My first attempt at a quilt

I spent a good deal of today working on a lap quilt made from Fat Quarters that I picked up last July when my friend and i went on a Quilt Run in So. California. I bought a fat quarter at each of the ten quilt shops we visited over a two weekend period - I wanted to have something to remind me of the wonderful time we had.

I'm not certain, but it could possibly be that if you walk in a Quilt shop - you are hooked for life. They don't have material - they have 'fabric' - glorious colors, out of this world designs - what a playground for grown ups.

I cut my quilt blocks in 7" squares. I used a 1/4" seam allowance (well, I tried to - my seams are not the greatest). Did it turn out great? Heck, no! Did I have a wonderful time - you bet!

I still have to insert the batting and the reverse fabric - it will be the same fabric as the border print - We the People....

Cup Cakes - the non-edible sort

The aroma you smell is corned beef - I am cooking one for the St. Patrick's Day dinner we are having at the club house this evening. Ms. Tara is in love with the crock pot.

These are the infamous cup cake pin cushions - the smaller was the absolute dickens to make - my fingers just can't handle such small pieces of fabric - therefore, I decided to enlarge the pattern and it was a lot easier to handle

rag bag

I finished my 'rag bag' this morning and was eager to get it into the wash and the dryer. I was so excited to see how it looked when it got all fuzzy - what fun! It is quite large - you wouldn't use it as a purse, but will be great taking magazines and patterns to Craft Club or where ever..

The pillow case set is one that I used a decorative stitch on my new machine - I am sure having fun....

Swedish Embroidery

I took a class in Swedish Embroidery last night. It was a lot of fun, if you ever have the opportunity, go for it. There were five of us and we were a little overwhelmed in the beginning, but after we got started - we all took off like Gang Busters....

The Embroidery is done on Huck toweling, with Pearl #5 thread (floss). Very easy to work with. You use a #20 tapestry needle. I added some ecru cotton lace that I picked up at the thrift store (4 1/2 yards for $.99).

All Debbie Mumm

Fun, Fun, Fun

As usual, I am having a ball with the sewing. My little machine is being pushed to the limit - and sometimes, I must admit, it balks...

I have been using a lot of Debbie Mumm fabrics, which have been reasonable lately - I love her stuff - the big, gathered bags are with her fabric on the outside and a solid contrasting color as a lining. They are made from square pieces with casing all around - two opposing side have thick elastic and the other two opposing sides have heavy ribbon or leather thongs.

The fleece throw is also a Debbie Mumm which I found in the remnant shelf. The purse and matching hat are an experiment - I have no idea what I will be doing with them.

Oh dear, I guess you will have to tilt your head - I forgot to flip the pictures --- blogspot won't let me put the third picture on this post, so I will do another.

hobo bags & stuff

It's been a while since I have posted here - usually that means I am having trouble getting my pictures uploaded to where I want them - My Pictures - Adobe Pictures is very forceful and keeps taking over -

Spent three hours at my favorite thrift store today - I could walk up and down those aisle forever - I'm a big 'touchy feely' person, and a thrift store is right up my alley. I was looking for wool sweaters - a side project and friend and I are hoping to do entails boiling a 100% wool sweater with detergent and then patting and patting until it 'felts'. When it is dry, we will cut a round opening on top, cut out the sleeves and we should have a 'bag'. I'll let you know how we do - I found a wool sweater that already is on its way to felt (someone washed it in hot water).

This hobo bag has a contrasting fabric as a lining and I made a matching hat - my twin came by yesterday and insisted on taking the whole set with her for a silent auction in Lake Havasu - so I never had time to take a picture of the hat - it came out pretty well. When I finish the hat for the other hobo bag, I will take a picture of them together.