Ring of Roses

I've been sewing up a storm and I have to say that this quilt is much more involved than I thought, and I already thought it was going to be tricky.

I have had a few hair pulling moments so far but have managed to piece four blocks together to get a little sneak peek of what this quilt will eventually look like.

(Don't look too closely, these blocks aren't squared yet.) I do think I will love this quilt when it's done, if I don't shoot myself before it's finished =0P The directions on this pattern could be a little (or a lot) more clear, I have had to go on a scavenger hunt to find blogs with tutorials to figure out what the heck the lady is talking about on the pattern, but I still think that this method is MUCH easier than the traditional method so I am going to just go with it.

Now I have to walk away from them for several days because I am going to go hang with my mom and my sister and have some girl time with our Grandmother's Flower Gardens. Have a great Fourth of July!

Stitch til you Twitch

So I went a little crazy.

It all started the day I stumbled across this on Pintrest

Does it make your heart flutter when you look at it? It does mine! At first I thought it was done on pegboard but after visiting the site, I found out it was a rug made by an artist and cross stitched on wool padding. It's also horrifically expensive, at least for my budget.

That didn't stop me from loving it however.

Fast forward a few months and we are cleaning out my grandma's house to get it ready to sell. My grandpa, who has been gone for 15 years, was a cabinet maker, and while we were working in his barn/shop out behind the house, I found this piece of peg board and I knew instantly what I wanted to do with it.

I dry brushed it with some mis-tint paint from the hardware store to make it look like linen, then got to work. The entire family worked on this project. I would sit in front of the board putting the needle through, then my helper in the back of the board would push the needle back through the hole that I indicated with my finger.

I feel pretty impressed that all three of my teenage boys took time to help me with this, and even my husband. I have great men in my life!

The only problem? It's huge. 4'X5' and I can't figure out what I'm going to do with it now. I sure do love it though! The neatest thing about it is how it changes depending on what angle you view it from. If you catch it from the side it's very saturated and vibrant. As you move around to the front, it's more washed out and water colorish. Give peg board cross stitch a try, it's so much fun, I am trying to figure out where I could possibly hang another one =0P

Zippered Project Pouch

The pattern for this project pouch was the finishing prize for our local Quilt Shop Hop a couple of years ago. I never made it because...well, it involves a zipper and I am terrified of zippers!

When I was in South Dakota a in October, mom and I hit the local quilt shops while dad was at work and I found this quilting themed fabric there. I knew instantly what I wanted to use it for, and I finally got around to making this cute little bag.

I kinda winged it on the zipper, but I think it turned out ok and this little bag will be handy to keep my stitching in when we go camping next month. The raw edges showing through the plastic window go against every perfectionistic grain in my body and I'm pretty sure I will end up putting bias tape over those before too long, but for now I'm counting this as a finished project.

Cross Stitch? Really?

I have a love of all things handwork. I have since I was a little girl and my grandma first taught me to cross stitch.

I just love to sit in a chair and stitch but the downside to that is that you can only have so many cute little pillows and wall hangings in your house, and your family eventually gets tired of getting one of your projects for every! single! holiday!

So, it's been a few years since I sat down with needle and thread (Unless you count my never ending love affair with hexies).

Just recently though, I have had a resurgence of desire to cross stitch. I am rather ambiguous about cross stitch. Part of me thinks "Oh, that's so tacky!" because I have a distaste for anything that was popular in the 80's =0P and the other part of me loves those quiet moments with needle and thread, watching with anticipation as the design emerges from the cloth.

Tacky or not, I am hooked again.

I've been making little rose themed projects to hang in the little closet that holds the commode in my bathroom. Starting with this ring of roses (Which was originally begun as an area rug for the bedroom in my doll house but was reassigned to the bathroom wall when I realized it was a lot more work than I originally thought!)

 

Then I wanted to try my hand at a crocheted hoop like one I had seen on Pintrest. This little bitty is only 3"!

I started looking on Pintrest for more rose themed designs and changing thread colors so that they would all coordinate. I found this Victorian Alphabet and thought our family Monogram would be fun.

Unfortunately, my little doggie decided to go digging in my stitching bag and thought this would make a tasty treat. Luckily she didn't damage the cloth or the stitches, but you can see where the color bled from the blossom on the top left =0(

This all led me to my most recent project. One I am absolutely THRILLED about and can't wait to share with you! It's one of those things that I love so much I just keep wandering over to stare at it.

So...I don't care if it's tacky, My name is Jeanette, and I'm a Cross Stitcher! Keep your eyes out, I am going to post my most recent finish soon!

 



Great Granny Mug Rug

I had so much fun making my little Great Granny Square quilt, you should try them!

