Saturday, February 27, 2010

Good Day of Work

While I finished the drywall Kim washed my car. Don't get too excited it wasn't out of the kindness of her heart she owed me some money and was working it off.
The binding is on the days of the week quilt.
The Tweety design I found is 5x7 inches. I tried resizing it smaller. That didn't work too well. It is a pretty cute design, just big.

I also finished the second pair of lounge pants today. And finished the names on the photo bags last night.

The only thing that is really on my list for sewing on Sunday is the fur cover for Mason's body pillow.

Friday, February 26, 2010

Where Did This Week Go?

Where did this week go? Unfortunately I think there are going to be several more hectic weeks in the near future.
A friend of a friend is a cheerleading coach. She has 6 cheerleaders graduating high school this year. So the friend found her these photo tote bags at Bed Bath and Beyond for $5.
And wanted names embroidered on them. Kind of a pain getting the hoop in the bag. I have two more to finish tonight.

I have been putting off a couple dry wall repairs (from the leaky pipes) that need to get done this weekend. Once that is done I won't feel guilty about sewing. I have another pair of lounge pants to make for me. A furry cover for Mason's body pillow. Binding to put on the days of the week kids quilt.

My co-worker has been diagnosed with testicular cancer. I had to joke around with him about getting the most unglamorous type of cancer. Odd how this all started with a swollen ankle on New Years day. His family doctor told him the swollen ankle probably saved his life.

Note on Mason, we are waiting for surgeon's nurse to call us back with date for surgery (#2 for Mason). Kind of like testicular cancer, pilonidal cysts are not glamorous. Trust me don't look up pilonidal cysts on the internet unless you have a strong stomach. Open wound healing is not for the weak.

Tuesday, February 23, 2010

Best Press

I have seen rave reviews about the Best Press spray starch. I finally picked up a bottle last week at Hancock Fabrics. (It was on sale and in a pretty display basket, how could I resist). Wow that stuff is really awesome. No flaky white reside when ironing. And like everyone else has commented it smells wonderful. I had a hand embroidered piece that I couldn't get a wrinkle out of, this stuff got the wrinkle out in one shot. I would highly recommend picking up a bottle. And I didn't know this until I did a little research but it works as a stain resistant also.

Finished the lady bug lounge pants last night. Sorry no photo of me modeling. However they were quite comfy.

Monday, February 22, 2010

Weekend Work

The frog mini quilt is done. This is a great little wall hanging size. Even quilted and has binding. I really like little quilts I can finish in a week.
One of the guys that works for me has been very ill since the first of the year. Biopsy today, doctors are thinking liver cancer. It has really taken a toll on JB. He sleeps during his lunch in his car. The ladies that work for me bought him a pillow form and I covered it with left over fabric from David's messenger bag.
I even got motivated enough to work on my days of the week baby quilt. And a pair of lounge pants for me.

Friday, February 19, 2010

Prom Dress

David and Kim wanted to show me a dress Kim picked out for prom. A black floor lenght dress. It was a very pretty dress, but it wasn't Kim. So I spent last night shopping with Kim. A rare weekday event for me. Although shopping during the week was great. At most stores we were the only customer.
We ended up getting this dress from Dillards (not Kim in the photo). A far cry from what they originally picked out. She loves it. And found some green shoes to match. She is thrilled. And was half the price of the black dress. The question is will she still be dating the same boy by prom, two months away.

Wednesday, February 17, 2010

Frog Three

If I had to do it all over again I would have made the fly and fly trail grey so they showed up better on the dark blue fabric. But I am still loving this frog. I am thinking a smaller, maybe baby size quilt/wall hanging out of them. Way too many projects in my head and not enough time in the day.

Tuesday, February 16, 2010

And the Winner Is

The winner of the tote bag is NanaOfNC. You should check out her blog. She has dusted off her embroidery machine to come up with some great projects. And her grand kids are adorable.

Frog Two is done. Three of them completed. I did something to my automatic needle threader last night. Need to get a magnifying glass to see what the heck is wrong. Think the little hook that pulls the thread through is bent.

Monday, February 15, 2010

Frog One

I have moved on to a new project with the frog appliques. I am thinking a mini quilt similar to the cupcake mini I made over the weekend. Frog number one is done. Well actually 3 of frog number one are done.

More snow again last night. And we have had flurries most of the afternoon. We might see snow once a winter, this is our fourth accumulation of snow this year. Luckily the kids were already out of school for Presidents Day.

Sunday, February 14, 2010

Sweetness

This is my kind of project. I joined a mini quilt swap on Swapbot.
Four appliqued cupcakes. A nice project to use up some scraps of fabric. The finished size is about 10 inches square. For some reason this was much more satisfying to finish than David's messenger bag. I think I need to work on a few more small projects.

Nice quiet Valentine's Day at our house. I got just what I wanted... 104 spools of embroidery thread. It won't be here for a few more days but I am fine with that. I should never have to complain about not having the right shade of green.

Saturday, February 13, 2010

Finished Messenger Bag

David's messenger bag is done. I only went through 5 needles sewing it. I am very glad this one is off the sewing table.

Don't forget you have three more days to enter the tote bag give away. Just leave a comment on any post from now until Monday night for a chance to win.

