Free time!!!

Rusty took the girls for a few nights to the cabin, so I could get some things done, not to mention, so much needed alone time. So, I fit so much into my couple of days that I am just giddy with excitement. Along with a much overdue haircut, I am getting my craft world organized! Had a craft night with the girls from church, and worked two nights. I was also able to watch "Project Runway" last night. 3 very good designers, with VERY different ideas. I am very inspired by this show. Anyone want to give me a dress form for Christmas?...lol

Found a couple of gret sites for you to visit-On Awesome Avenue and Joy the Baker. Check these out if you can!

This is a pillow that I have finally completed. I began it in China in 2006:( At least it is finished!
Finished up two gifts, working on another one (the afghan above.) Also, I put up a shelf in Sophia's room, did a little Christmas shopping...not going to race around for the Hamster toy everyone is looking for...what a crock that is--

Working on the birds again, and boy have I got plans!!! I should be able to update the finished project really soon! Taa taa!

Rusty and his girls-

First a little of my finished work-

These and much more can be found at the Tomorrow River Gallery and Gifts in Amherst Wisconsin. If you are local and able, this is great place full of local treasures! Great place to do some Christmas shopping!

Rusty came home today with his Bow-hunting buck, a nice sized 8-pointer, the girls are so proud of him! I am too, he LOVES this time of the year, and he has had a few unsuccessful bow hunting years of late! Besides the dead animal, I actually think this is my new favorite photo!

Stitching like crazy around here!

Busy I am telling you! The ONLY good thing about the flu! I just sat with Sophia and stitched for days!

The snowman is part of a crazy quilt pillow I started and I love!

Easy crocheted flowers for this pillow! Hope you like what I am doing-I did manage to get some things on Etsy this morning, but now I have to get re-focused on my bracelets and photos of them, as I lost many of the photos of the new ones in the computer overhaul.

Still at it...

This is a pillow I finished autumn of last year. I particularly like this one a bunch! Have you ever seen Sandi Henderson's blog? Portabellopixie is one of my favorites and she has a WONDERFUL new fabric line out, Meadowsweet, you have got to see this!

I hope to purchase some soon! You know my birthday is coming:)

While the big cat's away...

While Big Cat Daddy is gone, I have been VERY busy with my WIPS and some new things. I am hoping for a totally Handmade Christmas this year! The pumpkin pillow above is finally finished!

I am thinking I should have photographed more detail of the pillow above, I love to mess with "unconventional" ways. Like Vintage and new fabrics randomly quilted together, and then randomly embellished with my creations ( crocheted motifs) or Vintage buttons, or fun trims and embroidery. Keep checking back as I plan to update the blog all week with the fun I have been having! Oh 41 is going to be great!

Pillow finished!

I have several projects I have finished and am trying to get on Etsy, and you know I cannot get the photo file small enough to upload. What in the world? Does anyone have any tips here? I am hoping my friend Becky can help. She is a computer genius! Btw she has made some great bags this week, go check her blog out!

School & Crafting

Being the ditz I am, I lost all of the first school morning photos on my camera. I did however keep this photo of Jurnee the night she brought her school supplies and met her teacher. She was so ready! Rusty and I are so excited for her, we can hardly stand it! She sits at a table with all boys, and loves lunch. What else can we ask of our kindergartener?

My cupcake swap package before I sent it, actually, I guess it is even before I finished the towel with rick-rack! A Potholder, a pincushion ( before I finished it) a homemade cupcake ( I used plaster...best not to eat it!) and a cute little key cover I found here.

I have quite a bit of progress on the crazy quilt project, but man, does my photography need help! In other words, much better in person!

Embroidery love

So today I had some time on my hands (sort of) and I worked on this pumpkin embroidery. This is the first of a few fall/winter Crazy quilts blocks I am working on. I really do love embroidery, and I really do love quilting, so this is how I am trying to put it together.
I am still working on my craft room, but so many exciting projects waiting for me. I am tired of Sophia's quilt-
staring me in the face, so I just started on it again. I sewed the borders on wrong one too many times and just got frustrated. But it is such a cute quilt. I really hope to get the thing finished one of these days.

