Merry Christmas and a Finish

Well, I see it's not quite finished - I just noticed the duck  goose on the right does not have a ribbon around her neck.  This is on 22 count fabric but I will always check for 1/4 stitches before I use 22 count fabric again.  I still need to determine how I will mount it on the small washboard that will hang in the laundry room.  This might well be my last finish for 2014.   My list of finishes seems a bit short this year but rather than trying to figure out what I did all year I will just look forward to a more productive 2015.

We are having a Merry Christmas and I hope everyone else also has a wonderful day.

As a man thinks in his heart, so is he. [Proverbs 23:7]

Too Much Hand sewing

It seems I couldn't stop making trees (see this post for info about the pattern).
Then someone on the 123Stitch message board posted a link to the Santa ornament (Click Here) on Pinwheel Ponders' site.
Well they are so cute I had to make a few of those, too.  I also saw a tutorial for strip piecing the ornament here.
Now I just spent the morning sewing the openings closed on the bottom of the trees and attaching a jingle bell on top of each.
Then I sewed a 6mm gold bead to each Santa's hat and stitched the opening closed that was used to turn it right side out.
My fingers do not want to do any more hand sewing today but I do smile every time I look at a tree or a Santa.

Edit regarding Santa ornaments:
I had little hat shaped pieces left over when I traced the pattern onto the strip pieced fabric set so if I make more I think I will sew more fabric strips to the opposite side of the hat piece for another face and beard.  Then I can rotate and trace the pattern upside down in between the traced snowmen on the first side.
I also found it was easier to turn them right side out by leaving the opening on one lower edge of the beard so I wasn't turning where there were seams of the face.

As a man thinks in his heart, so is he. [Proverbs 23:7]

No More Achy Breaky Back

I have been using a standard (30" x 60") folding table as a cutting table for over 30 years - probably the same one, if I could remember that far back.
Anyway, when I really get into cutting fabric I never want to stop and the next day I often have a dull ache in my lower back.  A couple of days ago I spent too much time at my cutting table and starting whining about the ache in  my lower back from bending over my table.
DH immediately said, "Well I can fix that - how high do you want your table to be?"  Of course, I had no idea how much higher it needed to be but the next day I did some cutting at our kitchen island which is very comfortable height for making pie crust or cookies.  I loved it.
So DH got some pvc pipe and figured how long to cut the pieces so that when they hit the turn/support area of the leg there would be enough pvc pipe to raise the table to the same height as the kitchen counter.
I was so excited - I did an immediate happy dance followed by a very big hug and many thank you, thank you, thank yous . . .
DH said I really should thank our youngest son because he had mentioned that many of the people who set up tables for various events in downtown Phoenix have modified their tables in this fashion.
After spending another day with my "new" table I am so delighted and my back is very happy with me.

As a man thinks in his heart, so is he. [Proverbs 23:7]

Because I have nothing to do

Actually my to do list is huge, but nothing looked like fun to me today.
Over on the 123Stitch message board a lady posted pictures of her stuffed Christmas Trees and a link to the instructions soon followed.
This took me several hours but it was such fun I think I must make another one.
Here is a link to the instructions - CLICK HERE to see the tutorial.
Have a great month.

As a man thinks in his heart, so is he. [Proverbs 23:7]

Oh no not another start

I blame DH for this new start.  After another productive day of yard saling, he brought home a small wash board for use in a sink and I immediately remembered that I have been wanting to stitch this chart for my laundry room.  I measured the top of the wash board and determined that if I used 22 count fabric my chart would fit in the little space at the top of the washboard.  I thought how long could it take to stitch such a cute little pattern, right?  I should have studied the chart more carefully before I started because there are a lot of 1/4 stitches, which I have never attempted on 22 count fabric - my eyes are not a bit happy about this latest start so it won't be such a quick finish.  The chart is in the April 1989 Leisure Arts magazine pictured.  The Paula Vaughn cover picture is also on my to do list.

Have a great month of happy stitching.

As a man thinks in his heart, so is he. [Proverbs 23:7]

2 Quilt Tops are Finished

Each jar is different food fabric.

