Tuesday, August 2, 2022
Frayed........
Friday, July 29, 2022
turn your head.........
Anyhow, so I have done a little weaving, not much but a little - 10 towels on this warp. I do have 2 more projects in the planning stages to get on the loom. I went shopping in my own cupboard in the sewing room to find several small cross stitch kits - been stitching on those in the evenings while we watch tv - they will be small holiday gifts.
I've cut out squares to make a toddlers blanket out of recycled blue jeans with different sheep fabrics on the back side. I need to google how to make it - it will have raw edges and will get washed so they fray. I have plenty of jeans but not sure if I'll make more than one of these..........
Hoping others are keeping cool enough in this heat spell. We were already in the process of getting bids on a new HVAC system when our AC went out yesterday. It's limping along today with the outside unit being continually misted to keep it cool, not sure how long it will last, if it will even last the day. (hmm, wonder what our water bill will be) I think it was 111 yesterday, today the forecast is for 113. Dry thunderstorms are in the forecast for the next several days - not a good combination with how dry the vegetation is and this heat - additional fire strike forces are now in the area in prep for a possible big fire. We have had numerous small fires in the region, all human caused, morons......
I know I haven't been posting much at all for a long time, I guess I just don't have much to show or share.......not sure when that will change but I'll post when I've got something.
Monday, June 27, 2022
Struggling........
I just took this warp off the loom and washed it. This undulating twill was being woven by many weavers a couple years ago. I wove it using 10/2 perle cotton to use as the fabric for our holiday cards this year. I like it so much I may have to weave myself some towels. Of course I have very little white and red 8/2 unmerc. cotton in my stash which covers 2 walls in the studio from floor to ceiling so I'm going to have to place an order. I suppose that means I'll order some other colors I'm low on at the same time. In the meantime I'm winding a warp for some turned twill towels. Hopefully before fall I'll have a number of warps woven for gift giving.
Thursday, June 16, 2022
This and that.......
I did some sewing - 17 tote bags for the Head Start kids. Our neighborhood group of the American Sewing Guild does quite a bit of charity sewing. This is one of the groups we sew for. We fill these with fun stuff we buy from grant money and deliver them at the holidays.
Monday, May 9, 2022
Yet another........
Yet another throw size quilt top finished. Hard to see but it has a 5" white border, it will get a navy binding after quilting. Next up in the queue is baseball theme with light tan background and medium brown accents.
Wednesday, May 4, 2022
On the high seas.......
Thursday, April 28, 2022
Here is the first quilted throw top finished, it's ready for the long arm quilter but I think I'll wait until they're all done to deliver it. The background looks pink in the photo but it's really a pale lavender. It's a fun and quick quilt pattern called Fast Lane. Love these Kaffe Fassett prints. Next up is a sea themed quilt top. I grossly overbought my background and accent color (lavender & dark purple). I wasn't following the pattern exactly for the sizes they made so I had to figure out how much I needed on my own and obviously rounded up a bit too much. Live and learn..........
Sunday, April 24, 2022
Life in the fast lane.........
I'm attempting to start on some holiday gifts which will include some quilted throws. Here is the start of one using Kaffe Fassett fabrics in my favorite Fast Lane pattern. I'm using a pale lavender as the background and dark purple as the accent color - both will be used again in the borders and binding. Very cheerful project to be working on.
Up above my 'design board/drape' is a framed double weave pick-up piece I wove years ago. There are two layers of fabric woven at the same time on the loom, one over top the other. Working from a graph individual threads are pulled up from the bottom layer and pushed down from the top layer to create the design. It's very time consuming but it's a technique I've loved doing over the years.
I'm trying to knit in the evenings again like I used to. I'm working on a simple shawl I've worked on off and on (mostly off) for several months. So much better for me to work on something while watching tv in the evening rather than just sitting and watching like I've done much of the past 2 years. Maybe life is getting back to normal...........
Wednesday, April 20, 2022
Cheerful.......
