Quilt Shed in Progress

Coming soon to my backyard .... A shed built for me to enjoy quiet time, or maybe quiet time for husband w/o the hum of sewing machine? This is his winter project.

Behind that tree in 2 weeks assembling of shed will be taking place!  I will be updating it's progress.  Son-in-law has already ran electric thru basement wall for hookup.  Yes, it will be heated.

Now my winter project will be making small wall quilts.

Stay tuned .....

ALL ABOUT ME! lol

Finally, taking time to catch up about this summer.  I am thinking that this was the worst summer for outdoor crafting sessions for me.  Usually working on a few different things outside on my glider, or on my "front porch", which is really the smaller garage which we have screened in.  lol. I would stay outside in these areas until twilight and I couldn't see to work on my stuff, or read my books.

A LITTLE ABOUT ME:

I am retired, and living the dream I had when I was working.  Mostly wanted to be home quilting.  I have turned my extra bedroom into my crafting sanctuary.  Only the brave enter if not invited.  My husband came in once and wanted to know if there was something that we could work on together in there.  He barely escaped with his life.   lol  He has his hobbies and he needs to stick with that! Woodworking, gardening, and he is an excellent cook.  Thank goodness, cause I don't do that anymore!  I bake, but the meal planning and fixing he enjoys, so I let him be happy!  lol

I have 4 grown children and 6 grandchildren.  3 out of 4 children live within 2 miles of us, and 3 grandchildren, ages 18 - 12 are in those 2 miles.  I know, we are very lucky parents and grandparents. Unfortunately, the other child her husband and the other 3 grandchildren, ages 13 - 9 live way across the country in the State of Washington.  Our son-in-law is in the Service, and they have almost another year or so out there.  I pray they will all be closer to us.

So, as of 3 weeks ago, my husband and I acquired a pet.  At my son's place of work, they adopted another cat, offspring of their first cat, and he talked us into takeing her in because he said she was just to sweet and didn't want anything happening to her.  So ....... Her name is Maggie Mae ..... and she is about 10 weeks old now.  She lets me know when it is time to put my hand quilting away for the night!  lol

Okay, moving on .....

The only way I can get pictures on this blog now is to take them on my I-pad, then I go here to my blog and fill in the descriptions.  So, nothing is in order the way I would like them to be, so bare with me, please.

Son and girlfriend will be over for dinner today.  They like dessert, who doesn't.  lol  So, this recipe is about 30 plus years old,  Printed in a 1978 recipe booklet from Quaker Oats.  I am so glad I held onto this, cause it is quick and easy to make.  A nice soft fruit bar that everyone will like.

2 cups Quick/Old Fashioned oats (uncooked), 1 3/4 cups all purpose flour (or whatever you prefer), 1 cup butter/margarine, 1 cup packed brown sugar, 1/2 cup chopped nus/or not, 1 tsp cinnamon, 3/4 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp soda ...... mix all together in your mixer.  Reserve 2 cups for topping

 Press firmly in a 13 x 9 inch greased pan

Spread 3/4 cup preserves or more on top

Sprinkle reserved 2 cups mixture on top

bake at 400 degrees for 25-30 minutes

TRY IT, YOU'LL LIKE IT!

I dog sat at my daughters for a week in July. Coming and going 4/5 times a day.  I used her sewing machine, and set up shop in her dinning room.  yeah!!  I completed 3 tops while I was there.

This one I started with my now almost 16 year old granddaughter (3) years ago.  We planned the setting of the blocks .... then we were to get together so she could sew them.  Well, as we know, life has a way of changing all your best plans.  She was involved in gymnastics, school, then cheer leading then with friends galore.  lol  So, I pulled it out, sewed it together.  I will hand quilt it this winter.  I have lots of left over fabric, she is going to make her dog a small quilt.  

I saw these darn, cute 5 inch blocks in a quilt store.  I was not looking for anything ... but they found me.  So, I put together a Christmas Quilt top, "just for me".  lol  It is a little bright and quirky, just like me. another lol.  I found a great backing, which is of course is out of order in these pictures, it is a couple pictures down!!!

