Friday Night Sew In

I didn't actually sign up for the Friday Night Sew In.

Most times, when I do, I end up forgetting.

Plus, I am really not a night time sewer.

But, I am having a hard time adjusting to a baby in my house all day so I get no sewing done and NEED to start sewing at night.

I love that baby, but she is truly a distraction of the best kind!

So, the to-do list get's longer, the time (until christmas) get's shorter.

Feels like the story of my life! LOL

 

But, last night, I didn't sign up for the FNSI for a good reason.

It was my 19year anniversary.

Yep, 19! I don't feel old enough to be married that long, and have a daughter graduating from high school, but its the truth.

So, hubby and I went out to dinner and I knew I wouldn't feel like sewing later on.

Except I did. Feel like it. So I did. Sort of.

 

My birthday is Thursday, yep, thanksgiving day. It falls on thanksgiving more often then I like.

So, knowing what I was getting, I begged to open my gifts early.

And, look:.

 

 

What a surprise!

Noooo, not really, I picked it out, but I am so excited about it!

I have wanted a serger for years, but was intimidated by them and really not sure how much I will use it.

I spent 3 hours learning to thread it last night. I didn't sew a thing, except for some scraps as I tried it out. BUT I FIGURED OUT THE THREADING!!!!!!

OMGosh, yeah!!! Today, I will be sewing on it.

I'm quite happy with my FNSI results :)

Trick Or Treat

Parisian Showgirl

She didn't go trick or treating, but this was at the halloween party the previous weekend

Captain America

Yes, I made most of this costume. We both loved how it turned out!

Katniss

If you have to ask who? then I suggest you go read The Hunger Games.

Yes, its a kids book but an excellent read. 

 

 The Grim Reaper

The typical boy costume. By the end of trick or treating, he had no gloves, no mask, no scythe, and the hood was pushed off his head.

 

 

Hope you had a Happy Halloween!

Frankenstorm

Frankenstorm.

That's what they're calling it here.

My hubby is calling it The Perfect Storm.

Have you ever seen that movie? I can't quite list it as one of my favorites, but I do like it alot.

 

Hurricane from the south.

Cold front from the north.

And a wintry storm from the west.

Sounds bad, doesn't it?
Check this out:

 

We're right in the middle of the east coast.

That black dot by Tuesday, yep, that's us.

They're saying its going to ruin Halloween, boy won't my kids be unhappy.

Good thing I bought candy they like to hand out, as that may be all they're getting.

 

In the meantime, we prepare.

Hubby is finishing up taking down the pool. The deck has already been cleared for the winter.

I need to run to the store and get some essentials, but I did major grocery shopping last week, so we're ok there.

 

Hope you stay safe, dry and warm!

 

 



Some Halloween Sewing

Here are a few goodies for your eyes

 

This apron was actually sewn back in September. I think. I pinned it last fall and never found the time to make it, although I did buy the fabric. So, this fall it made a reappearance and I got it done!

Since I stole borrowed the idea from someone's etsy site, I didn't have a pattern, so I just kind of made due, combined 2 different patterns and voila, here it is.

Here is the original:

Pretty close, right? I love how it turned out and it makes me feel cute when I wear it :)

 

In other halloween news:

 

 

Over the summer I became obsessed with making these kitchen towels that hang on the oven handle.

No more towels on the floor. Or the stove. Or the counter. No more searching for one when your hands are dripping wet.

The two towels on the right are from Jen. You may remember that she made them for me last year for our Santa Sack Swap. They used to look like this:

I just added the strips of fabric at the top to make them hangable. Hope you don't mind Jen!

 

And, last but not least, a project I made last year that I don't think I ever shared:

A folded star pot holder, pattern courtesy of Moda Bake Shop.

This hangs above my stove, and although I don't use it as a pot holder, it certainly could be! Its nice and thick!

 

That's it for today, thanks for stopping by!

 



October Update

I meant to post yesterday,

as that would have been the 2 month mark since my last post.

No wonder I don't have many followers, huh?

 

Alot has happened since my last post, back in August.

My mom and my grandma came to visit.

I took senior pictures of my daughter.

I took regular, yearly pictures of the other kids.

I did a bit of golfing.

Drama club has started and is in full swing.

 

Fall decorations went up and came back down.

Halloween decorations are up.

Thanksgiving is already being planned,

Christmas lists have sorta been started in my head.

 

I guess my biggest time eater upper is this:

Yep, that's Adalynn.  She'll be 3 months old in a few days.