Wish me luck.

Oh yeah...Have you been told that THE INSPIRED ROOM has moved? She is having a week of celebration! Go re-check her out! This is probably one of my fav blogs. Everything is always done just right there! Plus she has REALLY good taste!

Summer fun

Baby quilt, my first finished quilt design design scale of 1-10...2ish...quality of sewing scale7ish...(better than usual.) Color choices 7ish. So there you have it...my hubby is on the phone with the proud father to be at this moment, and I could swear he is talking about a baby boy...(Crush) Second try on baby quilt coming soon! Tune in later.

Sophia on her first ride in Daddy's boat! She loves it, even going really fast!

When the boredom sets in, start messing in the tackle box. Go for pink and shiny silver!
We had a great day! Too bad summer is coming to a close here. Bay Beach tomorrow!
I loved Bay Beach as a kid and we never missed a summer. It is a young child friendly amusement park, and there is a pretty nice wildlife sanctuary across the street. So the day will be memorable I am sure!
Also, I planned a card party at Grandma's tomorrow night. When I was little, Michigan Rummy was the game and we are going to revisit that! Sounds like fun--Get out the pennies!

Craft room clean up

I decided this is the week to clean out the craft room, so I can actually accomplish something again. Then I stumbled upon this craft room clean-up.

I was totally inspired to get my butt moving. (And did you see that beautiful fabric stash?) Anyway, I think my project may be a little more challenging, and not so pretty. But needs to get done nonetheless. I have posted it here so someone will hold me accountable for getting it done!
This cool vintage thread spool holder is just one of the things I put on Ebay last night, I need to declutter. I think the vintage patterns are going to go next, but man does it ever take a long time to list stuff. So I will work at that again tonight.
But of course I did get my latest quilt on the idea wall, just the beginning stages, but I am excited that it is coming together pretty decent.
This is called a string quilt and I had meant to put a border around each of the "4 squares", but after putting it on the wall, I think not. I plan to send this to Rusty's hunting cabin.

WIP

So, please keep in mind that these photos are yes, with Jurnee's camera and fluorescent lighting!
Doe was asking if I will actually get the quilt top finished by the date planned, TODAY. Well, no, I guess not. I am caught up with cutting, and sewing, but the embroidery is holding me up at the moment. I love the Pattern Bee Apple Tree design from the freebee transfer 2007 collection. Since I have the flall, winter and spring stitchettes embroidered for the quilt I decided to embroider the Wee Wonderfuls Summer Stitchettes after all...So I am patiently waiting for them.
I really like how it is turning out, I have the quilt pinned up to my "project wall" and I am pleased with the embroideries especially. And the color selections. I pained over the pink floral and am overall pleased at how it works! So Doe, here is my progress.

Also, I have my kitchen painting done and am thinking of what to do with the window treatments. I have realized that what I have has been up 5.5 years, and 5 years too long for this previous designer. I took a photo, but I cannot even post that one.

I have the first coat of the hall paint on, now I will wait a few days and paint the stripes! I will photo that as soon as I can. ( Might have to get a camera.)

New Bag for myself!

This bag is for me! I like it pretty well, and it goes with my spring coat. I had some trouble with one of the seems and that prompted me to keep it for myself (a perk of messing up!) I used just fabric scraps and part of one of my neckties and a button to dress up the side of the bag.

So anyway, I painted my kitchen & ceiling, and now on to the hall. I plan to stripe the hall like this.

So my week is filled and Sophia's quilt is coming along nicely. I will not post photos of it until the top is done. I think I have something like 6 squares to embroider yet, and a few to piece. The goal was to have the top finished by the end of March, so I will get a move on, only 7 days to go. Still so much stinkin' snow here, that I have no problem staying indoors!