WOW .. a really bad picture!

Yay, another blurry picture!  This is a wall quilt, 36 x 36 inches, for my son's house.  He picked the pattern and he picked the fabric.  I have it now sandwiched and ready to hand quilt.

This is a better picture of his quilt.  Also, he made me a wave template just for this quilt.  I will hand quilt the lines pretty close together .... it should give the quilt "movement".  Gotta get this done, like yesterday:-)

Here is the fun fabric I found for the back of my Christmas Quilt.  lol  It is license plates all to do with quilting,  love, love it.  So now I have a "year" long usable themed quilt ..... Us quilters are always thinking!!!!

Well, that is about all I can think of right now.  I have also been cross-stitching some cute fall themed things for a wooden bowl I have.  Gonna make "little" pillows out of them to display in it.  I have almost 3 done, the cross-stitching is easy .... the completing the process is where I procrastinate!

Almost dinner time .......... try my jam bar recipe above .... really, you will like it.

Thanks for stopping by, until we meet again ........

Sharon

P.S.:  let me know if you try my recipe!

Good Morning from Ohio, USA

Hello fellow quilter's, crafter's, foodie's, gardener's, and "others"., lol  Just wanted to let you know I am still around and have been busy, busy, busy.  That darn I-pad has had all my time away from my computer and posting.  I think about it, then it's gone.

Thanks for stopping by ... hoping soon to update you on what I have been doing the last couple of months.

Sharon

New Fabric .... New Project!

I was just complimenting myself yesterday, I haven't been buying unnecessary fabric, working on projects that I want to have finished soon, or at least in my life time!  I told myself I have enough fabric to make a dozen quilts/projects easily.

I am babysitting my furry grandchildren this week while my daughter and family are on vacation.  They are less than 5 minutes from my home, so I am working in spending time with them.  That is why I came up with the idea of working on something for me at my daughter's house, making a Christmas lap quilt.  Found I have a lot of mis-matched Christmas fabrics that would make a great Christmas sampler quilt.  

Well, yesterday my friend and I visited a couple of quilt shops.  I had a 50% coupon for one of the shops for my birthday.  Can't not use a coupon, right?  I found an adorable Christmas Charm Pack that I could use with my fabrics.  

On that darn Pinterest site this morning I found a quilt that I could use my (1) charm pack for.  It required a background fabric to do it.  But my brain is figuring out something else, I think this pattern could use alternating red and green fabrics to give it that wow factor.  And that is how I ended up with new fabric and a new project.

If this turns out as good as I think it will, I can see more projects like this for FALL, HALLOWEEN, SPRING, SUMMER ........ And on and on and on ........ Addicted?  I don't think so!

Off to the cutting board ... can't wait to show you my progress.

Catch'a later,

Sharon

WHAT WAS I THINKING?

You go along thinking you are the best thing since sliced cheese.  Completing quilts ... they seem to be looking okay.  So, they may be off here and there, but easy enough to square up.  Right?

Below you will see a quilt I have been working on for the last couple of weeks for my son.  He has a spot on a wall in his house that has been screaming to have a quilt hung there.  He picked out a pattern from the book "Cabin Fever" by Natalia Bonner and Kathleen Whiting.  Log Cabin quilt blocks have always been my first love.  This one is a modern take on the classic block.  I can do it, how easy would that be?

Well, here comes the "what was I thinking" part.  Not only does every little seam in the 4 blocks to complete one 12 inch block have to match up, but they really need to be very even from the get go. Thinking  I had a handle on this .. I got one of the 12 inch blocks done, the seams were perfectly in line ... but wait a minute ... did the block look a little lop-sided?  Yeah, if you lined it up on the lines of the cutting board, they were a little wobbly.  lol

I had 5 full blocks sewn...  that is a total of 20 blocks to make "5", I tried to justify that I could straighten them out.  I couldn't bring myself to continue on this path ... thank goodness I had bought enough of all the fabric in the beginning to start over from scratch.