I don't get much done when she's around!

We laugh and talk and do lots of cuddling.

Of course, she also does a lot of fussing and crying; babies do that.

 

I've managed to get a few sewing things done anyway.

And if my iphone ever finishes syncing, I'll be able to show you something. I hope.

 

Yesterday I worked on Samantha's halloween costume.

Why is she always the one who wants work out of me?
Regardless, it's turning out cute and should be done before the annual teen halloween party on Saturday night.

The other kids bought a packaged costume, although Allie needs me to do a small bit of work to get her costume all pulled together.

Oh! And Nick picked out a scarey costume that he can't wear to school so hubby and I are going to design him a Lego Mini Figure costume for the parade at school.

 

Alright, no pics from the iphone this morning, maybe next time? As I think about it, I really do have alot quite a bit to show off.

Burp Cloths

It continually amazes me, what wonderful things people come up with on the internet.

Thanks to Natalia, over at Piece N Quilt, I designed these adorable burp clothes.

Adalynn is my friend Amanda's new baby.

She was born July 19th

and will be my "daycare" baby starting next month.

I can't wait to take care of her!

But, mom and dad did not want to know the sex of the baby before s/he was born.

So, I told them a quilt would have to wait until after the birth, because I wanted it to be gender specific. As soon as the baby was born, I whipped up these fantastic spit up cloths and brought them to the hospital as my "welcome baby" gift.

I love how they turned out, and I know Amanda does too!

The quilt has already been made and delivered, but you'll have to wait to see that!





Sew Spooky Block 2

Here it is...The Haunted Barn from Sew Spooky



Sew Spooky is in the house

Sew Spooky is here!

It arrived on Thursday, 6 weeks late and VERY much anticipated.

I know we've covered how halloween is my favorite holiday.

This quilt is going to be an amazing addition to my decorations.

And I wasted no time getting started on it.

Here is block 1

The block is complete with the exception of the hand stitching. If you look closely, you should be able to see my smoke coming out of the chimney lines.

Just in case you are interested,

I got mine from Homespun Hearth. The 6 weeks late was the fault of the fabric company, not HSH, and I was very happy with their customer service. I would definitely order from them again!

Thoughtful Thursday

• My last post was June 11....I wonder if its coincidence that I quit blogging the day before the kids got out of school?
• Right before that, I think around June 4 or 5, I went to the annual DC quilt show and picked up 2 quilt kits, as well as some other "stuffs".  One quilt is done, been and back from the quilters and already hanging around the living room. The other is on the cave floor, waiting for the scrappy border to be added, then a solid border, then layer and quilt.  I need a bit more yellow fabric, which I hope to pick up tomorrow, and get that on toward finished.
• I have quite a few projects that either need blogged about or pics taken so I can publish the post. Sorry! Furniture that got painted, Disney projects that still haven't been blogged about, dining room chairs, etc etc
• I have another newphew! Oliver was born June 7, on my daughter's 17th birthday. He looks like another doll baby!
• My daycare baby, who I will get starting in September, is a GIRL!!!! OMGosh, she is just so precious and I can't wait to take care of her!
• Swoon is almost off the grid....I have found another quilt that I love more and am contemplating that for my bed instead. Have you seen this one? I figured it out on EQ7 today, I have almost enough fabric.....its alot to think about.
• Speaking of EQ7....I got it last year for Mother's Day. How sweet of my family, huh? Yeah, you probably know I ordered it myself, but its the thought that counts. Anyway, I hated it. And it was expensive. Made me sick, really. I have the Quilt Design Wizard (by the same company) and I love it, so I thought EQ7 would be great. I tried it a few times between then and now, and still, just ugh. But 18 months later, I persevered, I figured it out (I think!) and I am definitely more comfortable with it! Yeah!
• The children are having a good summer. Its hard to believe that I have a senior, a junior, a 6th grader and a 5th grader. 3 different schools. 2 different drama clubs. And, did I mention a SENIOR? I am starting to freak out a bit. Its tempered with the knowledge that she will probably never move out, a fact she freely admits.
• 
  
  Ok, let's see if I can leave you with a pic.....

I found a photo of a rainbow cake on Pinterest, but I wasn't thrilled with the recipe they used, so I just used a white cake mix, mixed up my colors and voila, check this out!

It tasted as good as it looked!

Have a good night.

I'll try to get back here more often!

Crayon Art

I think the photo's will speak for themselves.

