Work in Progress Wednesday

Well, it is a New Year! And even though I did not make New Year's resolutions, I am going to try to get some of my UFO's finished before I move on to new fun stuff. Not that this isn't fun, but I do get a bit bored, and wander off to try something different sometimes!  But, come to think of it...... I have quite a few WIP so I can still jump from one thing to another LOL!

So today is Work in Progress Day over at Lee's blog, Freshly Pieced  I think it is starting again today!



and also at The Needle and Thread Network!

So what am I working on? Right now...I am doing the FM quilting on "Paris"

I have stayed with my old fall back pattern, the echoed teardrops...

I now have a little folding table that I keep beside my sewing table. It holds the weight of the quilt as I am working...

This makes a huge difference! I still need to stop and manoeuvre the quilt frequently,but it doesn't drag so much ......especially this one because it is big.. (about 104" square, I think) .

I am still having occasional problems with the thread shredding!

I have changed the needle, rethreaded the machine (like a million times!), checked the tension, and yes Monika....I remembered to close the needle plate this time :)!
I am using Gutterman thread. If it was the thread, I would think it would happen more often...no???
If any of you more experienced quilters has any other suggestions, I would be happy to hear them!!

Sometimes I think it happens when I inadvertently sew over a thick part of the quilt, with several layers at a seam. I try not to do that ..but with my superior FMQ skills...it still happens sometimes!

It doesn't happen a lot, and I may sew for half and hour without it shredding, then it does it again. I am not sure if I am pulling on the quilt, or if I am getting tired...or if my sewing machine is getting tired ?? I even tried slowing the speed down a little thinking that might help, or at least make sure that I am not sewing over those thick seams.

Of course as I am sewing, there is a little voice in my head that keeps saying ..."the thread is going to break now....the thread is going to break now..."  And I swear that the minute that little voice starts saying "hey, this is going good, maybe  it's OK now!"...ZING...there it goes again!! Do you think my sewing machine can hear that little voice in my head????

*****REMINDER******
Don't forget to check out my Anniversary Celebration Give Away ! Entry closes on Thurs Jan 5, so better get your name in there~!!

New Addition

We don't have any pets here any  more. I used to have a dog, (died several years ago) but now we travel quite a bit, and it is hard to take pets along. I actually don't miss them, really, especially the cleaning up after them part!

But my daughter, who has just turned 24 years old......wow, when did I get that old???

Anyway, she has been talking about getting a puppy for a couple of years, and this week she did!

It is a "Puggle" which is a cross between a Pug and a Beagle! And even my DH and I have to agree...SHE IS SOOOOO CUTE!!  Her name is Zoe.

And don't let this picture fool you, that is the 4 minutes that she was lying down after running all over the house for 2 hours!! And if I went into another room...she was right on my heels...or under my feet! She just loves being with people. OK, maybe I could have a pet again!

*****REMINDER******
Don't forget to check out my Anniversary Celebration Give Away ! Entry closes on Thurs Jan 5, so better get your name in there~!!

Check out the Giveaway!

Ever have that feeling when you are not sure what snack you want to eat..salt or sweet?
Well I have found the perfect solution...

Chocolate covered pretzels!! mmm

(and that is all there is left of the bag!! ...ooooops!)

And don't forget to check out my Anniversary Celebration Giveaway! Entry closes on Thurs Jan 5, so better get your name in there~!!

Celebrations!

It is time for Celebration!!  Not only is it a new year...but I have passed a couple of big milestones here on my blog.

First it has been over a year since I started this blog!!  A whole year !!
It has gone by quickly! I started quilting just about a year ago...and although I had been sewing for many years, I really didn't know anything about how to make a quilt. I made my first real quilt for my daughters wedding, and although I would now do a lot of things differently, it was very special and I am glad that I attempted it. (and they love it too)

I have learned soooo much since then! And largely from many of you here in blogland! I truly appreciate all the skills, knowledge and helpful tips that people share. I started this blog to share some of my tips, ( some of what NOT to do !) from a beginners perspective, because I wanted to give something back...and also to document my progress.

I was amazed when I started to get followers!! And honoured...after all, I am no expert! But it has been fun, and I have made some good friends here....many friends that I have never met in person...but friends none the less.

And..  my second milestone is that I have now passed the 100 follower mark !! WOW !! I really am happy to have you all drop by for a visit now and again...and love to hear from you so please keep those comments coming!!