Oh boy, what a mess ... lesson learned the hard way!

What I learned?  I learned that I had developed a few bad habits some where down the way and just couldn't figure out why my blocks were always a "little off".  Repairable, but not perfect.  I am not looking for perfect ......... but I sure would like a "pretty darn good job", "looking good" comments from me.  lol

First of all .. I thought I had the cutting part of the fabric down good.  What the heck, it measures what it is suppose to.  Well, here is the lax part I noticed on this project .. not taking the time to really line up the ruler to make sure your fabric is "straight".  This turned out to be a biggie for me.  Those pieces that were kind of wobbly just made the other pieces wobbly when sewn.  This time when I re cut all my pieces, I made sure the fabric was even and straight.  What a difference that makes.  My pieces actually measured what they are suppose to.

Oh, I think a lot of my troubles ... with the cutting & sewing of my fabric was my "lean".  I kind of was centering my body over my cutting board between my cutting and my sewing machine.  That was so I could cut my fabric and then sew my pieces together without moving my chair.  When did I start this?  It is amazing what perfection you can get when you tackle each aspect of the assembly.  I now position my body where it is suppose to be .... straight on with the cutting, and straight on (setting up straight, in line with  my sewing foot).  II just can't believe what a difference these two small adjustments have made this time around.

I think we get so set in our ways, meaning me ... and maybe you if you seem to be having some of these problems. :-)  I have been sewing for so darn long ... I don't even want to put it in numbers.  I was sewing clothes for me and my children for years.  Then late in life, it really wasn't, but looking back now; I wish I would have taken more of an interest in quilting.  

So for me, a hard lesson has been learned, I hope.  I have 4 more 12 inch blocks to put together, plus all the joining of all the 9 - 12 inch blocks.  Say a little prayer for me that it all goes well .....  

Until next time ...   

P.S.:  Also a big thing to making nicer blocks, Mary Ellen's Best Press.  Clear starch & sizing alternative.  I can't believe it has taken me so long to discover this.  It makes sharp, crisp seams.  I think it also keeps fabric from stretching when it is ironed!

PHASE 1: Craft Room Update!

Truth be told, I find that I am not keeping up with my blog because I haven't had anything to write about, also trying to post pictures from my I-Pad to my blog has been a real "joy".  NOT!!!!  I think I may have finally found a way to do it:-)  So far, it is working.

This seems like a yearly event ... clean, re-organize craft room.  So hopefully my plan will enable me to start fresh and maybe for the last time?  lol Or at least not have it a yearly project. 

This is my messy closet ... really want to be able to find "stuff".  I waste so much time looking for "stuff" that I have organized only to loose it again.  Ever have that problem?  Please, make me feel better by saying you do too?  lol I have even called my friend, Charlene, to maybe suggest where I may have filed my "stuff"!

I can't work in too messy of an environment, so solution is just to close the doors.  Clean my work areas.  Kind of put my things away where they kind of go .....  Below is my projected closet re-organization.  It is definitely not to scale, that is my husband's job.  Just showed him the drawing I made  ... he seems to like it.  So, with any luck ... these next rainy/hot/humid days will keep him in doors and play in my closet.  He really is a good builder of things ...  I am getting excited.

Oh, the really bad part of all of this .... to clean out this closet and find a place in my craft room that I can store all of this "stuff".  In the meantime, I still want to be able to sew.  Yes, I want it all ... new storage closet and the building not to disturb my sewing!!

Next project out of this book!

My son feels that I now have enough expertise to make a quilt for his wall.  Or, I do a good enough job to adorn his wall. lol  Gotta love your "children"!!!   So, he actually found a pattern he likes, surprise, he found a few patterns he likes, out of my books.  There is one, down the road, maybe long road, I will make hopefully as an heirloom quilt for him.   NOT IN NEAR FUTURE.....  

I am hoping my new found projects will give me something to write about.  Please stop by and leave a comment on my progress.