Check our new canvas crayon art:

Nick's Artwork

Allie's

Samantha

The Tardis...again by Samantha

Ironing Excitement

You've heard my tale of woe regarding irons.

I'm not even going there right now, but I will say this new iron seems to be working well.

I am now going to show you my ironing excitement.

This is what my ironing board used to look like:

Dull, boring, reflected heat instead of absorbing it, and covered in "oooops, I just got sticky bond type stuff on my ironing board."

Check out the new ironing board cover:

Amazing improvement, huh?

The credit goes to the Moda Bake Shop, where I got the tutorial.

I had pinned it and shopped for fabric way back in the fall.

And then my strips sat there. And sat there. And everytime I opened that drawer, they just stared at me, begging to be used.

At the same time, I also pinned an ironing board caddy. I always have scissors, seam ripper, pins, markers, and spray starch things on the end of my ironing board and this was my fix for that problem.

No pattern or tute for this, I just used my leftover jelly roll strips, quilted as I went, folded it up and sewed it onto the end of the ironing board.

Not to be outdone, the sewing machines were calling for some attention. So, they got covers made out of the fabric that was left.

Here is Allie's:

(Sorry for the horrible lighting! Ugh!)

And here is mine:

I have a few scraps left still, and I'm eyeballing that cute little trash can that Jen posted about the other day.

And yes, that is Swoon up there on the wall behind the ironing board. I only have 2 blocks done, but hoping to add to them soon!
I just bought season tickets to Six Flags and the quilt shop is just a hop, skip and a jump from there, so I'll have no more excuses for not getting things done and off to the quilters.

Project: Bedroom Furniture

Project Bedroom Furniture has been started.

About a week ago, I bought a gallon of primer. A few days ago, Allie and I took off some of the hardware and made a trip to Home Depot. We came home with paint brushes, a gallon of paint for her (in yellow) and a quart of paint for me (in green). Of course (because, really, no DIY project is ever 100% easy), none of the hardware was the right size, but we found some we liked and bought one of each (we need lots and lots) in hopes that we could make it work.

A day or two later, I stopped at Lowe's and still, no hardware that would fit the existing holes. (Nothing on the internet either!) But, I did come home with wood putty.

And yesterday, Allie took all the drawers out of her room and brought them to the garage. Her and I took off all the hardware and we were ready to go.

Today....daddy and I filled the holes that needed replaced.

Her and I primed the dresser, chest, side table and my bookshelf that has joined this project.

Daddy and I also sanded the  filled holes and he drilled the new holes.

Oh, don't let me forget to mention, we didn't wear gloves on our hands because I am used to paint that washes off. Oil based primer does not "just wash off".

According to my birthday teen (17! How did that happen?) who googled for me, as my hands were covered in the aforementioned paint, mixing oil and salt and using it as soap should work.

And it did :)

Tomorrow I plan on putting primer on all the drawer fronts, painting ALL the pieces, and running to Home Depot to buy the rest of the hardware. After all that, I have a feeling I'll be done for the day!



Monday Mayhem

Dictionary.com defines mayhem like this:

may·hem

   /ˈmeɪhɛm, ˈmeɪəm/ Show Spelled[mey-hem, mey-uhm] Show IPA

noun

1. Law . the crime of willfully inflicting a bodily injury on another so as to make the victim less capable of self-defense or, under modern statutes, so as to cripple or mutilate the victim.

2. random or deliberate violence or damage.

3. a state of rowdy disorder: Antagonisms between the various factions at the meeting finally boiled over, and mayhem ensued.

 

#3 seems to fit my thought pattern right now.

A friend and I (and a friend of her's and Allie) went to the Quilt Expo yesterday.

I came home with a few new things, most of which I can't talk about yet.

My problem lately is that I can't decide what to work on first! AHHHHHHHH!

 

And then I spent some time last night on Pinterest.

I have a love/hate relationship with that website right now.

Its really hard to work on your todo list, and get everything crossed off, when you keep adding things to it!

 

My latest is this:

We bought Allie some new-to-us furniture at a yard sale last summer. Its really ugly.

But, its old, its sturdy and she really needed something(s) bigger then what she had.

She has a dresser, chest of drawers, a mirror and a side table.

 

My new goal is to turn it into something like the above.

Think that'll keep me busy for awhile?

 



Tuesday Top 5

1. Hubby and I are leaving in a few minutes to go golfing today. After a long 3 day weekend, I'd love to just go back to bed, but I know we'll have fun anyway.

