Where does the time go?

I am a genuine blogging slacker!  I seem to be a picture-taking slacker, actually.  Not having photos means I have nothing to post.  Want to hear a sad admission?  I didn't even create a photo folder for Spring 2017 photos!  That means they are all on my phone and will have to be emailed to me.  OY. Maybe I can find a cord and connect my phone.  Being foiled by technology is a sad fact lately.

Mostly things are the same.  Kids are all doing the same things they were doing last time around and my daily life remains relatively unchanged but I do have finishes and quilts and fun projects under way.

It is very rainy in western NY so pictures are just not as nice as they could be.

First up.... The Trees and Me by X's and Oh's.

I used a lovely fabric called Summer Sky.  I saved the tag but it does not tell me who it is by but I'd guess Picture this Plus as that's one of my favorite fabrics.

 I wanted to test some 36 count linen for the newly popular Lila's Studio pattern...Let Freedom Ring.  So, I bought a number of cuts and here I am trying out Mello, also by PTP.

I also had a finish.  Boy, you'd think I could get a better picture!  Once it is framed it will photograph beautifully.  The Night Before Christmas by Kooler Designs.  This was my first PDF pattern.  Loved being able to highlight symbols once stitched.

I also worked up my first ever Prairie Schooler Santa.  1999's Gingerbread Santa.

On the quilting front I have finished a number of small projects but will just show you this one...Shuffle by Sew Many Creations.  The pattern uses a layer cake.  Mine was Noteworthy by Sweetwater.

 I also finished the 2016 Bonnie Hunter Mystery Quilt.  I changed one block giving my quilt a bit of a different look.  I will have to direct you to this site to see the original design.  Bonnie has it as her blog header.  I did not like how the yellow squares just jumped out at you so I removed them and replaced them with purple/neutral half square triangles giving the purple the look of a softly curing line.  It is on the back of the couch and I just love the look each time I walk by.

My husband and I are boarding a plane soon for a trip west.  Of all the planned events I am the most excited about our day trip to Las Vegas and the stop at Stitcher's Paradise.  I am going to focus on fabric since I most often order my fabric online.  I am going to bask in the feel and look of the fabrics and hope to purchase a nice variety.

So, until next time and let's hope it doesn't take me so long to bring you an update.

Happy Stitching.

Pam

Some finishes and a fun link

 I have had the chance to spend some good quality time in my sewing room lately.  Between a major dental catastrophe and rest and recovery time I am working my way through all sorts of projects while trying not to start anything new as I prepare for some time in Florida.

I finally quilted this scrappy baby quilt I have been messing around with for a year.  I cut all my scraps into 2 inch, 3.5 inch, and 5 inch squares.  For me, those are good sizes.  I also had some 2.5 inch scraps of the same fabric so I put together these stars along with some white background.

This is not a color I'd normally have in my stash so I thought I'd just use them up and made 6 stars with a scrappy edge and binding.

I used a matching Minky type fabric for the backing.  There is not a baby for this quilt...I will just put it away until I need one.

I also finished up this jelly roll quilt I made this past fall.  Heartstrings by Black Mountain Quilts.

I used a French General jelly roll but I did not save the tag.  I made it while away at a quilt get-a-way and was limited to the fabric in the jelly roll but I think, that if I made it again, I would make the hearts from the dark and medium shades but would leave the lights out.

As Christmas approached I pulled out a bunch of small Christmas patterns.

Merry Christmas by Little House Needleworks.

Hometown Holiday-Schoolhouse by Little House Needleworks.  Love this one.  I just love old school buildings.

I was stitching with some ladies this past fall and they were talking about how they turn a piece upside down when they need to stitch upwards...that way they're actually stitching down hill...which goes quicker.  Anyhow, I thought I'd do that on this piece because I started on a window.  Ha.  I forgot to turn it back around and ended up so off center!  There is less than 2 inches on the left but about 4 inches on the right.  Oops.  No framing for this one.

Another Little House piece....Bringing Home the Tree.  Cute, cute, cute.

Finally, I did just the tree from Homespun Elegance's Merry Noel Collection:  Avery's Little Red Truck. 

I stitched it 1 over 1 on ???  Hmm.  A little piece of 32 count something.

I made it into an ornament...which is pinned to a quilt hanging in my sewing room for photographic purposes.

So darn cute but 1 over 1 is just not my thing.  While I like how small it is it just takes me way too long for what I get.