Sharon

P.S.:  I am telling myself to give at least 1 hour a day to cleaning out the above mess.  We will see how I do on that one!  Going to have lunch, shall return with hopefully 1 hour under my belt.  Maybe more!  lol

Just Hanging Out In My Back Yard:-)

I enjoy a nice stroll thru my back yard.  All the spring flowers have come and gone and the summer flowers are just about ready to bloom.

But look what is lurking around out there!  I have a husband who is obsessed with planting tomatoes. Now mind you, we are a household of 3 who would do well to have just a couple of plants to feed us all summer into fall.  He tells me every year as we are watering the tomatoes (and flowers, another story) that he will plant just a couple next year.  I am not sure what year he is talking about, but I have yet to see that year!!

He starts out so well, We have raised garden beds ... it use to be a back yard of raised garden beds. lol

Now a nice bed next to our shed.  He planted maybe 12 plants, so innocent looking.  I am thinking .. wow, great.

You see, from previous years we were supplying tomatoes to "friends, family, neighbors, and strangers" unloading our crop.  About August, people were hiding from us when they saw us coming. lol  But, he made a friend of a locally owned fast food chain that loved receiving these, free of charge.  We felt good about this because you just don't want to have these go to waste.

So onto the story of my back yard walk this morning .... Little by little, I would see containers of tomatoes springing up.  He would say, oh got a good deal on them, not buying any more.  Ah, heard that one before.  These things kept cropping up here and there on my patio.  Then because the cement keeps the dirt hot in the containers, plus very dry, he had to find a place to move them.  So, around the house he went placing tomatoes.

Here are a few of his beloved plants.  lol

Starting place

I spy a tomato plant in my flowers:-)

4 of them here .. raised on wood, prettied up for patio. lol

Oh, 2 more innocent looking tomatoes!

1 more on side of house:-)

There are 4 hiding in here among flowers, sorry there are 5!

And one greeting you on the way to the garage door.

I am not really complaining ... his obsession could be worse.  Oh, wait ... it is.  He is well know at our local Lowe's Store, in the plant area.  I finally told the lady that is in charge over there to not sell him anymore flowers .... I was with him at the time.  She laughed and told him that she had some flowers that maybe he missed.  I get no respect.  When I stopped there with my oldest daughter, who is an avid planter also (wonder where she gets that from) the "lady" said she was glad to show her some flowers she may have missed.  lol  Smiling at me the whole time.  She really is a nice lady and it is fun to shop somewhere where you can joke with the staff.  Oh, got a son that has the bug also ...

Anyway, this post is all in good fun today.  My husband's hobby keeps him busy and leaves me more time for my quilting.  Like I don't have an obsession???????

So, if your ever in my neck of the woods come August ... I may have a tomato or two for you.  lol

Sharon

Time to catch up!

I have been away from my sewing for a couple of weeks.  I did manage to make a couple of table runners.  Well, I completed the top for one, and still have to do a border for the other one.

It seems when the good weather comes, I want to spend more time outside on my porch/deck/patio than set in front of my sewing machine.  Usually I have something quite substantial to work on in the evening while watching TV.  But not this year.  I was working on cross-stitch in the evenings, but finished what I was working on, and not in the mood to start another cross-stitch project. I also enjoy reading at this time of year.

So, you ever get your quilt tops done, but really, really don't want to finish the part where you have to sandwich it, pin / baste it / then mark it for quilting?  I truly love the hand quilting part, and put off the part that needs to get done before I can quilt.  Ah, I found a short cut for this table runner project.

Below is the top of my table runner.  It is looking a little pink as I am outside under my red umbrella. lol  Got it basted, wanted to start quilting and skip the marking for hand quilting part.

This is what I found!!  I found a perfect piece of backing for the table runner ... it is Christmas themed, super clever, but the best part of it is that the print is an easy pattern to follow w/o marking it. Instead of quilting from the top, I am quilting from the bottom.   Yes, it looks pink also, but it is red and white with green in the hearts.  I am quilting with green thread.

In less than an hour for sandwiching it and basting ... I could start hand quilting.  The front is looking pretty good to.  Sorry, I'll show that in another blog when I get this completed.

