Projects for in-between projects

I have several finishes that I still can’t show.  However, this little zipper bag isn’t a Christmas secret.  It was just a fun break from the other bigger projects going on.  The pattern is from Keyka Lou.

For the most part I am on top of things for my Christmas sewing this year.  Wow, such a great feeling! 

Outside everything is snow covered and pretty.  Inside we spend our evenings by the fireplace where I relax and stitch away on these cute little blocks.  I just LOVE them! 

In a few days we will be putting up the tree and decorating the house.  Such an awesome time of year!

No peeking…well…maybe a little one

There are so many things I’ve been working on but most of them I can’t share just yet.  This is the time of year for secrets you know. 

But I can give you a peek at this miniature house block that’s a part of a bigger project.

The little window is only 1/4” square. 

I used part of a Carol Doak pattern for the house and added one of my favorite little quotes.  It’s all going together nicely, I think.

And these pretty pieces are part of a stack of fabric on my cutting table awaiting their turn for the next project.

Watch me grow!

When I go visit my parents I can still see the pencil lines on the kitchen doorway where my mom marked the growth of all the grandchildren.  The kids loved to have her measure them and make their mark.

I want to create the same kind of memories for our grandkids so yesterday I stitched up a growth chart to hang on our wall. I found this fun monkey fabric in my stash and made it up as I went along.  I still have to figure out how I am going to mark it.  Any creative ideas?

              

27 inches and thirty inches tall so far.  We have a lot of wonderful growing up years ahead of us.

And another one…

Of course I couldn’t stop at just one bag…no…Nanette’s pattern was just too much fun to put together. 

I had some favorite fabric strips that were saved together and thought they’d be perfect for this, except the pattern calls for 4 inch strips and I found that mine were only 2 to 3 1/2 inches wide.  Drats! 

So I donned my thinking cap, jimmy-rigged the pattern a bit, did some extra piecing and came up with this.

Woohoo!  I like it.

Other than the lining, I used only scraps.  No two strips on either side are alike and there wasn’t even enough to make two handles of the same fabric…they are similar but not the same. 

 

A new bag and a little lighter scrap bin.  I’ve used those favorite fabrics nearly down to crumbs.

Scrappy Afternoon

I just got this pattern by Nanette of Freda’s Hive.  Also Jodi at Pleasant Home is inspiring us to use our scraps… so I rummaged through my scrap bins for pieces to make this and enjoyed a quiet afternoon at my sewing machine. 

Those little bits of leftover fabric are now being put to very good use.

That was close!

I nearly lost the top of my little pinkie today!  While zipping through the fabric with my rotary cutter, I suddenly realized I’d made a careless mistake.  But whew!…it just got the nail and the tiniest sliver of finger….no blood…no pain…and one very lucky me! 

There are safer ways to trim ones nails so I will slow down and be more careful now. 

Little flowers for little girls

 

 

While watching TV today I stitched up a whole bunch of these flowers for my sweet granddaughters.  I got the instructions from Polka Dot Pineapple where Lettie is absolutely amazing at creating gorgeous flowers from fabric and paper. 

Button Tree

This little Christmas tree will be staying up all year long.  

I found the pattern by The Drawn Thread in a little stitchery shop while we were in Victoria Canada last year and just got around to making it.   

   

There 23 very tiny little pearl buttons.  All different.

I have a pearl button collection kept in a glass jar in my sewing room.  They are pretty to me and I love looking at them and playing with them. 

And now a few are sweet little ornaments on my tree.

I can see clearly now…

My sewing room was once a bedroom.  The minute the kids left home it became mine….my own wonderful space where I can create to my hearts content.

But I’ve been noticing it is harder and harder to see little stitches. And then there are colors…they are one thing during the day and change when working in the evenings with the light fixture on.  I got my glasses adjusted….still frustrated.  I moved in some lamps … still frustrated.  Then it dawned on me…this is a work shop…not a bedroom.  I still had the light fixture from when it was a bedroom.  I immediately replaced it with a more functional…yet really pretty…light with higher wattage capabilities and more bulbs. 

Now in the evenings when I flip the switch, it looks like the sun is shining all over my room.

I even got a better type of bulbs that don’t change the colors of things.  They shine nice and bright and clean. 

It’s a world of difference and I’m loving it!

I love this old yellow quilt

 

You know I love yellow…

and I love hexie flowers…

 

I really like reproduction prints…but these are the real thing.

I love this quilt!

It’s all hand stitched and hand quilted.

My daughter and son-in-law were cleaning out stuff when they came across this old quilt that no one wanted.  They gave it to me and I am thrilled!  I’m hoping I can find out a little about it’s history.  That would be fun but so far no one knows where it came from.

In the meantime, I’m still working on my own hexies. I have 22 flowers complete with more ready to go. 

And they mean just a little bit more to me now.  Perhaps, if I finish it, one day my quilt will be found, old and worn, and someone will appreciate all those tiny stitches and the love that went into it.  That would make me happy. 

2 of my favorite things

I’ve been away for a few days having the best time ever.

 

First spending time together with my awesome family.  We did some biking and sightseeing and other fun stuff…

…and then I got to spend a whole wonderful day shopping for fabric. 

I see at least 6 great projects in this gorgeous pile.  (Most to be done in time for Christmas…oops…there’s that “C” word already)

32 years in the making

At long last the dishtowels we got for our wedding, 32 years ago, are being put to use. I put the last stitch in this morning and now we can enjoy them.  Thanks to so many of you for giving me the courage to cut into them.  I‘m very happy with how it turned out.

View Full Album

And much thanks to my photography assistants ☺ a 3 generation team.