Weekend Project and Deck-Ade the Halls

My DD starts college tomorrow.  Seems just like yesterday she was starting Pre-K

My how time flies!

We gave her a laptop for part of her graduation gift.  She has been shopping for a sleeve to protect it while it is in her book bag.  The ones she really likes are super expensive so I offered to make her one.  She went into my stash and chose the fabric.  I went to Jennifer’s and found a wonderful tutorial here and here.

 

Photo used with permission from Jennifer @ Sewplicity

I turned this… 

Into this…

DD did not want handles since this will be carried inside a larger bag.  We can always add them later if she changes her mind.

 

 

It's hard to see but there is an outside pocket she can use to carry the charger or headphones...or both.

This project took me about 4 ½ hours…start to finish.  Jennifer’s tutorial is chock full of photos and is well written.  So easy to follow.

That left me enough time to catch up on the FQS’s Deck-Ade the Halls blocks.  Wreaths and trees…

 

I have difficulty getting good photos in the sewing cave :(

It’s really beginning to look a lot like Christmas! (sorry, I couldn’t resist).

I'm linking up to Karen's Sew Darn Crafty Linky Party...Week 129

I hope you all had a wonderful weekend…did you get to stitch?

I Survived! and The Green Market Comes to Work

 Well, I survived the garage sale and would classify it as a success.  There were only a few items (relatively speaking) left for donating.  I intended to take pictures but honestly, I was BUSY!  The weather was beautiful and the shoppers were out in force.  There was a steady stream of cars all day.

The house is slowly returning to normal and I’m planning to spend a lot of time in my craft room this weekend.

Since I want to spend all my time sewing, I got a jump start on my food shopping today…at the office.  Yes, at the office.  Every other Friday we have a Green Market in our atrium.  Vendors come to sell their wares and it saves me a trip to the Farmer’s Market that I told you about here.

Here are a few pictures from today…

Artisan Cheeses

Lovely Orchids

A variety of other plants

Spices

 

Vegetables

Breads

Spreads and Dips

Greek and Italian Olive Oils

Teas

There weren’t very many vendors today but those that I use the most were there…except for the coffee lady.  My husband likes to try coffee beans from different countries around the world.  She’ll be back next time, I’m sure.

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I finally got around to purchasing this…

I bought the ebook version and it’s already on my computer…just waiting for me to grab a jelly roll and get busy.

I’ll have more to share later in the weekend but for now, I have some cutting to do...a special project for my college student!

Hope you all have a wonderful weekend J

P is for Pumpkin, Presents and Plymouth

Hard to believe that it is already August and we’ll be preparing for the holidays soon.

It is either raining or extremely hot here.  Today it was the heat so I stayed in and put together this little guy.

The pattern is October Scare by The Wooden Bear Quilt Designs.  This was my quilt shop purchase that I told you about last week.  I think the candy corn fabric is my favorite J

 All I have left to do is add the hanger sleeve and bind it.

 

I decided to hoop him to hand stitch his eyebrows and the spider's legs. I used two strands of black DMC embroidery floss and also stitched around the spiders and BOO.

 I used my Frixion pen to draw the details and then erased the markings after stitching by slightly ironing over the flimsy. I love these pens and haven't had any problems at all with the ink.

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Here is the latest Fat Quarter Shop Deck-Ade the Halls block…that is…until tomorrow.  Who doesn’t love presents???? (Even if one is a bit wonky)

 I know I mentioned this before but the patterns from the Fat Quarter Shop are so simple and this is a great project for beginners.  In addition to the easy to follow instructions, you can find video tutorials for each segment on the Jolly Jabber's blog.  This quilt will be an adorable addition to my holiday decorations.

 

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I also started Mom’s scarf that I told you about last week.  Take a look at this yarn. 

It’s EROS II from Plymouth Yarn Company.  I’ve never worked with anything like it before but I love it. 

It’s surprisingly easy to handle and I’m using a set of the Knitter’s Pride Dreamz needles that Mom gifted me.  The scarf will finish at 3” x 50” with a ‘flare’ at each end.

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This is going to be a busy week for me.  I’m covering for one of my co-workers while she is on vacation so this will make my days go fast.  In the evening’s I’ll be cleaning out closets, drawers, our shed, etc. to prepare for a garage sale next weekend.  Ugh!  Wish me luck L

Even though I won’t accomplish much in the way of stitchery this week, I hope you do!

Have a wonderful week friends J



Cancer Quilt, Stockings and Lunch with Mama

 Here are pictures of the cancer quilt my BFF and I made for my MIL.