Monday, April 18, 2022
A bit of stitchin'
A bit of stitchin' today on the embroidery machine - tshirts for a Mother's Day gift. I think my mother will love these. Don't these colors make you think spring?!!!
Wednesday, March 23, 2022
MIA
It was time to take down my shamrock flag but too early to put out the bunny/tulip flag so this afternoon I whipped out a heart flag in support of those in Ukraine who are living in the most horrible of situations - my heart goes out to them. It's not even quilted - just a single layer of piecing.
I've been MIA once again. Since my last post we practically packed up the entire house and stored it in the garage so the majority could be painted and then get new flooring. At the same time we updated the guest bath which we luckily got finished up before family visits the beginning of April. All we have left in the house to do is painting and new flooring in the master bedroom and bathroom - that will wait until we're up for another mess.......and we're not just updating our bathroom we're gutting it.
I'm hoping now that we've finished working on my cousin's house, which sold a few weeks ago after spending the better part of last year working on it........and now that we've gotten part of the work done here at our house that had been put on hold 2 years ago.........and are working on getting the garden beds ready, that there will be more time to be creative. I've been wondering how I ever wove, sewed, spun, dyed, or knitted all day because the past couple of years I was lucky to do anything creative and fun. I think that light I'm starting to see at the end of the tunnel is no longer the train rushing toward me!
Hopefully I'll be posting more in the future as I get more time to be creative. In the mean time I wish you all peace and send big hugs to those in Ukraine or who have already fled the country.
Sunday, February 13, 2022
All in an afternoon............
Last month in my zoom (ASG) sewing guild meeting one of my fellow members showed a number of mini-quilt wall hangings she had made over the years. Most involved objects attached to the mini-quilt. Immediately the wheels started turning and I thought of this cute knitting 'goddess' that had been hanging in my studio for several years. I went through my fabric stash and found 4 different satins and a silk, just small bits of each. It's hard to see the woven patterns on the border and binding but they are satin and are different. I learned to have patience sewing with slippery, fraying fabrics but all turned out well in the end. I'm hoping the ribbon the 'goddess' is hanging from holds up over time......I did put some dots of glue on the knot to keep it from coming undone. Did you notice I'm using an old metal knitting needle for a hanger? This was a very fun project. I'll be looking at little 'things' differently now wondering if they could be made into a small quilted wall hanging.
I'd be remiss if I didn't mention the Olympics, I've been dvr'ing all the curling and watching it here and there speeding through the commercials. I am not a sports person but I got hooked on curling several years ago and it hasn't let up. It's a little bit of an overload right now but I need to get my fill as there's very little curling to be found on tv the rest of the time. While some will be watching the Super Bowl I'll be watching curling, doesn't matter to me which country is playing............my favorites so far were the Italian doubles team who won gold in doubles, she especially was incredible.
Saturday, January 22, 2022
In progress.......
Why in the world do some photos taken with my phone turn out sideways when uploaded to the blog??? It looked fine on my computer so I was sure it would be fine here. Anyhow, just turn your head to the right to see it the correct way.
Anyhow, this is what I've been working on the past couple of days - a small wallhanging. I bought this pattern and the fabric for it probably around 10 years ago. After making the sheep wallhanging kit that had been hanging around for years I decided to do another project that's been taking up shelf space. This was really fun. All the fabrics were fused to the white background using fusible web. The black lines are fusible bias binding that comes on a roll, I had 2 sizes - 1/8" and 1/4". Next up is machine quilting but it will have to wait until I buy some spray quilt adhesive, so I don't have to put pins in it...........and I need to start packing up much of the house in preparation for new floors and painting. Not looking forward to packing up stuff and emptying closets but it will look so nice once it's all done. We're doing everything except the master bedroom and bathroom at this time......holding off on those as we're going to gut that bathroom and totally redo it.
Sunday, January 16, 2022
This and that..........
.........one fat quarter for the back and then 2 fat quarters for the lining. I just happened to have some brown webbing for the straps in my stash.