Now I'm back to my bigger projects and planning for some serious Florida stitching.

The other cool thing that I've done is start a Floss tube channel.  It's a real learning experience but so fun.

I will make an effort to photograph my WIP's and what I'm taking to Florida.

Until then....

Pam

Catching up 2016 smalls and finishes.

I have let enough time pass that I've forgotten what I've shown!

Per my goal for 2016 I did manage to stitch something small each month and finish it and to finish something out of the pile that had accumulated...except for December.  I don't think I actually finished any of the small things I stitched.   Towards the end it got a bit confusing.  I have things finished...I have finishing ideas...but I haven't settled on any final plans.  I am also tired of all the Christmas themed projects.  I am ready to put them away and work on them when the mood is right.

I do need to recap November and December, though.

One of my two finishes out of my pile is actually something I just completed in October.

I made 'Cat Tricks' by With Thy Needle and Thread into the little pillow like the pattern shows.

A simple blanket stitch holds the semi circles in place for a fun edge.

My November small and finish was another pillow using the same trims as Joy (my small/finish from October).  This time it was Lizzie Kate's 'My Favorite Time of Year'.

One of the small pieces I stitched in December was Little House Needlework's Tree Lot.

My December finish from the unfinished pile was Christmas Magic by Heart in Hand. I couldn't find where I posted this one but it was either a finish at the very end of 2015 or early in 2016.

I need to take pictures of a couple other small finishes from December but I'm calling the year a success.  I have finished more than the 24 items I'd hoped when setting the 2016 goal of stitching a small each month, finishing it, and finishing something out of the unfinished pile.  I have also finished a huge long forgotten WIP...Murky Manor by Glendon Place (which you can see in various posts plus the link).  My stitching time took a serious hit with my summer costume project but I did finish a nice number of projects.  I have never made an effort to keep track but I have chronicled them in my various posts throughout the year.

As for 2017 I am not going to set a finishing goal.  I don't really like finishing but I will try.  I have a few projects I might send out because I want them to be something special.  I do not really want a giant pile of smalls so I'm not going to go looking for anymore of those either.  I do not have any more long forgotten WIP's...honestly, (cross stitch, anyway) so I don't have any one project to focus on while in Florida.  I will just pick a couple projects and maybe some Mill Hill ornaments to pack for my stay in Florida.  Space is limited so I will have to think about it.  I do think I'll make more of an effort to write down the details of what I'm working on for quick reference.

Hope everyone is enjoying the new year and that you are finding lots of stitching and sewing time.

Pam

Lost time.

Where does the time go?  Good thing I didn't think I was going to do a post a day during December!  I couldn't even get my November small and finish posted.

We remodeled an empty bedroom into a new office/den and I am SO DISORGANIZED!  It's hard to move your office space.  I had some built in storage and am now trying to figure out the right way to store stuff using an old farm house table as a desk.  It does not help that my cats LOVE this room and race in whenever they see me heading there.  As you can imagine, they are so very helpful, not.

I do have some finishes, though.

Making project bags is all the rage right now.  Since I've been kitting and starting all willy-nilly having some new project bags has served me well.

The pattern: Zippered Style File by The Quilt Company is a very easy and fun pattern that has taught me not to fear zippers. (It is just a project sheet so I can't show a picture and I also couldn't find a link aside from where a shop could buy a large quantity of these patterns...sorry.)  The instructions are clear and 'almost' fool proof.  Of course, if you zip the zipper shut then keep pulling the tab right off the end of the entire zipper before sewing the edges, you're going to have a problem. I only did that once (and then again while making the little Lazy Girl bags).

These bags use any combination of fabric you want between the front pocket,

the back pockets...there is one with a velcro flap

and one that you can just slip things into...

and the lining.

I kept looking at my fabric collection and seeing more and more options so I kept making them.

I pulled out my serger and gave it a nice work out.

I have gifted a few of these and filled the rest.

My next zipper adventure was using a Lazy Girl pattern called:  Sweetpea Pods.  This pattern uses a method where the zipper is taken apart and reassembled using only half of the zipper and the original pull.  These were also quite fun to make.

I gave some of these away, too.  They work well to hold little things in a project bag...like scissors.  I also filled them with pink Wonder Clips to give to some quilting friends.

Just in time for Bonnie Hunter's newest mystery I finished the one from last year.