Revisiting an old project

So these photos are about 1+ year old and this project has been rolled up that long too. I had finished embellishing it...so I thought, and was told by some Crazy Quilt friends to bead it more before I finish it. Well, I have unrolled it (waiting for the embroidery patterns I ordered from Pattern Bee and Wee Wonderfuls to finish Sophia's quilt) and have decided to put the back on it and hand quilt it and be done with it. So off to the basement I go to do just that.

I also have 2 bindings to put on to other quilt projects while I wait. So I better get at it.

And I have 9 costumes to dream up for the spring musical at church. (Mostly vegetable costumes...so I am not to worked up about it yet.) Did I say the musical is the 8th of March? and I will be gone this weekend, so plenty of time!

I do my best work under pressure! Don't you?

AUTUMN

This one of my latest creations. Autumn pillow. I crocheted a motif and sewed it on, to be a flower. I was pleased over-all. I have a few more in progress and hope to get them on Etsy. This one is sold though.

So many things going on here, Rusty's dad has his cancer surgery on Thursday and it went well. So, hopefully he might be coming home sometime this month. He has bee at UW hospital since the middle of July. We are all ready for him to get home.

Jurnee got 5" of her hair cut, hopefully I will be able to post pics soon! I also, reinstalled Windows on my computer on Saturday night, so I needed to reinstall the photo program I used, but I couldn't, and whatever my computer used for the photo above, it worked slicker than I could believe. So now I can get back to posting photos.

"C" is for CRAZY quilting again

Well, the photo says it all, I am doing a few crazy quilt pillows again. It is very relaxing to me, but I had a tough time threading the wool thread into the needle today. But otherwise I am enjoying this project. I did decide to put my sewing patterns on Etsy check them out here. I have many more to come so keep looking, also some more of my quilt and pillow projects too!

Sunday morning...Ahh

Crazy Quilt diamond-------

Crazy Quilt diamond detail...

Today is going far better than the last two days. I checked with our local quilt store, Karen's Quilt Corner, and yes, I can lay out my quilt on the felt wall!!!!! I feel so relieved. Once I get my fabric swap squares, I will be compelled to get started right away, so I am finishing up on the many other summer projects I have going on.

This is a sample of the "Patriotic" projects I have been working on. They are almost all three completed, I have to stuff one more.

Quilt for Cooper!!

I finished the quilt for baby Cooper and just in time...he was born on Monday! I designed this whole quilt by myself, and all was hand-stitched, except for the initial binding strip to the front side of the quilt. I sure hope he likes it! If I had known his name was going to be "Cooper" I may have made the car a different shape..hee hee.
Tomorrow I will post the patriotic projects I have been working on. I am still cutting squares for the swap. And will be tomorrow also, but boy what a way to get motivated to sew.

Projects

I am home alone today, well with Sophia, she is napping, so I was going to work on my blog, and well, I have no patience today. So how about I post what's going on. I have posted my latest creation, you may have remembered this CQ square from a month or so ago, well, it is a bag now. Notice Rusty's recycled jeans? To be on Etsy later today. I really enjoy stitching, and seeing a final project. I am getting a little behind on my sewing though, so I better go work on that now.

CQ wallhanging

Well, I got my computer/camera issue figured out. So here is a photo of a project I have been working on for Jurnee's room! Actually, I am quite a bit further on it now, but here it is! WIP!!!

I did get my 3x3 squares out today finally. I don't know. I think my head works better on a larger scale. I did enjoy the swap, but I hope I did not do a bad job compared to my counterparts! I hope to get feedback from someone on my work...part of the reason I did the swap.

Anyway, we had bible study tonight and it went pretty well, new group so we will see. NO crafters amongst them at all!

This block is about finished, 2 more embellishments (Sharon Randle's suggestion lol) to go! I tried the chain-stitch heart and I think it turned out well. Wall hanging or pillow? Hmmmmmmmm... My first hand applique project is coming along nicely too.