I was cleaning off my sewing table at the end of a project and came across a little pile of scraps left over from my blocks and thought "Hmmm, I am sick to death of looking at my mug rug at work, maybe I should make a new one." So I did.

All made from scraps left over from my quilt. It went together really fast because everything was already cut out, and I love it =0) It's been so long since I made something for ME and now I have made a mug rug, a mini quilt, and have another mini quilt in progress. I should get booted from swaps more often LOL

Also, I turned off the word verifications on my comments form. I hate them too! As long as there is no spam I will leave them off. I know I have tried to comment on other's blogs in the past and been so frustrated with their word verifications that I end up just leaving rather than leaving a comment. So I understand. I hope it takes a good long time for the spammers to find me again.

Argh, there be Pirates here

I started this quilt way back when for a swap. It was a Disney swap and my partner's son liked pirates. I came up with this wicked awesome idea and I was so excited!

I tried black wool felt and I just didn't like it, it wasn't BLACK! Mickey ears have to be black, not dingy gray!

So, I did a bad thing, and I used acrylic felt to make my mickey ears (Fabric just wouldn't have been the same right? Right?) and then I goofed. I goofed BAD! I ironed the felt!

Ack, melted felt all over my iron, and melted felt all over my quilt! I didn't have time to create this quilt all over again, it was all but done and the deadline was fast approaching so I chucked it in a corner and moved on to plan B.

Well, it's been a year or two and this pathetic pirate with his melted ear was really bugging me, so I got out the scissors and carefully trimmed away the melted part and attached a new ear. You can't even tell! I'm so excited because I was so pleased with how this quilt turned out! 

I'm glad my little quilt has a new life. Now I just have to figure out what to do with him!

Sewing Sewing

I have been having fun in my sewing room lately, and even accomplished a few things, yay me!

First of all, I made my last three blocks and put the top together for my Great Granny Quilt. Now, unfortunately, I'm stuck. I keep looking at all those tiny squares and trying to figure out how I want to quilt this. I haven't had any ideas yet, so it's still just a flimsy. I'm willing to sit on it for a bit because I don't want to be disappointed with it when I'm finished.

I have to say, I really love this little quilt. It's so ME. It's my favorite colors, it's bright, fun and unashamed of it's colorfulness =0) I love everything about it (Except maybe that one hot pink and white polka dot on the left side, I don't love that one as much).

I tried to hurry and get block three of the Fat Quarter Shop Mystery BOM done before block four arrived but I didn't quite make it. But now both three and four are finished. I love this quilt too. I'm so glad I joined this BOM. I nearly didn't, I HATE mystery quilts. I am very OCD and not knowing where something is going makes me a nervous wreck, but I figured with Vintage Modern fabric, how could you possibly go wrong? And I have every reason to believe that this will be one of my favorite quilts when it's finished.

I've also been playing in mom's scrap basket again. These are little tiny triangles that she cut off when doing her "Love Letters" quilt. She just rolled her eyes, laughed, and told me I was crazy when I started sewing them into squares. This little quilt measures 9.5" with borders. This is one of my favorite quilt patterns, I have made it in several sizes from several different fabrics, but this one is definitely the tiniest!

Progress Report

It seems like it has been ages since I have had any good, quality time to spend in my sewing room. B's schedule has changed and he now gets home from work somewhere between three and five. While I love having him around more, it's been hard because I'm not getting any ME time. I'm a home body, B is not. If he's off work, he wants to be out and about doing something. Which means no sewing time for me, I feel like I am never at home anymore!

Anyway, onto the progress report.
I started sewing this quilt a while back to go into a little wagon that sits on top of a cabinet in my living room. For the past several years it has held a little primitive quilt and while I love that little quilt, it no longer fits in with my brighter, no longer primitive, decor. I needed something new up there. I had found a quilt on pintrest that I fell in love with and wanted to replicate on a smaller scale.

I got to spend lots of time with this little darling while taking care of my mom after her surgery, and on various road trips, but I can't sew for very long, my hands cramp up and get very painful. This little quilt was taking FOREVER!

I decided I needed a plan B, a little quilt I could put together quickly that could add charm to my little wagon until I could get my tiny Flower Garden completed. So, I started my little Great Granny quilt and now I have another problem. I think I like this little quilt more! So, I think I will keep going on this quilt and put it in the wagon, and put the flower garden on the wall or something.

The two newest blocks are the two on the left, I have three more to go then I can start assembling this little quilt.

I also received my name tag swap, all the way from Germany! Isn't it cute? Cherries <3 p="p">

Growing Tomaters

It all started with the magnet swap. I fell in love with the little tomato pincushion magnet that I made for my partner. Now I just keep making them. I can't help myself, they're just too dang cute! I made some for my mom, and these three I made for me. How is it that I had a magnet board in my sewing room, but none of my magnets were sewing related?