Friday, February 12, 2010

The Magic Number

The magic number today is 4. Four is how many months late I am mailing my sister's birthday present and 400 is the number on this blog post. I can't let those two milestones pass without recognition.
So I went through my stash of tote bags I made last fall and found one of my favorites to give away. Leave a comment on any of the posts over the next four days. One comment per person per post. On Tuesday I will randomly draw a name to win this tote. And I will even embroider any name you want on it.

The messenger bag got a little work done on it last night. David likes the size of these pockets. Now just to figure out how many more, what size and where the rest go. If I finish this by Sunday I don't have to get him anything for Valentine's Day.
Megans blanket is finished. Mason is hiding it in his room.
When I took the photo of Megan's blanket I felt compelled to get a photo of the crab tank. The crabs must be doing well. The little one that hides in a cave under a water dish molted over the weekend. Kinda creepy picking up crab parts.

Thursday, February 11, 2010

Detour

Had a minor detour from the messenger bag last night. Mason's friend "I don't like her that way" Megan turns 18 on Monday. In Mason's words she is a redneck. I found some pink camo fleece on clearance yesterday. I should be able to finish the blanket stitching on it tonight in under an hour. Then to figure out if he will let me embroider anything on it. Doubtful Mason will even touch anything pink. I might have to encase it in a lead gift bag.

Teenagers are driving me nuts this week. Mason went to pick Kim up from a friends house 5 minutes away. 30 minutes later Kim calls the house looking for Mason. His cell phone is at home, we can't find him. Next thing I know he is pulling back into the drive way. He got to Kim's friends house. He waited outside and Kim never came out. Not sure which kid I am more annoyed with... the one who wouldn't look out the window to see if her ride was there or the one who wouldn't get out of the car to knock on the door.

Wednesday, February 10, 2010

It Doesn't Look Like Much

It doesn't look like much but there has been progress on David's messenger bag. The outside of the bag is pieced together and even topstitched. The strap is completely done. I am quite proud of the handle on the top. I asked David if he wanted a handle on version 1, he told me no, and then specifically requested it on version 2. Go figure. Working on pockets, gotta make sure he has enough and the right size for two cell phones, iPod, eye glass case, power cable, keys and security tokens. Probably need to add a couple extra pockets while I am at it, I really don't want to make a version 3.
I picked up more velcro at lunchtime. I have the feeling I am going to need it.

Tuesday, February 09, 2010

Only on a Monday

The start of David's messenger bag version #2. I have all the pieces except for the pockets he wants on it. The zipper(s) may or not be included. I am thinking about putting in a couple extra pockets with them. David is gone to a Grizzlies game tonight so I should have some time to work on it.

Saturday, February 06, 2010

Bug and Buttercup

VW But applique on a towel for David. I completely forgot in the package of stabilizer he bought me was some tear away top covering for terry cloth type material it worked quite well.
The October quilt is finished. Buttercup says it is toasty warm. As soon as I can pry it away from these little paws it will be on the way to my sister. Only 5 months after her birthday.

My Dog Walks All Over Me

David and Mason spent their morning and early afternoon at the car stereo shop. I am so glad I decided to stay home and do laundry. I made David a towel with the My dog walks all over me. I also embroidered 12 quilt squares with vintage floral designs. More on that as I start assembling the quilt.

We could hear Mason at the end of the street before the new stereo. Now we can hear him from downtown.

Friday, February 05, 2010

Next Phase

If you need a few more designs. I found another website, Smart Needle that will take your embroidery machine to the next phase of embroidery. They have some fabulous in the hoop projects. I see an order for in the hoop bibs coming soon. They have a free sample page, the cupid is one of their free designs.

Binding Ready

What is this? It is binding for the October quilt. I ripped out some stitching last night on it. The plan is to quilt and bind it this weekend.
More preloaded designs that came with my machine. Love the delicate flowers. Brother did a great job on their designs, the detail is great.
Love Letter free design I down loaded. I liked the fact that it wasn't a solid satin stitch that would make the fabric stiff. But the design just looks a little odd to me once stitched.

No more embroidery until the October quilt is done.... unless it is embroidery on the October quilt.

Thursday, February 04, 2010

Valentine's Day

With Valentine's Day on the horizon I thought I would try out another one of the Disney designs that came with my embroidery machine on an infant tshirt. I found a stash of clothing and fabric items that I had left over from my rubber stamping days. This gives me the chance to play around without worrying about mistakes. Although you can never go wrong with Mickey and Minnie.

Wednesday, February 03, 2010

Embroidery Library

I have to wipe the drool off my keyboard to write this post. I found a fantastic new site for embroidery designs and they reasonably price. They have many one dollar designs. The above Happy Birthday design is one of their free ones this month. Both kids have birthdays in March so this one will come in handy. Take a few moments and check out the Embroidery Library. I have several items on my wish list and cart. A purchase will be made before the end of the day.

Monday, February 01, 2010

Opinions

The last of my Dakota Collectibles design purchases. On another piece of waffle weave, it will make a nice bar towel for someone in Minnesota. Large 5x7 design. Took forever with 28 color changes.
Cat was a free design I found on the internet. Made for my mother in law. Not bad for the price.

Lesson learned embroidering this weekend... keep an eye on the bobbin thread. It can be changed out mid design but requires more effort.

David wants laptop bag version 2.0. Picked up some fabric yesterday for it. Need to draw it out and get all of the features he wants included in this one. Funny how he had no opinion on the first one when I asked him what he wanted. This time he has lots of opinions.