sort of didn't.

After packing those pieces around for six months, I decided to make them up and this is what I came up with.  Back in December I covered a snack table for Della and made her an iron bag to use when she went to class.  We found out that, while my intentions were good, the table just didn't work.  It was wobbly and too high for Della.   So we went to Office Max and picked up new tables and I started over.  I used a couple fat quarters for the table top, and used the fat quarters that didn't really match for the bottom lining.  No one's the wiser.  For the bag, I used a piece that "almost" matched for the top, more of the purple for an accent stripe and the ties, and another fat quarter for the orange bottom.  This pattern is different than my original bag, too.  This one was much more fun.  It used Texture Magic, a sheet that almost feels like plastic.  I quilted the Texture Magic to the orange fabric and then held the iron over it and it puckered the fabric up in my quilted design...adding texture to my base.  

When all was said and done, I used five out of the six fat quarters and I'm pleased with how it turned out.      

Last week I showed you my new kitchen table that I stole from my sewing room.   Here's what I replaced that table with.  I think it almost looks like an updated treadle-machine cabinet...almost.

This is the solid-wood writing desk I had the carpenter cut a hole through the top and fit my machine in.  I love the 30X60 work area.  I love that it's in front of a window that looks out on my neighborhood.  I love that it's the perfect height for me. And I love it most when a plan comes together!

Out with the old/In with the new

Changes are popping up everywhere, it seems.  My new Blog header came today, thanks to Michelle Laycock back in Wisconsin.  This is my year for change, so I needed an update here, too.  Hope you like it.  I DO!  Thanks, Michelle.

And you can't really tell from my pictures, but my table from my beloved craft room has been moved down to the kitchen.  I hemmed and hawed over it for months.  It took years for me to get MY room put together "just so" and I wasn't going to disassemble it under any circumstances...

BUT...when I was bedroom furniture shopping in spring, I found a wonderful desk which I've had modified into a beautiful sewing desk.  (I did have more than a few anxious moments as I watched the woodworking-type person cut a hole through the top and fit my machine into place...argh.)  And I found that once I put the sewing desk in that room, the table just really didn't fit anymore.  

Add to the mix that my kitchen table and lots of other furniture moved out along with my ex-husband (ouch), and I was left in a quandry of what goes where.  So last weekend I ventured out to buy my own set of wrenches so I could take the legs off the table, and then wrestled the entire set down the steps and into the kitchen, where it shall remain evermore.  No way in this lifetime will I be able to wrestle it back up.  I've decided I have my limits.

Since every new kitchen table needs new placemats and napkins, I decided to make some that were bright and cheery.  Whalah, here they are.  They're my placemats and napkins, sitting on my kitchen table in my house.  I'm still getting used to this new journey I've set out on.  Bit by bit, I'll get there.  I knew starting over at 54 wasn't going to be easy, but I'm determined to make it wonderful.

Thanks for stopping by...

Stash Stew #4...Time for Sunglasses!

I've been enjoying a series of classes given at The Little Shop For Quilting in Haddonfield, NJ.  I think they started almost two years ago.  It's a series of quilts that are called Stash Stew quilts since you're supposed to dig through your fabric stash and use up whatever you find.  

This bright blue, sunglasses needed, little boy quilt was the fourth in the series.  I remember buying the fabric on one of my first trips to the shop.  I didn't have a clue what I'd use it for, but it was bright, cheerful, and really caught my eye. 

For anyone who's interested, it's really nothing more than a big 9 patch, set on point, and joined together with sashing.  I know I'd looked it over and looked it over and wasn't sure just how it was going to go together.  I must say, of all the "Stashes" I've done, this was the easiest and fastest, by far.

Tonight, I'm heading up for another class.  We're finishing up Stash 5...far and wide, my favorite.  I'm looking forward to finishing up the borders and getting it to the quilter so she can work her magic.  It's going to make a perfect picnic blanket...so this afternoon I went online and ordered a picnic basket to go along with it.  I'm thinking it just might make a shower gift or Christmas present down the line.  OR, I just may keep this one for myself.  I'm really lovin' it!

Quilt of Valor

Guess it's time for a new post, huh?  I received two concerned emails today since I hadn't posted in a while.  At least that means someone's still looking at my stuff.  That's always a good thing.

This quilt is a Quilt of Valor I finished a few weeks ago.  I'm sending it to wherever it is you're supposed to send quilts that get distributed to Vets coming home from the war.  I haven't yet figured out where that is, but when I get an address, I'll ship this one out.  

I started this project in February.  I was missing Mom and decided to pull out fabrics I still had from her stash.  Just playing with her "toys" always seems to help.  

All the reds are from her.  When I pulled out the navy, I received a pleasant surprise.  It wasn't just from Mom's pile of fabrics.  It originally came from Grandma's.  How did I know?  There was a big round circle of fabric cut from one end with a pinking shears.  Grandma was the only person I knew who put a piece of fabric between her good dishes to keep them from chipping -- and she always used a pinking shears.  Mystery solved.  As I unfolded the blue, it was even more apparent it had been around a long, long time.  There were several long white stripes from where it had been bleached from the sun.  But, as with the reds, I decided that's what I wanted to use.  

Patch by patch, I kept cutting, following the directions.  I know Mom and Grandma were both watching me, giggling the entire time.  I kept running short of reds.  Then I'd go back to my cabinet and find another little piece that would be enough for another few patches.  Just about the time I thought I'd exhausted everything Mom had, I was done cutting.  Then came the blues.  Like I said, there was a big stripe of white that had to be cut around.  No big deal, right?  No, not at all.  I had all the patches I needed.  Then I realized that one of the borders still had to be cut.  I sewed together every little scrap and schnibble I could find, even picking up shreds I'd thrown on the floor.  Grandma always was great at making "something from nothing".  That's exactly what I did with her blue piece of fabric.  
By the time I was finished, I had a piece no bigger than 1"X2" of scrap.  She would've been proud. 

The result was this red-white-blue blanket I hope keeps someone warm and lets them know how much we appreciate all they do.