I am not sure why it got neglected.  Probably between my Florida travel and costume making I just put it aside and never gave it a second thought.

I also remember not liking it all that much.  I'm not sure why.

On the cross stitch front I finished Tree Lot by Little House Needleworks.  I am a fool for any pattern with a tree in a truck or on the roof of a car.

I also finished Jeanette Douglas's Florida Sampler.

My HEAD got another page completed.  Because the background is just colors flowing left to right I sometimes go on over to the next page to end the color.  I learned from that tree that I better start practicing parking.  Even so, there were just so many random stitches that it took me forever to stitch that thing.

Did I mention how I decided to buy the down loadable pattern and the page breaks are different?  I completed page 1 from the paper pattern...which took up part of page 2 in the downloaded version.  Now that I'm following the downloaded pattern my pages are shorter.  I like using my ipad to follow a pattern, though.  I think the next page that falls all the way left is page 8.  I will be glad when I get there and find 25% of the picture already stitched!  

Believe it or not this post has taken me a week, or longer, to complete so I'm going to end it here and post my November and December finished items in another post.  

Happy Stitching.

Pam

A birthday.

Today is a birthday at my house.  Or, at the Boy Wonder's house!  

He is 24 today.  

Time sure flies.

Here he is taking a selfie...before the word 'selfie' even existed. I am going to guess he was 8.  

Happy Birthday! 

A picture...or 20... and everyone should have friends like this.

Where to begin.  It's only been a week or so since my last post but it's time to post about my October finishes and stuff like that.

But first...

I have to give a couple friends a high-five and a big thank you.

Yesterday I arrived at my Monday do-good community service locale close to 20 miles from home with a nearly flat tire.

The way things work in my house...in theory...is that I will iron the shirts and my husband will maintain the cars.  So, this city girl had little skills when it came to what to do aside from call AAA.  First I asked my friend Lisa to go get air with me.  Yeah Lisa!  She had the skills I lacked.  When it became obvious air wasn't going to solve my problem she hooked me up with a local tire repair shop and we took my car over.  Then, when the car wasn't finished after our day of good deeds...my two friends hung with me at the neighboring bar  coffee shop.  So sweet.  Everyone needs besties like this...can't thank you enough Lisa and Sally.

On to my October accomplishments.

My October small is Joy by Lizzie Kate from the 2007 JCS ornament issue.

Darn those dreaded corners.  If you don't put trim on the edge, no matter how accurate you are when sewing, the corners don't stuff or turn nicely.

My finish from my pile of unfinished pieces was this cute little Miss Crescent Colour's piece called Tick, Tack, Snow.  It finished up very nicely as an ornament.

I trimmed the edges with this bead-like trim.

I also stitched a Lizzie Kate that just called out to me from a basket of kits...Don't Get Your Tinsel in a Tangle.  This piece gave my tons of fits.  While gently tugging a knot I ripped 2 threads in the fabric!  Oh, man!  There are a variety of possible solutions but I decided to put a piece of fusible web on the back...which was strong enough to hold the stitches... then I put a second piece on just to secure the stitches.  The 'Stitch a Gift' frame came with a piece of fusible batting that is also applied to the back of the piece.  Those stitches are not coming out.  I just couldn't get a decent photo to dare you to find the repaired area.  Because it's under the white thread the picture was just too blurry.

This finish also had to go into a couple of ice baths because first the green then the red ran.  The piece got a drop of water on it from my ironing board cover.  I tried to just work on that spot but then the red had to get into the act.  It was so close to going into the garbage.

I also took a couple finishes to be framed.  Lady Bug, Lady Bug came out so sweet.  I can't wait until summer rolls around again to hang it on the wall.

I think this dark green frame is one of my favorites. 

Since Christmas is coming I also took Country Cottage Needlework's Christmas Carol in for framing.

Love that light green frame and the little white insert.

I almost forgot two other little pieces I recently completed...

Liberty by Midsummer Night Designs.

And, Cat Tricks by With Thy Needle and Thread.

Poor kitty dressed up like a pumpkin!

That has certainly turned out to be a lot of projects finished all of a sudden.  Now I will probably go back to feeling like everything is taking forever.  I have quite a few large pieces in the works but am trying to take time away to work on smaller pieces now and again.  I've pulled several Christmas patterns that I hope to stitch in the next couple of months.

Happy Stitching.

Pam