Well, hello there!

Wow, it seems like I have been gone forever, and I wish I had tons of fun things to show you, things that I made in my time away, but sadly...I don't.

This year I was very ambiguous about Christmas, I just didn't really care, and because of that, there was an acute lack of home made gifts. I did make a pillow case for my sister-in-law, and a commissioned quilt for a cute little three year old girl, but that's it.

I was contacted in October and asked if I would be willing to make a doll quilt for a little girl for Christmas. My gut reaction was NO!!! I have made quilts for other people in the past and it has never gone well. They don't appreciate them, or recognize how much time, effort, and love goes into a hand made quilt. But something in my heart told me to say yes this time. Maybe it was the idea that I would get to make something pink and girly when I have all these boys at my house =0P But I did say yes, and I am so glad that I did. Laura restored my faith in mankind. She showed genuine appreciation for my work, and I felt so much better making this quilt for her, than I have for any of the other people I have made them for. It was a really good experience for me.


This is the quilt that I made for Laura's little granddaughter.


I even made a little matching pillow, with pillow case, from the scraps =0)


I also joined in the holiday mug rug swap. I sent this mug rug to my partner.


Along with a little bracelet with sewing themed charms that I made.


And received this cute little mug rug in return...


Went to the first band concert for these two (Don't worry, I finally broke down and cut their hair!)


Played board games with my boys, went Christmas caroling at the nursing home on Christmas Eve, had family dinners, and played more games, sang more carols, tore my sewing room apart to instal the 8' counter top that B gave me for Christmas and then had to put it all back together again (Still working on bits and pieces of that) and finally sent the boys back to school at the end of Christmas break with a big sigh of relief that it was all over with and life could get back to normal!

How was your Christmas?

Going Batty!

Halloween is just around the corner! Are you excited? I am, I love Halloween!


My husband however...loathes Halloween. He kinda rains on my parade sometimes LOL But I don't care, I just go crazy decorating without him.

Christmas however? He goes NUTS at Christmas =0)

Pretty in Pink

A pretty pink pillow case, with a matching mug rug.


When I saw this fabric, I just had to have it, even if it WAS from Walmart =0P

Mini Dresden= Mini Pinnie

Last weekend was the HMQS Quilt show. I went with my mom, on friday, and the just couldn't leave without this darling little Dresden ruler. I think it's only meant to be a key chain(It came with a key chain thing on it) but hello...mini Dresdens???


I couldn't wait to try it out!

My sister and her family came down for Mother's Day and we had a girls' sewing day on Saturday. We try to do this a couple of times a year, it gives us a chance to just hang out together without having to run here, or do that etc.

I took several projects with me to work on, but that little ruler was calling to me so I got it out and dug into mom's scrap basket. It's rather funny, I was planning to make her a little pin cushion and while I was sewing she sad "Man, I wish I had a pin cushion!!! Somewhere to stick a needle where it won't get lost!"



I love how tiny and sweet it is! I also made a full Dresden circle with these teeny tiny plates. No idea what I'm going to do with it yet, but I made a fabric covered button to go in the middle of it =0)

Springy Mug Rugs

A new round of the mug rug swap has started. My partner asked for Linen, Texture, and Bright colors. I was playing around with ideas and thought of a ruched strip down the side and couldn't wait to try it out. I decided that since I'm not familiar with working with Linen I would make a sample one first and thank heavens I did because guess what? One of those freak things, I totally scorched it.

I said a bad word. In front of my Mother :O

The weird thing was that I tried to scorch it again, to try to even out the color and maybe save it somehow and no matter what I did, it wouldn't scorch again. SO WEIRD!

I was ready to just trash it and start over, but my mom suggested coffee dying it, adn since I just happen to have a HUGE (like gallon sized) baggie of instant coffee crystals from my "Primitive Decor" days, I thought....what the heck.


Guess what? It totally worked! I made some weak coffee and poured it into a squirt bottle, put it on mist, and sprayed evenly over the surface of the mug rug and Voila! you can't see the scorch mark anymore!

I'm really glad too because I love the way this mug rug turned out, even if my flickr friends say that it's a little too bright =0P

Now it's back to the drawing/design board to figure out something a little less bright for my expectant partner =0)

Rest Home Lap Blankets

My Mother In Law volunteered me to make a blanket for a lady in a rest home.


I started with a super soft minky throw from Walmart, but it was too long, so I squared it up and I sewed a cute little red edging along the top.


Then I put her name in the bottom corner.


I hope she likes her new cozy blanket. Merry Christmas Ina!

The snow did it!

The three inches of snow on my lawn inspired me to start thinking about Christmas.


I whipped up this little mug rug this afternoon, it's going off to a friend in a day or two. I think I might have to make another one for me!!!