So on to fabric shopping - in my local fabric store all the ladies I've encountered that work there wear those little clear masks that sit out in front of the chin & mouth. I mean, what's with that??? What good do they do??? And they cut fabric so slow when all I want to do is get out of there. Good thing I rarely go in that store.....I wonder how many others rarely shop there these days because of this. I want to support local businesses but not compromise my health doing so. And it's not just that local store - we found the flooring store staff and customers weren't wearing masks, same at the door store and many other stores in town. We rarely go in stores but the past few weeks we've needed to and are shocked. We do have an indoor mask mandate. Our region has low vaccination rates because people refuse to get vaccinated, they also don't want to wear masks.........so the rest of us pay. I'm growing very weary and very irritated at how inconsiderate others are. And I'll stop at that because I could go on.......and on...........
Thursday, January 6, 2022
ASG Challenge
Just an hour ago I finished my project, a tote bag. The only thing added from my own stash was the fabric pieces made to go through the printer for my photos and peltex to stiffen the bottom of the bag. I used up over 75% of the fabric I was given - the bubble fabric is the inside lining. I used both lace trims. I used the burlap. I added a little tab of the ribbon that said 'handmade with love'. The only thing I didn't use were the 4 white buttons. I hand embroidered 'Bandon' 'By the Sea' on the burlap, not the easiest thing to do. This will be a great tote bag to use while on the coast, especially since here in Oregon we have to bring our own bag or pay for a bag. It will be perfect for shopping trips to the quilt shops!!!
Wednesday, January 5, 2022
Socks finally ready for feet.........
These socks are finally ready to be worn. I started these sometime last winter from a skein of sock yarn gifted to me by a friend..........then they got set aside as with many things this past year. I pulled them out recently and finished them up. Now I've got a pair of brown socks, which I needed. On to the next pair to go on the needles - bright cheery colors.
Sunday, December 19, 2021
3 posts in 6 days
Oh my gosh - 3 posts in 6 days. This is unheard of in my life this past year. I'm trying very hard to get my life as close to normal as it can possibly be.
Here is the quilt I started working on the other day. The center square is a printed panel, the rest is pieced. It's 30" x 40". It's really not wonky shaped, that was the way I hung it on the pretend design board and the angle I was at taking the photo. I've found some fun sheep fabric in my stash to use for the backing, it's all ready to go as is the batting. I don't like doing the actual quilting but for something this size that may hang on my studio wall or be gifted as a baby quilt (if I ever know anyone having a baby) I can manage to do simple quilting on my machine.I've now pulled out another wallhanging quilt with seashells that I think I bought 9 or 10 years ago. I may start that after I get this one quilted..........or who knows, maybe I'll get inspired to weave first.
I hope everyone is having a wonderful holiday season. I finished up gifts a bit ago but now I need to go deliver them all. It was so much easier when I was seeing friends at guild meetings and my spinning group but I'm still not attending either in my effort to stay safe.
Saturday, December 18, 2021
Piecing the bits & bobs......
I'm having trouble getting motivated to start on a new project in spite of the very long list of projects I have to choose from. A couple weeks ago I saw this quilt kit on the shelf, it was bought a number of years ago as a pure impulse buy because the sheep and fabrics were just so danged cute. It's a wallhanging or baby blanket size. I don't know yet if I'll have enough wall space in the loom room or sewing room and I don't know of anyone having a baby so it may be put aside for a future gift or it may be donated. In the meantime it's the perfect project for me, no designing or thinking required just cut the fabric and sew according to the directions.
Tuesday, December 14, 2021
This and that......
Since I'll be having a bit more free time (at least assuming so) I pulled out what I got in the ASG (American Sewing Guild) neighborhood group's brown bag challenge. This is what I got in my bag. I'm starting to brainstorm on what I can create. Looks kind of beachy, doesn't it? Brainstorming seems hard these days, anyone else experiencing that? I've been having such problems all year focusing on being creative......or maybe it's just focusing in general.....yep, that's it.
Wednesday, October 27, 2021
Finally finished..........