2. We got the pool put up this weekend. It looks good and I know the kids are excited to use it this summer!

3. I recovered my dining room chairs on Friday and Saturday. Hopefully I'll get the matching valance done tomorrow.

4. I've been working on my craft to do list and the "projects" side is whittling down. The quilt side....not so much.

5. I hand stitched the binding on the quilt for my new nephew. I absolutely love how it looks, but it did take me awhile. Not sure what I'll do next time I have a "normal" size quilt.

Have a great day!

Irons (Again!)

In less then a year, I have bought 3 irons.

You may recall a post from me last summer talking about my Rowenta ProMaster.

I had heard such good things about that brand!
I couldn't wait to own one!

So, I bought one in June. I returned it in October after it started leaking water over EVERYTHING I ironed.

But, I really liked it before then, so I exchanged it for another one, in hopes that maybe the leaking was a fluke.

That first one lasted me about 4 months.

The second one showed such promise!
Months of use and no leaking.

6 months in and it started leaking. Only occasionally and not too much water.

By the end of month 7 (this week) it was leaking everytime I got the thing horizontal.

Its now sitting in the back of my car, waiting to be returned.

(By the way, I always try to buy appliances from stores that have great return policy's.

In this case, Kohls. Love that store!)

(By the way again, the reviews on the Rowenta ProMaster are AWFUL! I really wish I had looked into it better before I bought it)

This time I did my research.

And I picked out the DeLonghi 1800-Watt Steam Iron with Ceramic and Titanium Soleplate.

It arrived from Amazon today.

The reviews are good, if you don't mind the "cord issue", which to me sounded minor.

Once I got my hands on it, I realized that, yes, its minor.

I immediately plugged it in and used it.

Its a bit heavy, like the Rowenta, but I like that when I'm using it on quilts.

It ironed smoothly. The steam is hot.

NONE of the reviews mentioned leaking.

I really hope this is the last one I'll have to buy for awhile.



Thanks Kim!

Thanks alot Kim!

Kim and I have one BIG thing in common.

We both love Halloween!

Its my absolute favorite holiday!

And look at what she posted today:

YES! Isn't it fabulous?

You can order it here.

Its a 6 month Block of the Month club.

Or you can order it in one big delivery.

Which is what I decided to do, in hopes of getting it done before Halloween.

She may be sending Mary her bill, but I'm sending her mine!



Tuesday Top 5

1. My real estate guy is coming today for my bi-annual house check up. I took this as a sign that I needed to get my sewing room cleaned up better. I worked on it off and on all day yesterday and it shows a huge improvement. It might not be done by this afternoon when Phil get's here, but it'll be better!

2. Amy's OTOW challenge is up this week...and my goal is to get everything not sewing or crafting related out of my sewing room. I'll have before and after pics for you when its done! I know there are prizes at the end of the week, but I really just try to use her as motivation to get something done that might not have gotten done.

3. I love the Fat Quarter Shop! Last week there were running a sale, free shipping with a $40 purchase. I quickly decided to get some Moda Marbles yardage that I need to finish a quilt. That arrived yesterday. And, those ladies are awesome! I tried to order a yard of something and got a popup that they only had 3/4. So, I ordered that. The next day they called to say all they had was (2) 1/2 yard cuts and would that be ok? Fortunately, it was and they sent me that at no extra charge! Yeah for great service! Last night, I placed another order, this time for backing/binding for a jelly roll I got at christmas. I've been wanting to order it before the store doesn't carry it anymore, and I'm glad I did last night, as the selection is getting slim.  I really need to keep in mind that when ordering precuts, I really need to order extra yardage to go with it, so that I don't miss out.

4. I'm having a baby! Ok, well, not really having.....but getting! My girlfriend is due the end of July and has asked me to watch the little one when she goes back to work in Sept! I'm so excited! Boy or girl, no one knows! Psst, I already bought some cloth diapers to make fancy spit up cloths, a la Natalia over at Piece and Quilt.

5. Amidst the sewing room cleaning, I've also done quite a bit some sewing this past weekend. I got double valances made for Allie's room window...those have only been on the to do list for about a year. And, I got a quilt pattern picked out, fabric bought and washed and the top COMPLETELY pieced for my new newphew due next month! Yesterday morning, I layered and pinned it, so it is now ready for quilting! In my boring Saturday afternoon time, I made a 14x14 pillow cover to match the quilt! I guess mom or dad can use that, as baby won't need it! LOL

Embroidery Hoop Wall Clock

Check this out!
My very first tutorial!