Sooooo anyway....how to celebrate???   Well I think a giveaway is in order!  Well, maybe because I have passed 2 milestones ....two giveaways are in order !!  Now these prizes are made by me, and they are not perfect by any means! If you want perfect, I can point you in the direction of some other bloggers LOL!

I want to especially thank my followers, so you must be a follower to enter.

So first....to enter to win one of my little frame purses...

....Tell me what your name WOULD be if you could have picked it out for yourself!  I always wanted the name Chris or Christine!  Not sure why...I don't think I even know someone with that name, but I used to pretend that was my name when I was young.  So...how about you?

For the second prize... leave a second comment....to win one of my new (experimental) thread catchers!

......tell me what talent you would like to have if you could pick anything....sing??? dance??? play the piano?? speak Japanese?? Paint pictures?? ride a bicycle?? What would you like to be good at?

I will print off all the comments, put them in separate baskets, and have a "helper" draw out the lucky winners!
Contest closes on Thursday..Jan 5, so get your comments in soon! Be sure to have your contact information available, if I cannot contact you, I will go on to the next name drawn.  Good luck! :)

HAPPY NEW YEARS !!

 I have already admitted that I am not a big Christmas person...the grinch who doesn't like all the decorations and hoopla!  I do love seeing all the family and friends though! We had dinner for 10 one night, 8 another night and then 20 for Christmas dinner!  Lots of cooking, lots of laughter and love..It was great!

Having said that.....I am a HUGE New Years Fan!!  I love New Years !! It is MY holiday!! Something about all the new beginnings, starting over, the prospect of great things to come!! Not to mention all the champagne! :)
                                                 
I don't make a bit thing of New Year's resolutions....they don't seem to last more than a month anyway! But I do look forward to starting each new year off with the hope of eating healthy, exercising more and spending more quality time with my family and friends.

So from my house (...computer) to yours.....HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!

                                                 

Goldilocks and The Three Bears...(bags)

I have seen those really cool thread catchers all over the place...I think the first one was from Krista at  Poppyprint.  They even had them for sale at the big quilt show here this fall....but not in any colors that I liked.

So...I decided to try to make myself one! (or two...ended up being three!)
I am sure that there are many tutorials out there, and Krista does give some basic information in her post, but what the heck...how hard can it be???

I started with 2 rectangles of fabric 9"x18"  (Krista's suggested size)...

and sewed each one together at the shorter ends... then sew the bottom shut..

then squared off the bottom with a 2" measure...

Then I tucked the lining into the outer fabric, and rolled down the top making a sleeve.

As Krista suggests, I used the plastic packing tape you find lying around almost any big box store, (free...bonus !)

 and fed it into the sleeve. I have also read somewhere that someone used an old carpenters metal measuring tape.
I learned that it is best to overlap the packing tape quite a bit, which I did not do on my first try and it kind of buckles where the ends meet.

Then add a couple of straps onto the top edge to attach it to the pin cushion pillow.

I tried a few different things with the pin cushion, but found the best was just a simple 4 or 5 inch square of 2 fabrics.. sewed together and stuffed....you can sew the straps into the seam then just leave an opening on the other side to stuff it.
You have to add some weight to this, and I got some lead fishing weights to put inside, the largest size...

They cost about $1 each, and I put 2 into each one. The first one I sewed a little bag to put the weights in...just because it seemed like a good idea...nope..no good reason! So I didn't do that for the other two bags.
Then I stuffed them with stuffing from and old "pink flamingo" costume...I have 4 of these, so lots of stuffing...but that is another story for another time!! :)

I tried various sizes..I thought the first one was a little large, so I made a small one..I thought it was a little small, so I tried an in-between size..and it was just right!!  (just like Goldilocks and the 3 bears  hahaha)

Anyway, I am very happy with my new thread catcher!

special gift

I admit I get spoiled at Christmas...lots of great gifts from my family!
But this year there was a special gift from my sister....

This is made out of the silverware that we grew up with on the farm...

My mother passed away about 2 years ago, and we spent many,many hours clearing out the farm house. It had been built by her father (my grandfather) and I am sure there were many things that had been there that long!!
We took many things home, shared many with grandchildren and other family, but there were some things we just didn't have a use for. This old silverware was one of those things. My sister has a friend who makes this jewellery and she said she would love to have whatever was left...so this is what she made...

I was so surprised  and impressed....I didn't know anything about this. I think this is a great memento, and something that is easy to wear often...with jeans or a  dress!