Here's a close up of the quilting. I had it quilted by local long arm quilter who did an incredible job. It's not an all over design that was computer driven, it was human driven, flowers in the hexxies, feathers and such in the background. I was blown away by the quilting job. I would love to give the quilter's name out to give credit where it's due but I'm not sure if it's ok to put that on my blog so I won't. I'm very conscious of other's privacy and anyone who has read my blog for a while knows I never put photos of others, mention names unless linking to a website, or even put photos of myself up here.
Tuesday, October 5, 2021
Spinning
Wednesday, September 22, 2021
It's pumpkin time......
And here's my pumpkin table runner finished. This was a manageable size for me to quilt on my sewing machine. The pumpkin wallhanging is on the wall at the end of where this table is. (This pattern is Punkin' Patch Runner by Bonnie K Hunter of Quiltville)
I have gotten a little more time at the sewing machine to work on some small holiday gifts for family and friends but I can't show those yet. I'm almost finished with our holiday cards too.
Wednesday, September 1, 2021
Pumpkin season
I am trying to make a little time each day for myself rather than be consumed by all that is happening in my life. My mental health is at stake.
Remember the pumpkin quilt wallhanging top I pieced? Well, it's still at the long arm quilter who is swamped but she contacted me earlier this week to get my decision on a stitching design for the quilting so I think it will be ready in the near future. I decided I need to work on making a quilted pumpkin table runner. I still have the borders to add to this and then the quilting. I'll be doing the machine quilting myself since it's a small project - either stitch in the ditch or freeform, undecided at this point. This pattern is by Bonnie Hunter of Quiltville. I love her scrappy patterns and so enjoy reading her blog every day.
I am more than ready for pumpkin season, hoping for an earlier than normal end to fire season this year. Sure wish the east coast could send those flooding rains out west.
Sunday, August 29, 2021
MIA no longer???
I have actually gotten some towels on the loom, off the loom, then washed and hemmed yesterday. It's a set of 8 for a September wedding back east. I was inspired by their save the date card which was all in camo outfits/colors. Above I've used brown weft...........
I also wove this yardage in 10/2 perle cotton for our holiday cards. What looked like white poinsettias on the loom no longer look like them after washing. Oh well.........
Monday, May 24, 2021
Pumpkins.......
The pumpkin piecing is done. It turned out to be around 48" x 66". Next up is to call the long arm quilter to get it to her for quilting. I'm happy to say it should be hanging on the 'quilt wall' this autumn. Before I start on any other projects at the sewing machine I really need to get my machine in to my Bernina shop for maintenance, it's way overdue because of covid restrictions........guess they apply to sewing machines too.
Monday, May 17, 2021
Sideways pumpkins
Here's my new quilting project although one has to turn their head to see it correctly. I have this problem when I upload pictures to blogger from my phone but never from my camera so this is a first........and it's irritating. Anyhow, these are pieced white/gray pumpkins and orange pumpkins on a dark gray print background. I learned something new with this project, how to sew concave and convex shapes to get curves. I'm coming down the homestretch on making the blocks, then it will be time to sew them all together. My goal is to get it to a long arm quilter quickly as she has a 8 week backlog. My other goal is to hang this on the big wall opposite the dining room table this fall. Right now the barn quilt is hanging there. Another goal is to eventually have 4-5 quilts to exchange out in that spot during the year......that will take a while and I'll be working on other projects before that happens.
Tuesday, May 11, 2021
This and that..........
And here are some funny otters for my otter wall in the hallway over there. I didn't take a picture of the backside but for hanging I did the corner triangles and cut a dowel to fit across the top back.
And a few roses in my yard - they have gone crazy, there are hundreds blooming with hundreds more buds on my 16 rose bushes. The breeze kept coming up so most of my pix didn't turn out but here are a few.
I can't remember the name of this one, isn't it interesting how the petals are so close together? If I weren't so lazy at the moment I'd go outside and check my tag on it. Many of the bushes were here when we bought this house three years ago so I don't know what they are but this is one I bought to fill in an empty spot.
I cut my rose bushes back quite a bit in February but they're already way taller than me and huge. They obviously love that side of the yard.