It was easy to make, so hopefully easy to explain, but let me know if I'm missing something!

Embroidery Hoop Wall Clock

Supplies:
Embroidery Hoop....I believe mine is 9 inches

Clock Mechanism....I bought a 1/4 inch and it worked fine for this thickness

2 pieces of decor weight, iron on interfacing, 12x12 each

Fabric, cut to 12x12

Buttons

Paint

Embroidery Floss

First of all, I painted my embroidery hoop.

I did 2 coats on the edges and outside and one coat on the inside

(If you lay it on wax paper, it won't stick too much, even if you put it down on a wet edge)

While that dries, iron the first piece of interfacing to the back of your fabric.

Iron the second piece onto the first piece, to create a double thickness.

Take the inner circle of the embroidery hoop and trace it onto the back of your fabric.

I used my microwave plate cover (it has a hole in the middle) and laid it on top of the circle, then marked the center of the fabric.

Take a ruler and mark the half way points on all 4 sides of the circle.

 (Paint is still drying!)

Using tiny scissors, cut a hole in the middle large enough to tightly fit the clock mechanism.

I used embroidery floss to sew on my buttons, because I thought the thickness of it would look better then regular thread. So, go ahead and sew on those buttons!

Alright, time to put it all together!

Lay your fabric on top of the inner circle, making sure to keep to the traced line.

Open your embroidery hoop ALL the way (in case you haven't already) and fit it onto the circle.

Insert the screw and tighten it down as much as you can, so that your fabric is pulled taut.

Make sure that everything is where you want it to be, lining up the top of your hoop with your "12".

Now, go ahead and cut away the excess fabric, taking care to cut as close to the back of the hoop as possible.

Put the clock mechanism on, following the directions on the package. Use your tiny scissors to make sure any stray threads (from cutting open the hole) are tucked under the bolt.

Insert the battery and voila, a new clock!

I saw this idea somewhere on the internet and couldn't wait to make it for my sewing room.

It took me awhile to get the clock mechanism, but after that, smooth sailing!
Hope you enjoy!



A Year in Review

Review?
Its only mid April!

But I feel like this year has already been so busy and hectic!

And my poor blog has just been ignored!

I can't promise that I'll blog more often, but I am going to try.

I really hope that life is going to slow down a bit, at least for awhile!

I look at the past few months and I know they have flown by.

Drama took up all of my January and February.

It took up the first 12 days of March.

Less then a week later, my grandpa died.

A week gone, a week and a half at home,

and then a week in Disney.

I've now been home just over a week.

But my son's 10th birthday is this weekend.

Next Thursday we have 10 of hubby's friend's coming to stay at our house for a golf tournament on Friday.

And my middle daughter's Sweet Sixteen party is Saturday night, with her birthday the next day.

God grant me the patience....

I have sewn here and there this year.

I have a feeling its not going to be a year of quilts,

but rather, smaller projects.

My one  finished quilt top was for Valentine's day and I never got it layered and quilted.

And I only have 2 Swoon blocks done.

I guess I just can't wrap my mind around any big projects.

And I'm ok with that. Mostly.

I have a Blueberry Crumb Cake jelly roll that I want to make plans for and order the additional yardage before it leaves the store. I really want to get on that.

I want to work on Swoon. My plan had been to have it to the quilters by the end of March. And then life happened. Now, I'll settle for getting it there by the end of June.

I also have serveral wall hanging's, table runners and pillow covers I want to do.

A new apron, or two or three.

Lots of new hanging dish towels for my kitchen.

One thing I have contemplated for several years is being able to get a table at a craft fair.

I'd really like to do that. So, maybe some small projects for that.

I have done some sewing this week. 2 small projects that almost got forgotten!

But, they are for the birthday children and I can't share until after they have made their debut. Its 2 new tradition's that will bless the birthday child every year.

And I know I promised you some Disney sewing projects.

Yeah. They are still in the wash.

Hopefully next week :)



6 parks in 7 days

6 parks

7 days

Up by 6:30am

Down at 10pm

It was a whirlwind

Expedition Everest

Animal Kingdom

Magic Kingdom

Rockin' Rollercoaster

Jedi Training Camp

Hollywood Studio's

Epcot

Sea World

Typhoon Lagoon

Most of my sewing projects are now in the wash. I'll take pics and update when I have them ready!

Jen....I'll email you my Disney tips :)