This is working out great .... maybe a few more days of quilting .... and I will have a reversible table-runner to use now and one for "later".  I have patted myself on the back .... and, I may have to use this quick method sometime again .. a fabric with a print that would make a good quilting pattern to follow.  Something with a nice large check maybe.  lol

I am now going to work on my table-runner.  Next pictures will not be under my red umbrella!!  

......

Beautiful Day In Ohio

Finally ... Blue sky's, lots of sun, and of course a breeze, can't have a sunny day w/o that darn breeze to keep it on the cooler side.  But no complaints here, nice to be able to set out on my new deck and smell my roses, yes new roses that actually have a fragrance.

Yesterday as I was sewing I was thinking about the recent finds that have made my sewing easier.    Now most of the sewing community have been using these gadgets for years, but I guess I have been oblivious to them.  Now mind you, I have been sewing for 40 plus years and quilting for more than 20.

These are nothing earth shattering, but I am so glad they are now in my "things" that I can't live without.  Okay, I can live without them, but I would be a cranky, or, crankier person.  lol

I

We will start with the clips.  Oh my gosh, how did I bind quilts without these little things?  Well, first of all, with lots and lots of pins that I constantly jabbed my fingers with!

I also cross-stitch.  I like to color my patterns with colored pencils when I finish a certain area.  I could never get a sharp point on the pencils.  Tried every sharpener out there, battery ones are not strong enough.  The little plastic sharpeners are a joke.  Then, at a recent quilt expo ... they were selling of all things the old metal pencil sharpeners that I knew as a kid.  WOW, why didn't I buy more ... brain never works that way.  Okay, they may be available somewhere else, but these eyes never spotted them.  another lol

Thimbles .... I have tried a few in the last plus 20 years.  My sewing buddy, friend, confidant, and more spotted these at Joann Fabrics.  They are made by Clover, and another WOW, they are terrific.  I use to have to wear a finger cozy on my finger to keep my other thimbles on, because they were always to large.  Small thimbles always to small.  Here again ... need to pick up a couple more to keep in my different areas of sewing.

Oh, looking at that rubber finger?  Used many of these before I retired from office work. But  I found another use for them.  Again, replaced the finger cozy that I wore on my finger to pull my needles up thru fabric.  Really, really works good and grabs those little needles w/o any problems.

My new gadget that I will "never ever" give up, a walking foot for my sewing machine.  I am a hand quilter .. so why would I want one of these for my sewing machine?  Well, I found a fabric panel and a table runner that I wanted to get completed pretty quickly..... So time for a walking foot.  Completed the wall hanging, it leaves a lot to be desired sewing wise.  Sewing a straight line is gonna take a little practice.  Not going to give up, and unless you put your nose directly on my wall hanging you might not see the mis-sews. lol. Don't put your nose on this picture either.

I had this laying under my red umbrella, so unfortunately it looks pink when it is white.  Remember, don't put your nose on the picture to see my crooked stitching!

Time to hit the shower .. This has been an all day process, have more to show but will do at another time.

Hello

Just wanted to say hello and to send a thank you to all who have been visiting my blog to find that I haven't updated anything in a long time.  I have been busy the last couple months working on and finishing projects.  I have a love hate relationship with this computer.  When I think I need to set down and post something, it feels that I shouldn't ... and won't co-operate in showing my pictures.  I will have to break down and ask my computer smart son what the "h---" am I not doing/or am doing wrong.

So ... just wanted to say Hi ... and will be back soon, hopefully.  I find that writing is good therapy and I so need a fix.

Thank you

Sharon

A Little Something Else!

This is something I will be working on very soon.  It is for a special little guy that was born not to long ago😊

Hope to have time to start cutting parts and pieces this week.

Talk at you soon to update you on the progress!

Sharon

WELLCOME SPRING?