I have only assembled the tops so far.
I still need to make the sandwich (top, batting and backing), baste that, and then I will quilt it on my old singer 403A for which I have a walking foot attachment.
The backing fabric for the green top is pink with white cotton candy and the backing fabric for the orange top has colored jelly beans scattered over a pink background.

My goal is to finish these before Thanksgiving when I will see my 2 young granddaughters. 

As a man thinks in his heart, so is he. [Proverbs 23:7]

Another Start!

I know there isn't very much to see yet but it's always good to document when I start my many wips so here is Stoney Creek's Rest Stop.  I received this chart from a very nice lady on the 123 Stitch message board.
I received a package of miscellaneous parts for my 221.  It's been cleaned, oiled and greased so it purrs like a kitten and sews a wonderful seam.  I don't believe I will need another birthday present for a long time. :)
It still needs a new light unit which is on back order from  http://www.sew-classic.com/ .  I have ordered from them a few times and I am always very pleased with the customer service so if you are looking for anything for your sewing machine, check them out.

As a man thinks in his heart, so is he. [Proverbs 23:7]

Happy Early Birthday to me

My birthday isn't until December but DH is an avid yard saler and he knows that I have wanted a Singer 221 Featherweight for a long time (since the early 1990s) - look what he brought home to me today (for $50 no less)  ♥  ♥  ♥.
According to the Singer site this serial number (AE216568) was made July 13, 1936.  I don't know if it works yet because I want to clean and oil it first but it is beautiful just to look at.
Oh dear, I have so many projects going but now all I want to do is play with my new toy.

As a man thinks in his heart, so is he. [Proverbs 23:7]

XS Finish

I finished Bent Creek Glory for my sister-in-law. 
For fabric I used 14 ct fiddler's cloth and used DMC floss instead of WDW. 
I changed the red floss from 815 to 3777. 
I stitched the stars with the beige floss listed on the chart (3033) and realized it was the same color as the fabric so I did not stitch the center stripe.
I stitched the letters of the alphabet with 3772 instead of the 838 listed on the chart. 
The letters to the word Glory were supposed to be stitched with black but I used 3750 (the blue in the flag) which I did not change from what was listed on the chart.
I won this chart from Nikki in a drawing she held on the 123Stitch! message board.  Tammy asked about the chart when I posted a picture of my wip so the chart is ready to mail to her as a  PIF

As a man thinks in his heart, so is he. [Proverbs 23:7]

Mii Stitch is having a giveaway :)

Mii Stitch is giving away Lizzie Kate Flip Its - but there is a twist.
If you have a blog CLICK HERE to go to her blog and see if you are up to her challenge.
Good Luck

As a man thinks in his heart, so is he. [Proverbs 23:7]

Request to trade food fabric swatches

Would anyone be interested in trading food themed novelty fabric with me?  I would like to trade fabric swatches that measure 6 inches by 8 inches to do a quilt that is an even older UFO than the cat quilt I just finished.
I swapped some food jar blocks sometime back in the late 1980s or maybe in the 1990s.  I haven't done anything with them yet - there are about 12 blocks (paper pieced with the paper still on them).  I suspect I was waiting for the urge to remove all the paper backing and and it just never came.
I have been collecting food fabrics and I have about 30 different prints but I need more prints if I don't want to repeat any fabrics in the quilt.
If you would like to trade some food fabric swatches you can leave a message with your email here on my blog - or you can email me directly at requilt@yahoo.com and we can arrange to swap some fabric.
This is the type of quilt I am thinking about (CLICK HERE to go to the website where I found this picture):

Thank you so very much if anyone can help me.

UPDATE:  I just found some paperwork that tells me this was a swap in 2004 - eek, that means I confused it with an older swap that must be lurking in my UFO bins somewhere.

As a man thinks in his heart, so is he. [Proverbs 23:7]

Quilt UFO Finish

 This top has been a UFO for over 10 years - why do I let things languish for so long?
Each block is a cat silhouette pieced with different fabrics with pictures of cats.
The picture distorts the shape a bit - the finished quilt measures about 70 inches by 80 inches.

The backing fabric is a collage of different cats - it's very pretty in real life.

As a man thinks in his heart, so is he. [Proverbs 23:7]