Wednesday, October 20, 2010

Design Wall Wednesday

I found out last Wednesday that one of the children of my Grand Daughter Michelle, who I have just reconnected with was having a birthday this coming Friday.  Well my first thought was she needed a quilt.  I had made pillowcases for all of the kids a couple of weeks ago and Tristan..the youngest thought it was a blanket.  Michelle has since found her curled up in it, I made them rather big and she is just a little bitty thing, so she fits inside!  LOL  So last Thursday I quickly and I do mean quickly made a quilt top.  Had lots to do on Friday and Saturday, so I started to quilt this on Sunday

and finished the quilting on Sunday..I started sewing the binding down last night and finally finished it this morning.  The quilting is pathetic and I am not very proud of it, but the whole thing is made out of Flannel and I am hoping that Tristan will love it.

I am however kind of proud of the label...below


I watched a you tube video on how to do the blanket stitch this morning and I think for a first try...it came out pretty good. This quilt and some craft stuff for my grand daughter will be off in the mail this morning...I am just hoping it arrives on Friday for Tristan's birthday.


Hope everyone is having a great Wednesday.


Anett

Wednesday, October 13, 2010

Design Wall Wednesday

I have been using up scraps and making 4 patches....I did these in about an hour.  4 patches are one of the blocks that I enjoy making the most.  They are easy and almost always come out perfect the first time.  I have no idea what they are going to be, as I am going to make many, many more of them before I decide what to do with them.  My granddaughter Michelle is learning to sew and quilt.  this is the block she has chosen for her first quilt.  It has been an absolute joy to listen to her talk about fabric and colors and the process of making a block.  We have shared much laughter over her process of learning.  She learning about having a stash of fabric, how easy it is to want every yard of fabric you see and most importantly, how to conceal the fact that you have bought a bunch of fabric from your husband...LOL.

This is what is up on the design wall.  I am trying to get the other four sunbonnets done, so that I can start putting together my "calendar" sunbonnet quilt.  I am trying to match the fabric with a theme for every month.  8 down...4 to go.  Also on the design wall are some flying geese blocks that I make...my first attempt ever...they came out great..and I am no longer intimidated about making them.  Lastly on the design wall is a "table" runner that I made for my dining room table.  It ended up being wider than I thought it was going to be...so I have decided that instead of going on my table...I am going to finish this and use it as a cover on one of the old singers I have in a cabinet.  I love the colors and I was able to find the perfect machine embroidery design to fill in the white spaces.

Happy Wednesday Everyone.



Anett

Thursday, October 7, 2010

I must be out of my mind!

I tried a few years ago to sell some of my crafts at a bazaar....I was unsuccessful and swore I would never do it again.....wellllll....here we go again.  I was asked by a very dear friend of mine to once again sell stuff at a bazaar.  How could I say no...right!  WRONG...I should have run...not walked away.  So this weekend, I will be sewing overtime to get enough stuff together to take to the bazaar.  I am going to be making "humbug bags", some pincushions...some machine embroidered dish towels and anything else I can make fast.  If nothing sells, I figure I will be way ahead on my Christmas sewing...guys like pincushions right!  lol.  I am going to make some sets of the "humbug" bags and some singles.  A few years ago..I learned how to make these bags.  I was so intimidated by the zipper, but not..if I have the fabric quilted...I can make one in less than 10 minutes.  I have literally made tons of these bags and I think everyone I know has one.  So I know I can churn those out in not time flat.  Hubby is on food duty this weekend...I am only stopping for food and potty breaks, but I want to make sure I have a good selection of all the stuff I want to take.  the fair isn't until next month, so I do have sometime to get my "act" together, but I am a major procrastinator and I don't want to make myself crazy...I am going to get started early.

Hope everyone has a great, relaxing weekend.

Hugs and love,


Anett

Tuesday, October 5, 2010

A Reconnection

When we decided to leave our home state of Colorado back in 1986, we knew we would be giving up a lot of things.  We were leaving our entire family and our kids for a new life in Oregon.  Over the years it has not always been easy being totally away from family and all the friends we left behind.  But we have made some new friends along the way and we have survived.  Until the last few weeks, I have been really OK with the move.  I have recently reconnected with our Granddaughter Michelle..now 30 and we have something in common....crafting!  You all know that really is the heart of me.  I love to craft, I love to share my crafts and it brings me a great deal of joy. 

I found out that Michelle wanted to learn to sew...I went on a hunt for a sewing machine for her.  I was talking to my friend Jean and found out that her daughter had left behind her old machine and it was up for grabs.  Well I immediately went to get it and got somethings together for Michelle and off the package went to Colorado.  It arrived yesterday and Michelle is already working on some coasters this morning.  I directed her to You Tube for tutorials and she is going for it.  So although Michelle and I have not kept in touch over the last few years, we have now reconnected over something that gives us both a lot of joy.  Now comes the part that is hard...I am not there to really help her get started on her sewing journey.  We are doing out best to email and text, but it just isn't the same as being there.  Also, my favorite niece is starting to sew again and I can just see the three of us having a ton of fun together.  We are not in a position to move at this moment, but it is something to think about!

Happy Stitching everyone.


Anett