Gotta love Mother Nature .... She doesn't believe in looking at the calendar, which says it is spring..  Living in Ohio we don't ever rely on the calendar either.  lol

So, it's been a little while since I sat down to update blog.  I truly have been busy quilting, and still am.  I have even thrown in a couple of "crafting" things the last couple of months also..  My daughter is a wonderful craft designer, tries to pull me in to make some of the things she is doing.  I can honestly say, I don't have the "crafting" gene.  That bowl of plastic eggs below were to all be covered in strips of fabric.  I managed to complete 8?  That bowl was to be full of fabric eggs.  And, because I was going to be ambitious and make a whole lot more, I have 3 bags of plastic eggs in my craft room now waiting to be completed for next year.

This came in a panel of 12 blocks, I noticed that they were hanging from branches of one tree.  But they were not connected together in the panels.  So, I cut the panels apart trimmed them back and built the tree.  I think it came out really well, and it will be on my kitchen wall for spring & summer.

I think I may have started the quilt below late fall/early winter.  I know I had parts and pieces done, but wasn't in a hurry to get this finished.   It was a six part series from McCall's Quilting Magazine that they ran in 2015.  Not wanting the queen size it would have been, I modified it down for a wall quilt, or possibly for my dining room table.  The name of the pattern is Cottage Romance.  I hopefully have only about another week of evening quilting to do on the outer border blocks.

My computer is not co-operating with my downloading pictures, so I guess this is all for now.

Catch you later,

Sharon

A LITTLE QUILTING, A LITTLE CROSS STITCHING

Winter has finally arrived here in Northern Ohio near Lake Erie.  We actually got our first real snow yesterday; windy, blowing snow.  Didn't bother me a bit because I didn't have to leave my house:-)

Crazy here this year!  Not complaining, when you can go shopping in 50 degree plus weather in January in Ohio:-)  My friend and I were out cross stitch pattern hunting yesterday, and it felt like a spring day. Of course, the next day was winter!  Gotta love it.

I haven't posted since November, but I have been busy.  I did the binding on a Quilt of Valor I made through our Quilt Guild.  I pieced a backing for another Quilt of Valor to go with the front that I had worked on.  I just need to finish up the presentation pillowcase and get the binding cut so it can be bound after it has been machined quilted by one of our Guild members. That needs to be done by Thursday.

I made a Red & White quilt for our December challenge thru Kathleen Tracey's Small Quilt Talk Group.

BARN LOVING!

This will also be entered in our Quilt Guild's quilt show in October of this year.  I have always wanted to make this pattern, love log cabin quilts and barns.  Got both in this quilt.  lol

My Cottage Romance Quilt still needs to be sandwiched and hand quilted.  I'm pretty sure this is going to be a March/April project.  I'm pretty much involved with cross stitching at the minute.

My friend and I found these monthly calendar patterns when we did a cross stitch "shop hop" in the fall.  We've decided that we are going to make them into monthly removable calendars that will fit into a frame.  Then we just switch out for each month.  I have just recently started February ... maybe I can get it actually done for that month!

They really are adorable patterns.  On your "right" is how I store and keep track of all my floss.  Then when I start a new pattern, I pull the colors and put them in a smaller box to work out of.  If in the meantime I find another pattern and I want to buy the floss for that, I check out my colors first to see if I have them.  This is my secretarial mind at work.  lol

Oh, almost forgot ... I made an apron for my oldest daughter for Christmas.  She loves practically anything that is "chicken" related.  We found the cutest chicken fabric a couple of years ago ... I had been waiting for her to make up her mind on what style apron she wanted.  I knew it had to be something in the "30" category; so I just went for it and made her one for Christmas.  It came out super cute and she loves it.  I'll get a picture of her in it eventually:-)

  

Found an amazing Vintage quilt book.  It is called:  "Farm Girl Vintage" by Lori Holt of Bee in My Bonnet.  Super, super cute blocks.  To make alone, or as table runners, or pot holders, or quilts ... so much to choose from.  Of course these are my two top picks below:

Early evening and I have to get involved with something .... sewing machine is looking at me ... but also my cross stitching is looking awfully inviting..........

Thanks for stopping buy ... what have you recently finished or currently working on?  Leave me a comment ... 

Sharon