*Disclaimer- this is not my original idea, I copied it from a gift bag I found at Barnes and Noble last year.

Feelin' Stitchy

It's that time of year again! Our semi-annual girls sewing weekend! A couple of times per year my mom, sister, and I get together for a sewing weekend. Sadly, my poor sister was sick this year, but between the three of us, we managed to get her top finished.

We take turns choosing a pattern to make. It was my turn this round and I chose to make Candy Bar Pinwheels by Antler Quilt Designs for Moda Bake Shop. Click the link for the free pattern!

Here is a picture of my top. I loooooooooove it!

I really wish I had a picture of my mom's top, hers is absolutely gorgeous, it's in darker reds, blues, greens. Mom is a fan of the darker shades. Her quilt more closely resembles the quilt on the pattern page.

My sister and I both went bright. Since this quilt is made with a candy bar, and we didn't have one, we bought a charm pack of Moda's Dream On and cut it in half and we each had a candy bar =0)

While at my mom's we were talking about what we are going to do for our next sewing day (Sometime around April 2011). Mom had a pattern for a pin cushion bag, and since my sister is a new sewer, I decided to test the pattern first to see how beginner friendly it was before we tackled it.
I'm happy to say that it's a fairly simple pattern to make. It took me all day to make this but I was trying to make two at a time, and coming off a migraine, so don't let that intimidate you! But hey, if I can sew this with a massive headache and not totally screw it up, it has to be pretty easy right?



I did, of course, manage to get my flower center (aka the pin cushion) way off center. So typical of me, now matter how hard I try, I'm crooked LOL



I love this little pocket for my scissors and thread!


This should work perfectly on the arm of the couch when I'm working on my Grandmother's Flower Garden! No more having to dig through the couch cushions to find my scissors! No more little piles of thread clippings that inevitably wind up on the floor.


Cherries and Cherry blossoms, it's so ME don't you think?
I have a few more mug rugs to share, but that's a post for another day =0)

I love to spoil, and be spoiled

I joined another swap, crazy I know, especially with so much on my plate, but I just couldn't help myself!

And besides, they were small, so it was no big deal right?

I joined a mug rug swap!

My partner was scrap studio and I made her first mug run within five minutes of getting my partner assignment. She was just that easy!


Then my nerves took over, as they always do, and I started to panic, what if she didn't like it??? So I started stalking her, reading her blog, and checking out her flicker photostream, and favorites. And I discovered she collects Ampersands!! How cool is that? I love ampersands, they have such a fun shape, and I knew I had to make an ampersand rug for her as well. But I knew I couldn't even show a sneak preview, because the minute she saw it, she would know exactly who it was for. So I sat on it, kept it under tight wraps, and that was HARD for me! I like to share!


So here is my partner's final package (Picture taken by her because I totally spaced out on taking a picture of the finished mug rug UGH) I also decoupaged a chipboard ampersand for her to add to her collection, made a beaded scissor fob,a cute Christmas note pad, and sent some of my favorite red lace.

Luckily she loved it! Either that, or she's a REALLY good liar =0P

And because I love to be spoiled as much as the next guy...I totally have to brag about my awesome swap partner and the fantabulous package she sent to me! You can tell that she stalked me as much as I stalked Kelly, and that she totally got me, and made things just to make ME happy! How awesome is it when that happens? I feel like I have hit the swap partner jack pot lately!

Look at this buch of amazingness that I received!


I literally opened this package with my mouth hanging open!

When I saw the sneak previews, I commented "How nice of you to give me marshmallows to go with my hot chocolate!! Of course she had that darling little cherry tart blocked out on her picture because she said it was a dead give away as to the recipient, so I didn't get to drool all over that until it got here! And on the asterisk one I said "Pour moi sil vous plait" Which is French for "For me please" and guess what? It totally WAS for me! Who would have guessed? Certainly not me! I am beyond thrilled! And can you believe how dang cute that little matroyshka zipper pouch is? I have to carry it around in a death grip because everyone who sees it, wants to swipe it. And that cute cherry fabric, and cherry quilt pattern...it's all too much cuteness, I can't take it!

Are you jealous? I am so thrilled with how this swap turned out, and I am only half done! I signed up for TWO partners! And then I got all crazy and signed up for a private swap with another partner, so there is more to come, stay tuned!

There is some serious talent in those mug rug swappin' ladies, I'm tellin' ya!

Loosing my marbles!

What do you do when your son comes to you and says "Oh, I forgot to tell you that it's Nick's birthday party today!"


You run to Wally World and grab a box of marbles, then hit your scrap bin and sew up a cute little marble bag to go with it!


Fully lined, for added strength of course, cuz those buggers are heavy!


Then you make a matching one for your kiddo. Because he's loosing his marbles!