The fabrics are from a breast cancer kit but we changed the color of the ribbon to represent lung cancer.

We found this fun heart swirly backing fabric at our local Joann’s store.

We machine embroidered the label.

I also finished the Fat Quarter Shop’s Deck-Ade the Halls stockings block.  This project is just a ton of fun.

Yesterday was the only real nice weather day we’ve had in months…at least it feels like months.  I had lunch with my Mom at this cute restaurant “Mrs. Mac’s Fillin’ Station.”

The servers have car related names.  Jaguar usually waits on Mom but that day we had Dipstick.  The flatware is wrapped in oil rags and when you squeeze a lemon and wipe your hands, the oil rag turns black… like oil.  Inside of the place is so adorable with license plates and vintage garage signs everywhere.  Of course, I didn’t have a camera (other than my phone).  I promise to go back and take lots of pictures…you are going to LOVE this place.

Oh and the food was good too! (BONUS)

We stopped at a quilt shop where I purchased a little something to make a Halloween quilt for my small hanger and a magnetic pin holder.

 

 Then, wouldn’t you know, there was a yarn store right next door!  My sweet Mama bought me a set of my favorite knitting needles.  For some reason, I absolutely canNOT knit with straight needles.  I do everything on circulars.  The Knitter’s Pride Dreamz needles are great.  You can attach them to different lengths of cable…whatever your project requires. 

 

 
She also purchased some yarn so that I can make her a scarf.

Today I worked on my next block pattern from the FQS, I’ll share those pictures next time.

Have a wonderful week my friends J

The Iron (Part 2) and Hitting the Curve Ball

Thank you for your feedback regarding your iron and steam preferences.  The best part about blogging is LEARNING J

The Iron

After my research, I decided to purchase this…

The Oliso quilter’s iron sounded impressive but my very dear blogging friend Candace has already owned TWO of them and prefers her Oliso household model much better.  So…. I compared her ‘blue’ version to a few Rowentas. 

Bottom line is that I love all the features of the Oliso blue iron but was able to find those in a less expensive and heavier Rowenta.  It’s just out of the box…haven’t even plugged it in yet.  Of course, I will follow up with feedback because I will either love it or not.

The Curve Ball

A very close and dear family member has been diagnosed with Stage 3 Lung Cancer. I’ll share more about her later.

So…what do we do? 

Well, I’ve been instructed to keep a stiff upper lip and my best friend showed up at my door with cancer fabric.  This is how I spent my weekend…
 

Pearl is the ribbon color for lung cancer.

 I have to finish the quilting, binding, add the label, launder and it will be shipped off on Thursday.

I’ll have pictures of the finish this weekend as well as the Fat Quarter Shop’s Deck-Ade the Halls block.

I hope You have a wonderful week J

Stitch Therapy and The Iron

Happy Sunday after the 4^th of July!

I hope you have had a wonderful weekend, including those celebrating the American 4^th of July.

When things do not always go as we plan or when life throws that nasty curve ball…it’s good to know that we have something to help us through those challenges…

Stitch Therapy!

 

I’m going to skip the boring details of my challenges and show you the results of my therapy…

 

I completed helmet liner #4 for the Operation: Warm & Fuzzy campaign at work.  (I told you I had gotten better J )
 

I caught up on the Fat Quarter Shop’s Deck-Ade the Halls quilt.

Stars…

 

Ornaments…

 

 

 

Can’t wait for tomorrow’s new pattern!

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I also finished my blocks for Aunt Reen’s June Sew-A-Long… still behind but making progress none-the-less.  There are some blocks that I really love and some that …well, not so much but they are still going into this quilt!

(These are lined up on my buffet which is against a mirrored wall)

All of this progress in spite of a big UH OH! 

The Iron…… 

This iron belonged to my grandmother and I have been using it for all of my quilting projects.  Why?  Because it is a REAL iron…a HEAVY iron.  For some odd reason, it started leaving rust marks on my fabric.  The sole plate looks fine, I haven’t put water in it at all and I’ve had it for many many years. So my friend let me borrow her extra iron until I can get a new one…

 Now that I am in the market for a new iron, I am looking for recommendations.  I don’t like a ‘wimpy’ iron, I need something that will do the job on quilting projects as well as household ironing.  I’ve owned a Rowenta (loved that iron) and I’ve heard a little bit about Oliso’s.  Do you have a suggestion or recommendation?

Also, do you use steam or a dry iron when pressing blocks for a quilt?

I look forward to learning from you!

Hope your screen door is slammin' this week my Friends!

 

Happy 4th of July

To everyone on my side of the pond…I wish you a very Happy and Safe 4^th!